Everyone has seen the Instagram and Pinterest photos of women with gorgeous long curly locks. You spend an hour (or more) in front of the mirror, spinning a scalding iron around your head, creating the perfect curls that will hopefully be brushed out into the messy waves of your dreams. Then, after all that time, your hair falls flat before you even walk into the restaurant and you’re left wondering why isn’t my hair curly? Womp Womp.
I have always had very fine hair that refuses to hold a curl. I entered beauty pageants as a kid (#nbd), and my grandma used to have to curl my hair and put it on sponge rollers to make them stay long enough to last the pageant. No one has time for that, but I also know my lifeless curls need an overhaul.
So why exactly does our hair lose shape so quickly? I went on a mission to find out what I was doing wrong (self-awareness is key), and yes, it was a lot. This is what I have learned from my mistakes.
You Are Not Using The Right Tools
Curling your hair is more than the old curling iron your mom gave you your freshman year for homecoming. Upgrade your flat iron to something higher quality with ceramic plates that heat equally throughout the process, this way your curls are the same size throughout the process. Many people think that their flat irons need to get really hot to get the best curls. If you have very thick hair, you’ll want a higher heat than someone with finer or finer hair; however, you shouldn’t need an iron set higher than 300 degrees, and make sure your iron is never set higher than 400 degrees.
Pay attention to the size of the barrel. Short hair would benefit from a thinner barrel because you can wrap your hair around the barrel more times and it forces you to use smaller sections. People often think that you need a big wand to make messy waves. I’m not telling you what to do, but using a smaller barrel will make the curls tighter from the start so they fall throughout the day.
You Are Not Properly Preparing Your Hair
The preparation is almost as important as the actual work of curling your hair! One trick to make your curls last is to use a setting product before putting the flat iron on your hair. Whether it’s a moose, heat protectant, hairspray, or dry texture spray, your hair will already be primed to hold the curl. I love dry texture spray instead of hairspray because it gives your hair a bit of grit that allows it to cling to the iron instead of slipping and adds a nice messy texture.
