5 products celebrity hairstylist Mark Townsend always has in his kit

Hairstylist Mark Townsend has been responsible for styling the strands of celebrities with notoriously gorgeous hair. From Dakota Johnson to Ashley and Mary Kate Olsen, if you've spotted a star with effortlessly cool hair in the past two decades you can be sure Townsend's magic touch has had something to do with it. 

So when the celebrity hairstylist made a recent appearance on the Gloss Angeles Podcast we were really excited to see that he'd brought his top five essential hair products into the recording studio. 

"What are the five products you always have in your kit?," podcast hosts Kirbie Johnson and Sara Tan questioned Townsend.

"I feel like I use products all the time to make hair look second or third day-ish, because I hate clean hair," the hairstylist joked. But as for the products he simply "cannot, cannot, cannot live without"? Keep reading, this is what Townsend had to share...

1/ Olaplex Volumizing Blow Dry Mist

from $53.99 at Oz Hair & Beauty

"I'm obsessed with this, Tracey Cunningham turned me onto it," Townsend gushed. "I put it in my clients hair. I love it. It's amazing."

"I spray it all over — not just the roots — all the way down to the ends," he explained. "It [gives] me really great volume without making the hair look dry."

Most volumising hair products have a lot of alcohol in them to keep the hair cuticle wide open, but this one from Olaplex creates volume, while smoothing hair at the same time, Townsend shared. "It's like a mousse in a spray," he explained.

2/ Briogeo Farewell Frizz™ Blow Dry Perfection Heat Protectant Cream

from $43 at MECCA

Townsend uses this product when he's trying to smooth frizzy hair in the pre-styling phase of a hair routine.

"This stuff is insane," he joked. "I used to do a cocktail of three different products in my hands. This is like all those products put back into one tube. It's the heat protectant that I need. It's gonna seal up the hair and it really does soften the hair."

When Townsend has a client in his chair with coarse hair, he likes to apply this heat protectant to really wet hair to seal up the hair cuticle prior to blow drying for a smooth, frizz-free finish.

3/ Living Proof No Frizz Instant De-Frizzer

from $54 at Selfridges

While most people love Living Proof's dry shampoo (read: Lily Collins), Townsend prefers the brand's Instant De-Frizzer. 

"I spray [it] on a comb, after completely [styling] the hair, and then comb through my waves, straight hair, whatever it is," he explained. "It really does take down any frizz. This is in my pocket on photo shoots all the time."

"I'm not getting the texture I want [from the Living Proof Dry Shampoo] ($46 from MECCA) — I mean I use a dry shampoo as more of a texturiser — not as an actual dry shampoo," he revealed. "As a dry shampoo, it's fantastic. It's [just] a little too much for me [as a texturiser]."

In the past he's admitted to loving the Dove Hair Dry Shampoo Refresh & Care ($7 from Woolworths), but he's very particular with his application method. He sprays it onto a hairbrush and then brushes the product through the hair.

"They're really not supposed to be ever left in the hair," he explained.  

4/ California Born Days of Dirt

from $57 at California Born

Next up, is this men's hair grooming cream from California Born, which Townsend likes to warm up in the palms of his hands, and rake through the lengths and ends of hair, to create piece-y definition and texture. 

"It smells so great," Townsend gushed. "It gives it really good shine."

5/ L’Oréal Paris Elnett

from $8.99 at Chemist Warehouse

"She's an icon," Townsend joked, referring to L’Oréal Paris' Elnett hairspray. "It's untouchable at this point. I know so many companies that have tried to do it."

"I can spray this in a client's hair 100 times a day during a photo shoot, and I've never seen a flake," he continued.

"I feel like people have demonised hairspray in a huge way. You still need it. I still use it," he explained. "The aerosols have changed in a huge way. Unilever, L'Oréal, Procter and Gamble; these companies have really done the research. They want their products to still be available without killing the ozone as well, [and] they're making really good strides there."

Main image credit: @marktownsend1

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