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How to get Robert Pattinsons hair

Yearning for that hipster, just-rolled-out-of-bed tousled ’do? Be prepared to work for it. Brad Pitt and Jake Gyllenhaal may make it look as easy as a shower and a shake, but remember: They’ve got a whole crew of pros working on their domes.

 “That effortless look is anything but effortless,” says Tom Della Corte, a stylist at Riccardo Maggiore Salon in New York City who’s been messing up men’s hair for four decades. “Almost anyone with a head of hair can look good with casual messed-up hair, and it’s a great way to hide a cowlick, bald spot or receding hairline.” Follow these tips and you’ll be looking like Robert Pattinson in no time.

 Get a Good Cut. Sure, your neighborhood barber may only set you back 10 clams, but, says Della Corte, “If you want to look Ralph Lauren by day and rock star by night, you need a good, adaptable professional cut. You need something that you can comb back neatly for work, but then tousle for after-hours. This messy look requires good razor technique or thinning sheers to taper the ends so they can stand up, and Joe the barber might not be up to the task. Drop the dough on a good cut, and plan to get it trimmed every four to six weeks.”

Learn to sculpt the look you want before leaving the salon. Get your stylist to show you which products to use and how to work them into your hair. Here are the steps:

1. Squirt a quarter-size drop of product into your hand. (Della Corte recommends gel, or styling sprays marked “texturizer” or “re-shaper.”)

2. Work through your hair with your hands, roots to end, small pieces at a time.

3. Don’t comb or blow-dry. Use either a gel or a spray, but never both -- it could cause your hair to look dirty and overdone.

Suzanne Gerber is a writer whose work has appeared in InStyle, Elle, Redbook, Westport and Greenwich magazines. She’s also a former editorof Vegetarian Times and Pilates Style.