Belmont Cameli’s Hairstylist on How to Get His Curly Saint Laurent Look

You probably know Belmont Cameli for two things. One, he’s the lead in hockey romance show Off Campus. (Even if you didn't watch it, you probably know someone who did.) And two, he has great hair.The second part is thanks in part to his hairstylist Aika Flores. She started working with Cameli this summer, adding to a roster of clients that includes fellow Off Campus actor Antonio Cipriano, and Heated Rivalry’s Hudson Williams. Hot hockey It-boys, it seems, is her specialty.“One of my favorite hair types to work with is textured and curly hair,” she tells GQ over the phone, not long after styling Cameli for his first Saint Laurent show in Paris. Wearing a black suit with no shirt, Cameli's curls fell in front of his face, instead of the pushed back style he usually goes for.Aika FloresAika Flores“Belmont has always worn it pretty wild and pretty free," says Flores. "I just try my best to make sure I'm not changing him so that he doesn't feel like himself. A lot of it is just elevating what he currently has, working with his texture and just creating a little bit more uniform with his hair.”Flores says that his hairstyle is always decided after his stylist, Sydney Lopez, locks in the fit. She believes curly hair, in particular, can help add a particular vibe to a look.“I feel like curly hair has become a sort of accessory,” she says. “For a long time, curly hair was something [men] were trying to tame, trying to put away. But now I think men are wanting to create a look around their hair. [Curly hair] is just freer. It also frames the face really nicely.”For this one, Cameli and Flores were toying with the idea of going super slicked back, because the fit was “really slim, and very tailored to his body.” But once he'd put it on, they switched it up. “The contrast of the suit being so tailored and so sexy, we were like, ‘let’s just do tousled, in-your-face curls and really bring them out in the front.’”Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Getty ImagesFor it, Flores started by applying the Tresemmé Bouncy Curls Defining Mousse into damp, fresh hair. “Super clean hair sometimes doesn't behave as much,” she says. “So I needed a little bit more like hydration and grit.” Then, she applied the Tresemmé Bouncy Curls Leave-in Refresher, “to add in a little more moisture and revive his curls,” before the Tresemmé Bouncy Curls Defining Mousse, “to give some volume, get some of that frizz out and really lock in the curls.” After diffusing (blow drying with a circular extension specifically for curly hair) until they're dry, Flores added in a bit more of that defining cream to shape some individually.Flores describes Cameli's curly hair as ‘adaptable.’ Sometimes, she can scrunch his curls so that they're more coily, and on other days, she can manipulate the hair into a looser wave. For her, the key to curly hair working with you, rather than against you, is investing in a good haircut.“A lot of the curls sit right at the nape,” she says. “It needs to have layers. It needs to have texture built in and the weight taken out, so that the curls are a little bit more airy. Curly hair shrinks when it dries. So if if somebody is cutting it wet, make sure they leave enough length."That'll make your hair easier to manage outside of the barber. “Less is more,” she say. "Work smarter, not harder. Put the correct products in order and on damp hair, and really don't touch it as it dries, as that's going to cause frizz. Let it live the way you want to.”TresemmeBouncy Curls Defining MousseA version of this story appeared in British GQ.