This Hair “Toothbrush” Is My Secret To The Perfect Slicked-Back Pony
Walk past the Vogue Shopping team’s desk on any given day, and chances are you’ll hear me offering someone The Toothbrush. As in: “Do you need to use The Toothbrush before your event this evening, Alice?” Upon hearing this, you could be forgiven for recoiling in disgust, calling HR, questioning Alice’s personal hygiene, or all three – but this is no ordinary toothbrush. This is a Larry King hair toothbrush.
Let me explain. As anyone in possession of a bob will know, the difference between “chic, jaw-grazing chop” and “chaotic haystack” can be mere inches (don’t believe the propaganda that suggests bobs are low-maintenance). Which means, as a bob girlie myself, I spend an inordinate amount of time trying to disguise my overgrown lengths. My solution is the slicked-back bun, which has become my shortcut to looking polished and pulled together, even on days when I feel anything but.
After months of faffing around with various gels, hairsprays and heavy waxes (some of which left me looking like the love child of Vicky Pollard and Charlie from Busted), I finally stumbled across Larry King’s Flyaway Kit. After that, everything changed. Comprised of a dual-ended bamboo brush and a tube of Social Life for Your Hair – a lightweight finishing cream that offers hold without any stickiness or residue – it’s a real one-stop-shop for taming baby hairs and flyaways, and, in my opinion, the ultimate tool for creating the perfect slicked-back pony or bun.
“The Flyaway Kit started from a simple backstage moment,” explains Larry King brand director, Laura King. “I was at London Fashion Week with Larry, watching him create these beautifully groomed, slick ponytails, and I noticed him using a toothbrush to tame flyaways – such a clever little trick! As someone who isn’t a hairdresser, I often spot these ‘hacks’ differently. What felt like a throwaway backstage trick to them, I saw as genius,” she adds. “So, I ordered 100 toothbrushes, had them stamped in our office, and placed them on shelves and reception desks to see what would happen. They flew: over 10,000 sold! It turned out to be the ultimate handbag staple.”
Of course, small brushes such as these have long been used as a practical hack by women with Afro and textured hair. Toothbrushes were harnessed as improvised styling tools by resourceful creatives, providing greater precision and control for slicker, more defined styles and for edge styling of baby hairs into decorative patterns. This has inspired brands like King’s to produce edge brushes (typically double ended to include a comb, too) for the mass-market.
From work dinners and weddings to long-haul flights, this kit now comes with me everywhere I go, and is duly whipped out whenever I – or indeed, someone else – needs a little touch up. I have even been found in the queue for a show at London Fashion Week, hair toothbrush in hand, combing the flyaways of a fellow fashion editor like a mummy cat lovingly grooming her kitten. Not all heroes wear capes – they just come prepared with the right kit.