Got curly hair hang ups?
Found a styling product that helps your hair – and now you go thru more of it than a baby does diapers?
All the frizz, mandated detangling, and mind-of-their-own action going on “up there” can get a curly girl down. Especially since many days are a gamble on how your mane will look knowing most days you will come out on the short end of the beauty stick.
If none of that describes your ultimate hair fantasy I understand.
Curly hair can be the bane of our existence. Leaving you looking for where you can make your offering to the unknown hair god you offended in a prior life — who blessed you with too many days looking like the “before” girl in a shampoo ad.
so if your mane is curly, but you still want it to be envy inducing, see if any of this might help.
Anymore Isabella Alves is almost a pro when it comes to curling and styling her hair.
“Yeah I’ve been styling my own hair for about 10 years now. So I guess I know most of what there is to know on how to style curly hair,” she laughed with an easy confidence.
Isabella’s shoulder length hair is full of gorgeous soft curls that look just great on her. She’s had the curls cut at various angles which is how she gets them to frame her face in such a flattering way. And she knows how to style it to keep it that way. So much so she receives her fair share of compliments as well as questions asking her to explain how she does it.
“Taming curly hair to do what you want can be quite a challenge,” admitted Isabella, lightly flipping her own curls back with her right hand as she spoke. “You need to have a lot of ideas when it comes to the question of styling naturally curly hair. The best thing is to decide upon the sort of curls you want first. Large loose curls or small tight ones? Then work your way on from there and figure out how to get them.”
Easier said than done because anyone with curls knows there are curly hair issues and problems galore, right?
And did you notice how she glossed over the lot of ideas part? Ugh!
Let’s press for more.
Curly Cues Cheat Sheet
What about specific styling tips for curly hair? Especially longer curly hair.
“That’s challenging,” confessed Alves. “Longer curly hair can go all limp and shapeless quite quickly if not constantly looked after. If you’ve got long curly hair, first get it shaped a little by a professional stylist. You can have it layered and cut at long low angles to define the curls and later on, get frequent trims every other month to keep the cut looking good. Or you can even have it straightened.”
“I like to use an old t-shirt to scrunch my hair to get out the excess moisture. Works better than a towel,” Isabella revealed. “Doesn’t stir up your hair either.”
You will also need a round headed brush for extra help when you’re learning how to style curly hair.
Above all, Isabella insisted that you don’t want to forget about regular moisturizing. “Which is especially important when you’re styling curly hair which tends to be on the dryer side naturally.”
When it comes to length stylists agree. The ideal length for curly hair is strands that fall below the chin and at most graze your collarbone. It’s might be best to skip any bang ambitions or at least proceed with caution. Curly bangs can be a handful and high maintenance at best. Unmanageable with a mind of their own would be another way some would put it.
Then as you should know there’s only one way to cut curls. Dry. Problem with a wet cut is your hair tends to shrink and that will change the shape of the style leading to unpredictable outcomes.
“When you hair is wet you want to help define the curls,” Alves asserted. “Some do this by twisting small sections around their index finger while their hair is still wet. That’s it. Nothing to it really. It’s easy to do. Yet you can sculpt your hair by using this trick.”
Good tip. Twirling strands like this lets you control the amount of curl. Again just twist a strand around your The larger the strand the looser the curl. The smaller the strand the tighter the curl. Got it?
Then bend over and scrunch your still wet hair. What’ you are doing is squeezing the excessive bounce out of the curls.
“Also personally I’ve found using baking soda works better than shampoos to cleanse my hair at times. I then follow that with a moisturizing conditioner.”
Now curls can do amazingly well under the guidance of a styling cream. Especially one chock full of natural good-for-your-hair ingredients like almond, jojoba or coconut oils. Applying less than a quarter sized dollop for shorter hair, more for longer, will seal in the moisture and helped to hold the curl. Do this from mid-strand to the tips and then disperse over your locks using a wide-tooth comb. Applied right like this your mane won’t end up crispy, sticky or scrunchy feeling either.
Mousse can be used much the same way. Just depends on what you’re more comfortable with. Or what you hair responds better to.
This one is important. “You can make sure your hair stays frizz free by only touching it as much as you have to when it’s damp,” Isabella added.
Definitely Use a Diffuser
While it’s best to let it air dry, if you use a blow dryer you want to use a diffuser. It will both speed dry time and your diffuser attachment is a great tool for frizz prevention. This tool also works to give your curls more definition.
How?
The diffuser softens the air flow by dispersing it.
Plus as you know a gentler, better dispersed airflow helps your curls to dry evenly.
And the best heat setting would be the highest one.
There’s a couple of ways to do this diffusing.
You’ll either want to cradle each section of hair you are drying with your hand.
Or you can let your curly locks drape on the diffuser.
Or you can simply push the diffuser deep into your hair.
To help your bouncy curls maintain their shape aim the dryer from the underside of your hair. You may find this is easiest to do if you bend forward and flip your hair forward.
Coax the strands around your face to be stars by setting them off with a ceramic curling iron. Once dried use your favorite heat protecting spray on each section of hair, wrap it around the iron, then release. Tousle as much or as little as you wish to get some life into your locks.
Finish up with a weightless shine spray to add gloss and to keep frizz and flyaways in check. Mist your entire head while holding the bottle about 12 to 15 inches away from your hair.
“And before I forget you can revive droopy curls by taking a closed curling iron and wrapping sections of the top layer of your mane around it. Leave the hair on the iron for about five seconds and you’ll notice a bit of improvement in the attitude of your curls.”
Okay but you may still be unsure as to how exactly to style longer curly hair so it looks cute and all. Then maybe you will find this video to be very helpful. It demonstrates how to get pretty curls into your longer style.
Styling Naturally Curly Hair
Note where this starts. With a deep conditioner.
Reason? No secret really. You need to keep those curls MOISURIZED!
Recommended frequency? Weekly.
Then reach for your wide tooth comb.
IMPORTANT! Start from the bottom to avoid breakage while getting any tangles out .
The word to remember? Gently.
Next she combs her curly mane towards her face. Well at least the parts that frame her face.
Reason? Personal preference. She feels her hair looks better. It helps that part of her hair do a better job of framing her face.
Key Step. So if you haven’t been, pay attention. You have to rewet your hair. And then scrunch it. To her curly hair doesn’t style well if you comb it out and go from there. In her case the reason is she wants to encourage the longer layers to curl up right.
If she isn’t rushed, she wraps her hair to let the towel or whatev soak up the excess water.
But normally she doesn’t have that luxury. So she uses a blow dryer with a diffuser. Nothing special. Just a Conair with diffuser. What she does is gently gather the hair towards her roots, then applies the diffuser against it. Even going for just 80% dry, this is not a fast process. A diffuser will take longer anyway since it’s not blasting your hair directly with heat. But…the payoff is soft, frizz-free curls.
And did you notice? This is a product free approach to styling curls.
Gorgeous!
Hopefully this brief “how to” will make it easier for you to style your curly hair. No matter how free spirited it is. Letting you get the most out of your natural, God-given, springy spirals any time you want.
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