Kim Kardashian's Hairstylist Chris Appleton Gave Me Her Epic Met Gala Ponytail: WATCH

Kaitlyn Frey
·3 min read
MET Gala 2021 Kim Kardashian
MET Gala 2021 Kim Kardashian

Theo Wargo/Getty

We all know Kim Kardashian West loves rocking a snatched ponytail. She's done plenty of memorable looks over the years, but the star's 2021 Met Gala up-do may just be her most major one to date.

To pull together Kardashian West's completely covered Balenciaga ensemble (complete with a full face mask), her go-to hairstylist Chris Appleton created a jaw-dropping ponytail moment with 75-inch hair extensions that cost $10,000.

"Honestly it was just about creating a look," Appleton tells PEOPLE. Initially, the pro says Kardashian West considered either doing "a bun" or "literally just do no hair" for the look. "Because, you know, she's covering her face," he says.

But Appleton convinced her to add a touch of drama with the floor-length ponytail. "Then I was like, 'You need to do a little something.' I had a reference of that really long pony that I've done before," he explains.

Kim Kardashian attends The 2021 Met Gala Celebrating In America: A Lexicon Of Fashion at Metropolitan Museum of Art on September 13, 2021 in New York City. (Pho
Kim Kardashian attends The 2021 Met Gala Celebrating In America: A Lexicon Of Fashion at Metropolitan Museum of Art on September 13, 2021 in New York City. (Pho

Theo Wargo/Getty

"I was like, 'Let's do that super long pony to the floor,' and I thought that looked really, really good, Appleton says. "Everyone seemed to like it."

RELATED: Kim Kardashian Still Got Glam with Full Face of Makeup Despite Wearing a Head Mask to 2021 Met Gala

It took about two and a half hours of preparation with Kardashian West's full glam team to get her ready for the red carpet. "It was chill. We were just relaxing, no stress," Appleton says.

Kim Kardashian arrives for the 2021 Met Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on September 13, 2021 in New York
Kim Kardashian arrives for the 2021 Met Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on September 13, 2021 in New York

Eduardo Munoz Alvarez / AFP/ Getty

Once her hair was complete, Kardashian West slipped on her now-famous face covering, which was designed with a small hole in the back, and Appleton pulled the ponytail through so it could fall down to the floor.

When PEOPLE got the chance to have a meet-up with Appleton (COVID-19 precautions were taken), we had to ask him to create a Kim K Met Gala-inspired look — and of course, he obliged. Surprisingly, doing the sky-high style isn't as challenging as you may think.

RELATED: Celeb Hairstylist Chris Appleton Is Launching a Hair Mask That Will Give You JLo-Level Shine

From beginning to end, Appleton coats the roots, extensions and baby hairs with tons of Color Wow Cult-Favorite Coat Hairspray. "I spray throughout the whole head of hair so we get a really nice, flat base when I comb the ponytail back," Appleton explains. "It makes it look nice and snatched, and there are no lumps and bumps."

From there, the rest is simple: using a paddle brush, pull sections of the hair back into a ponytail and spritz more hairspray as needed for additional grip. Wrap a bungee hair band around, securing your ponytail hair extensions (Appleton says The Hair Store offers great velcro clip-ins).

To give it that high-shine, glossy finish Kardashian West's known for, Appleton sprayed a generous amount of Color Wow Extra Mist-ical Shine Spray throughout the hair.

Ready to take on the look yourself? Check out Appleton's step-by-step how-to on PEOPLE's TikTok, above.

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