How To: Bryce Alakai’s Textured, Swept-Back Hair from the Love Island USA Reunion
How to create Bryce Alakai's signature textured, swept-back hair. Follow the step-by-step breakdown behind his Love Island USA Reunion look, created by stylist Nathaniel Dezan using R+Co AIRCRAFT Pomade Mousse and SKYLINE Dry Shampoo Powder.
For the Love Island USA Season 8 Reunion, Los Angeles hairstylist Nathaniel Dezan created a modern take on classic 1950s rock and roll hair for Season 8 winner Bryce Alakai using R+Co's AIRCRAFT Pomade Mousse and SKYLINE Dry Shampoo Powder. The Los Angeles-based DJ, model and reality star won the season alongside Trinity Tatum after the couple connected on Day 1 in the Villa and stayed together throughout the season.
Premiering August 31, 2026, the Love Island USA Season 8 Reunion brings the Islanders back together to revisit the summer’s biggest moments, relationships and post-Villa developments. For Bryce’s reunion look, Nathaniel—whose other celebrity clients include Kim Petras, Phoebe Bridgers, Charles Melton and Benito Skinner—turned to R+Co AIRCRAFT Pomade Mousse and SKYLINE Dry Shampoo Powder to create an elevated style that still felt effortless and true to Bryce.
“I created a modern twist on the '50s rock and roll icons, while keeping it true to Bryce’s vibe by giving texture to his hair," Nathaniel says. "Sweeping up and back, for a more elevated look but still remaining soft, textured, messy and easy. It’s a modern twist to the classic '50s hair. With a bit of volume, swept upward and back with pieces falling on the face.”
Here’s how Nathaniel created Bryce's Love Island Reunion Look with R+Co:
AIRCRAFT Pomade Mousse On Bryce's damp hair, Nathaniel applied R+Co AIRCRAFT Pomade Mousse before pinning and placing Bryce’s hair into the desired shape. He then diffused the hair to begin setting the style. Once it was nearly dry, Nathaniel removed the pins and scrunched the hair with the diffuser, helping create the soft texture, movement and volume that gave the retro-inspired shape its modern, effortless finish.
SKYLINE Dry Shampoo Powder To perfect the look, Nathaniel finished with R+Co SKYLINE Dry Shampoo Powder, using it to enhance volume and texture. The added lift helped maintain the upward-and-back shape while preserving the deliberately undone quality of the style, allowing a few pieces to fall naturally around Bryce’s face.
The finished look balanced the polished volume of a classic 1950s rock and roll style with the soft, tousled texture that has become part of Bryce’s signature aesthetic. The perfect update for his return to the Love Island USA spotlight.
