US Olympic figure skater Alysa Liu inspires halo hair trend

The Winter Olympics might be over, but there's one competitor everyone's still talking about: US Olympic figure skater Alysa Liu, and fans are taking inspiration from her.

The 20-year-old won two gold medals in Milan, one from the team figure skating event as part of Team USA, and one in the women's single figure skating event, the latter of which makes her the first American woman to win an individual figure skating Olympic medal in two decades.

Since competing at the Olympics, Liu's social media following has skyrocketed from 210,000 Instagram followers to a massive 5.6 million followers, becoming the newest sports star.

Liu's halo hair sparks new trend

Meanwhile, Liu's distinctive look has been a big talking point with her bold, two-toned halo hair, and the gold medallist has since revealed the inspiration behind the iconic style.

"I originally actually wanted raccoon stripes three years ago, but I was like, 'too much, too long and it's going to be hard to upkeep,'" the athlete said.

"Then I thought, I kind of want to be a tree, add a new ring every year, and so I did my second one the next year. It just grows out, and then so this year, I just did the same thing. I'm just gonna keep adding one every time."

Since her hair has been going viral, St. Louis-based hairstylist Kelsy Miller, who helped Liu achieve the look, believes more people will be requesting halo rings at the hair salon.

"For someone who's such a role model," Miller told KSDK, in reference to Liu. "I think definitely people are going to be wanting that."

She would be correct, as there have already been a number of TikTok videos showing women recreating the halo hairstyle themselves.

For example, a video by hairstylist Vale Landro (@colorby.val) recreating the look on a client has gone viral with over 5.4 million views, where she credits both Liu and Miller as inspiration.

"Creating an army of stripey baddies to serve as henchmen to Alysa Liu," hair stylist Zoe O'Day (@zoedoesyourhairtx) wrote, showing the halo hair she did for a client, and this has 1.8 million views.

Additionally, it's not just Liu's hair that everyone is inspired by, but also her mindset towards skating and her journey to Olympic gold.

Liu's inspiring journey from retirement to Olympic gold

At the age of 13, Liu became the youngest athlete to become the US women’s figure skating champion and was the first American woman to land a quadruple jump, and went on to win another national championship title in 2020.

Liu also won a bronze medal at the 2022 world championships in France and finished seventh at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.

So it came as a huge shock when Liu announced her retirement from skating in April 2022 at the age of 16.

"i started skating when i was 5 so that’s about 11 years on the ice and it’s been an insane 11 years," she wrote an Instagram post at the time. "i honestly never thought i would’ve accomplished as much as i did LMAOO i’m so happy. i feel so satisfied with how my skating career has gone.

Following her retirement, she began to experience life that didn't revolve around skating, spending time with friends, and travelling. But it was when she went skiing with her friends and felt a rush of adrenaline she hadn't felt since skating, which inspired her to return to the rink.

But this time around, it would be different, and on her own terms, which she put to her father and skating coaches.

"I get to pick my own program music," she recalled to CBS's 60 Minutes ahead of the Winter Olympics. "I get to help with the creative process of the program. If I feel like I'm skating too much, I'll back down. If I feel like I'm not skating enough, I'll ramp it up."

Another condition was that she dictated her diet, "No one's going to starve me," she said. "Or tell me what I can and can't eat."

Two years on from her return to the sport in 2024, Liu achieved her gold medal win at the Winter Olympics.

Liu praised for her mindset upon skating return

With her comeback, Liu had a renewed mindset to skate with joy rather than thinking about competition.

"What I like to share about myself is my story, my art and my creative process," she told NBC News. "I guess messing up doesn’t take away from that. It’s still something, it’s still a story. A bad story is still a story, and I think that’s beautiful.

"There’s no way to lose."

As for advice to her fans, Liu shared some of her words of wisdom.

"I don't know if I really want to be a role model, I would say," Liu told USA Today. "But I guess I am. So if anything, I just urge people to spend time with themselves, try new things, different things, just to gain experience, and then decide for themselves what they want to do.

"Taking breaks is OK, and yeah, sometimes taking a step back is what's needed to see the full picture."

On social media, people have been praising Liu's perspective and wishing they could share this outlook on life.

"I need to know Alysa Liu's brain works because I've never wanted to steal someone's mindset before," TikToker @anyainpixels posted which received 1.3 million views.

"Need to book with her therapist asap," said TikToker @noreservationsmatcha in a video compilation of Liu describing her mindset.

Liu's gala performance to PinkPantheress ft Zara Larsson goes viral

Following her gold medal win, Liu performed a routine at the Figure Skating Gala to the song Stateside by PinkPantheress ft Zara Larsson, and it's the internet's current obsession.

Fans noticed at the beginning of the routine how Liu incorporated choreography from the song's official music video with a viral TikTok showing a side-by-side comparison, and fans have been recreating the moment themselves.

The routine even got the attention of both PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson.

"I love her! She's so adorable, and she's the best. I'm so happy she skated to 'Stateside'. She killed it. She's amazing. She's beautiful. Ah!" PinkPantheress told British Vogue.

Zara Larsson also posted a TikTok of herself reacting to Liu's routine, as she admitted, "I’m soooo emotional!!!"

Elsewhere from Indy100, Women's ice hockey team decline Trump's invitation amid mocking, and All the biggest viral moments from the Winter Olympics.

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