So you’ve flat ironed your natural hair only to find that getting it to hold a curl is like trying to make the impossible happen. The trick to making curls last is not just finding a good hair spray. Actually, it’s all in the technique of prepping your hair for the curl from what you wash and condition your hair with to what you use to seal your curls and what you do with your hair at night. Here are a few of our tricks for how to get your hair to hold a curl so that you don’t have to keep frying your hair every day with a curling iron.
USE A LIGHT RINSE OUT CONDITIONER
Curly hair loves a thick and buttery conditioner but straight hair not so much since it can often make your straight hair too heavy and oily to hold a curl. You can still get the same moisturizing and sealing properties from a good light weight conditioner without the heaviness that you’ll need to avoid for bouncy hair.?Some good light weight conditioners we like Desert Essence Lemon Tea Tree Conditioner for Oily Hair, Rahua Conditioner and Living Proof?No Frizz Conditioner.
USE A LIGHT, WATER-BASED LEAVE-IN CONDITIONER
Your leave-in should be just as healthy as your rinse out but even lighter. A light, water-based leave-in will leave your hair moisturized but not weighed down. Living Proof No Frizz Leave-In Conditioner, Oyin Juices And Berries Nourshing Herbal Leave-in Hair Tonic, As I Am Leave In Conditioner, Infusium 23 Miracle Therapy Leave-In Spray and?Yarok Feed Your Ends Leave-In Conditioner and Heat Protectant are a fee good light weight leave-in conditioners.
USE AN ANTI-FRIZZ HEAT PROTECTANT SPRAY OR VERY LIGHT CREAM
This one is self explanatory so we won’t go into captain obvious mode here. A few brands we like are L’Oreal Blow It Dry, Alterna Bamboo Kendi Oil Dry Oil Mist and John Frieda Frizz Ease Heat Defeat Protective Spray
BLOW DRY YOUR HAIR USING THE TENSION METHOD
Using a quality blow dryer suited to your hair’s texture and needs, blow dry your hair in sections, applying tension to each section to pull each section straight while running the blow dryer up and down your hair to dry it (do not press the blow dryer on your hair). This method of blow drying your hair allow you to minimize the amount of heat you’ll need to put on your hair during your heat styling.
USE THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF HEAT TO CURL YOUR HAIR
You may be tempted to blow dry, flat iron and then curl your hair but try to avoid putting that much heat on your hair. Instead, after blowing out your hair, set your curling iron to the proper heat setting for your texture and curl your hair being sure to use small sections and moderate but comfortable tension when wrapping your hair around the barrel and avoiding laying the barrel on your scalp. Using too much heat on your hair in essence “exhausts” your strand and leaves them lifeless.
SET YOUR CURLS
This is where you can make or break your style. Like a good braid or twist out, your curls will look best after they’ve set for a while. After curling your hair, take a section (or sections if you want to combine a couple) and set them on rollers or clip your curls into place with a hair clip. If you can let your curls set for an hour or even overnight that would be ideal but if you’re tight on time, just make sure that your curls are completely cooled before you take them down so that you don’t lose them.
USE AN ANTI-HUMIDITY SPRAY AND LIGHT OIL
Once your curls are ready to be taken down, remove the rollers or clips and let them fall naturally without disturbing them. If you hair is in need of oil, use a light oil like olive or grapeseed oil to add gloss to your hair by smoothing a small amount (think pea-sized) over each individual curl. Instead of reaching for your classic hairspray to get your curls to hold, spray your curls with an-anti humidity spray and let them dry fully or apply an anti-humidity serum before you start to gently shake and fluff out your curls. An anti-humidity spray or serum will help to cut down on frizz during the styling process and help your curls last longer instead of just sitting on your hair like a net like hairspray would. Be sure to not pull your curls all the way out as your hair will naturally fall throughout the day and following days.
SET YOUR HAIR IN PIN CURLS AT NIGHT
To keep your curls as long as possible between washes, set your hair in pin curls at night gently fluff them out in the morning.
