Last night, Grammy-nominated presenter Teyana Taylor was running fashionably late to the 68th annual Grammy Awards red carpet—but for good reason. For one, her hairstylist Nikki Nelms says she was giving the Escape Room artist a completely reference-free look.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 01: (FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY) Teyana Taylor attends the 68th GRAMMY Awards at Crypto.com Arena on February 01, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Amy Sussman/Getty Images)
“We actually started out going in a whole other direction,” she tells ESSENCE. “But [we] redirected and did this look minutes before the carpet.” It’s also detour from some of her most recent looks, like her pixie tails at Schiaparelli Couture and mullet pixie at the Pre-Golden Globes Party.
Instead of referencing her previous looks, Nelms gave Taylor a slicked, face-framing sculpt with flipped ends. “For a sleek look like this, it’s all about the hold,” she says, using a brush to smooth every strand with OGX’s Touchable Hold Gel and Flexible Hold Spray one layer at a time. “Once we had the smoothness we were looking for, we flipped the ends for some added drama.”
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 01: (FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY) Teyana Taylor attends the 68th GRAMMY Awards at Crypto.com Arena on February 01, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Amy Sussman/Getty Images)
Since the look was a heat >Dyson Supersonic r‘s with a gentle air attachment to lay down the hair—Nelms used the Bond Protein Repair as a protectant before adding the flip, then finished off the look with an oil mist. The >L’Oreal’s Lumi Glotion. “Her skin is already unreal, so the goal was to enhance that richness and let it radiate under those lights.”
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 01: Teyana Taylor attends the 68th GRAMMY Awards at Crypto.com Arena on February 01, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)
Paired with a metallic red manicure and custom Tom Ford gown, “it all tells one story,” says Nelms. “The wardrobe would not be finished without the hair and vice versa, so we worked together to create a look that complements and shines a light on all elements.”
TOPICS: 2026 Grammys best red carpet beauty Teyana Taylor
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