How the Countess of Wessex relies on one updo for her royal tours 

The Countess of Wessex uses a ‘clever trick’ to add volume to her hair while looking stylish and practical on her overseas trips, a celebrity hairstylist has revealed.

Sophie, 57, who is currently on a royal tour of Gibraltar with her husband Prince Edward has perfected a the optimum no-nonsense up do for any occasions.  

She has taken to pinning her hair in one big swoop at the back of her head, a style that looks on sleek and on trend, but only takes seconds to do, according to celebrity stylist Tom Smith, International Creative Director at Evo.

Sophie sported the hairdo during her tour of Gibraltar this week as she dealt with temperatures reaching 30 degrees. 

The Countess of Wessex has found an ideal updo for her royal tours needs (pictured in Indian in 2019) 

Whatever she decides to wear, Sophie makes sure her hair is also neatly styled when she steps out on engagements away from home (pictured in Gibraltar this week with Prince Edward) 

In April, she also sported the do during her and Prince Edward’s tour of the Caribbean in April, and when she toured India in 2019. 

Tom told FEMAIL the royal took advantage of her blonde highlights to blend her greying locks in and hide her roots while she’s away on tour. 

‘Using pale cream coloured highlights blended with her natural scattering of grey hair in an “of the moment” “herringbone highlight” effect.

‘Seen on various celebrities who are keen to embrace their grey hair part of their hair colour design,’ Tom said. 

The royal also sported the hairstyle when she stopped in St Lucia during her tour of the Caribbean 

‘This also makes it very low maintenance as it compliments her natural hair colour pattern.

‘So Sophie won’t need regular root touch ups which is helpful while she is away on tour,’ the stylist added. 

And he also revealed that the royal uses a trick to add more volume to the hairdo.  

The elegant hairdo consists in a loose bun pinned at the back of Sophie’s hair with a discreet hair pin

The swoop of hair on the side of Sophie’s face adds a touch of elegance to the do, no matter what her outfit 

‘I can see that the placement of her parting is actually slightly to the left of where her hair naturally falls,’ he said.

‘This gives an extra lift and volume around her face as the hair is being pushed against the direction that it is naturally used to settling in to,’ he explained.

The stylist added this is a ‘clever trick’ to add volume to the roots where there isn’t ‘time or inclination to do a voluminous blow dry.

Keeping her hair up allows Sophie to take on any activities without having to worry about ruining her hair 

‘Having the hair swept softly up and back is a great way of making finer hair appear thicker while retaining length,’ explained. 

The stylist added that thanks to her hair twisting trick, Sophie can then rely on a selection of hairpins to elevate the looks.  

‘Hair accessories of various types have been popular for a while and a gentle clasp or hair clip to secure the twisted up hair is a great choice,’ he said.