Hair by Gair/Gault

How to re-create Madonna’s new hair style: that’s the burning beauty question of the moment.

The super star kicked off the Los Angeles engagement of her world tour last weekend, swinging a stick straight, fake ponytail that set the stage for a new look. The wanna-bes are already wearing the look.

With her own hair severely slicked back and a platinum-blond switch springing from the crown of her head, the look is part “I Dream of Jeannie” (the ‘60s sitcom that starred Barbara Eden), part “Star Trek” femme fatale .

It was created by Joanne Gair and Sharon Gault, both with the Cloutier Agency. They worked on the sci-fi retro style together. It takes 45 minutes to put in place, and requires lacquering Madonna’s own short hair, anchoring a braided spiral hairpiece at the crown of her head and sewing a fake ponytail to the braid.

Already, stylists around town are re-creating the look for clients.

“The trick is pulling hair as tight to the head as possible,” says Le Maire, whose salon is in West Hollywood. She recommends pomades or even a little hand lotion as well as spraying hair “until it clings.”

To secure the ponytail, Le Maire uses sturdy hair pins as close to the hair color as possible, placing them in a criss-cross, circular pattern that forms “a little fortress” at the crown. That way, “when you’re on the dance floor, your hair doesn’t end up on the other side of the club.” Finally, she braids a section of the switch and wraps it around the base.

The 25- to 32-inch-long fake ponytails at Hollywood Toys and Costumes offer an inexpensive way to try out the look. They’re priced from $5.99. (Madonna’s switch is about 30 inches long.) Synthetic “Jeannie” ponytails up to 28 inches, with a braided coil at the base and an attached comb, sell for $38 at Cal East Imports in Beverly Hills.