Rumi is a pop star, demon slayer and hair goals. (Netflix)Enter scene: The bathroom. A mom stands behind her daughter, staring at the mirror. A brush in hand, elastics up her wrist, she works tirelessly to create a braid that emulates the strength and power of a demon slayer.
She's only mortal, but she knows the pressure is on: She's trying to sculpt her little one's hair to look like the KPop Demon Hunters heroine whose long, voluminous lavender braid is the style of the summer. Mom does her best. Rumi's animated after all. That still hasn't stopped young girls from wanting to re-create her look in real life.
Since its June 20 release, the animated film - about a fictional K-pop girl group Huntr/x, made up of Rumi (Arden Cho), Mira (May Hong) and Zoey (Ji-young Yoo) - has become a record-breaking sensation for Netflix. It's the most-watched animated movie in the streamer's history and No. 2 on its all-time most popular list with 210.5 million views. The soundtrack has exploded too, dominating four of the top five spots on the Billboard Global 200, led by the anthem "Golden."AdvertisementAdvertisementThe fiercely stylish and ultra-talented characters, who lead double lives as demon hunters, have sparked an online beauty phenomenon, where fans, cosplayers and hairstylists are re-creating the trio's bold looks. The breakout favorite is Huntr/x frontwoman Rumi's purple 'do - high-swept, thick, rope-like braid that's dramatic enough to whip around in battle.
Jinu and Rumi in a scene from KPop Demon Hunters. (Netflix)Google Trends data for July shows that "rumi hairstyle" spiked +1,360% following KPop Demon Hunters' release, and it was the top trending "hair tutorial." People also searched the term "dragon braid," a style (also known as "pull-through braid") that resembles the mythical creature's scales, more than ever before in the same time period.
On TikTok, there are seemingly endless Rumi braid tutorials, showing kids and women of all ages (as well as the occasional male) copying her coif, most set to the soundtrack songs.
Animated characters have long influenced hair trends - think Elsa's blond braid in Frozen, Cruella de Vil's black-and-white bob or Moana's natural waves. But KPop Demon Hunters marks a shift: It isn't from Disney, yet it's reaching a broad mainstream audience, including parents and kids who may not typically follow K-pop or anime.
AdvertisementAdvertisementWith its blend of female empowerment, demon-slaying fantasy, music that takes you "up, up, up" and cool characters viewers want to embody, the movie has become a pop culture powerhouse in its own right this summer.
Larger-than-life"I mean, who doesn't love a big, bold hairstyle like that?" Ryan Terhune, a content creator who goes by @GingerSnark, tells Yahoo. She re-created the look for a video with 9.9 million views on TikTok and another 9.3 million on YouTube. "Something so cartoony and larger-than-life was incredibly fun to bring off the screen and into reality."Terhune demonstrated the hairdo using both Dutch and dragon braid styles. For Dutch, which is closest to Rumi's look in the back, you start by bumping up the hair in the front, then take three strands and cross the outer ones under the middle ones as you braid down, adding more sections of hair as you get to the end. It results in a braid that sits on top of the head.
The dragon method is fuller and involves multiple ponytails. You start with one small section in the top center, weaving two strands around and behind it, creating a second. Fluffing up the front as you go, Terhune splits the first ponytail, flips the second one through and then brings the halves back together. You add more sections of hair as you plait, similar to the Dutch style, fanning out the pieces of the braid for volume.
AdvertisementAdvertisementFor wannabe demon slayers with extra-long tresses, Terhune recommends switching off the shoulder you're braiding over so that the look falls straight down your back.
Ryan Terhune - a hairstyle, fantasy and pop culture content creator - shows off her Rumi 'do. (Courtesy of Ryan Terhune)Terhune has had a few similar videos - like one inspired by Queen Charlotte from Bridgerton - go viral. However, "I was definitely pleasantly surprised by how much everyone seemed to like this one," she says.
She says styling her strands to mimic Rumi's took about 30 minutes to complete: 25 for the braid, and five more to accessorize it with gold jewelry. (The redhead opted not to color her entire head purple.)Making hair tutorials based on the Huntr/x trio has netted her more than 20 million views across her social media channels.
AdvertisementAdvertisementTerhune also filmed how-to's for Mira's and Zoey's hairstyles. The former is chest to waist locks with two high pigtails (in a raspberry pink onscreen), while the latter is twin braided buns with microbangs. Each style took five to 10 minutes for Terhune to pull together and brought in 111K and 204K views on TikTok to date, respectively. A