Hair How-To

One of the top questions/comments/emails I get most is for my hair when I wear it curled. Thank you everyone for all of your compliments and inquiries, I appreciate each one of them, they really make my day!
I'm pretty lucky in the hair department (God gave me good hair I guess instead of a naturally flat stomach- I'll take what I can get!) in that my hair is easy to manage and holds a curl really well. I have "normal" thick hair, but it's very fine so I can get great volume on my hair because it's not weighed down, but sometimes I have a difficulty with getting a thicker braid or more fullness so I sometimes wear 2-3 tracks of extensions to help me out. I also wash and blow-dry my hair every 3-4 days depending on how it looks. My hair isn't oily so on the days I have to go an extra day I use Tresemme Freshstart Dry Shampoo (see a review here). I also use a deep conditioner every other week.

Here are some products I use everytime I wash my hair; Tresemme Thermal Creations Heat Tamer, Tresemme 24 Hour Body Root Boosting Spray, Herbal Essence Long Term Relationship Split End Protector, and Paul Mitchell Super Skinny Serum.

First I blow-dry my hair completely and sometimes use 2-4 velcro rollers at my crown:


Then I part my hair in layers going from the bottom up- I roughly separate it at my ears and below, then the end of my eyebrows, temple, then the remaining hair- and use a totally 80s scrunchie to separate because I've found that the scrunchie leaves less of a "dent" on my hair then a claw clip, but whatever works for you. I then use a 1 1/4 inch curling iron and curl from the TOP DOWN (vs bottom up), this is very important because it gives you body at the root and middle part of your hair instead of just the ends. It also curls your hair completely instead of just the tips. Curling your hair this way makes a significant difference in how long your curls will last. A few people I've done their hair for have started curling their hair this way instead of the bottom up and have told me what a difference it's made for them.


Ok, so start at the top 1 1/2 to 2 inches with the curling iron and curl up leaving the ends loose and out of the curling iron's clasp. Hold for a few seconds (I do 10 second when I have the time and I'm going out).  I like to curl my hair so it curls away from my face on each side, I think it helps minimize the chubiness of my cheeks, and I like that 70's type vibe a lot. Depending on what works best for your hair you can use hairspray before or after each curl. I hold my curling iron barrel vertically, but holding horizontally gives a slightly different look for the curl that also looks really cute.

Then release the clasp and slide down to the middle section of your hair and curl all the way up leaving just the ends loose. Hold a few seconds.



Finally, slide the barrell all the way down to the ends and curl up to the root. Hold a few seconds.


After I have my entire head curled, I spray it with hairspray and wait a few minutes to let the curls "set". Your hair sets not just with heat, but how it cools.

Sidenote: If you hair doesn't hold a curl well or you need the curls to last longer than usual, try curling your hair and the pinning it at the roots. At this point, you will look like curly sue!

Once your hair is ready, rake your fingers through your hair to break up the curls. Then style as desired, I tease my crown (using Velcro rollers helps to get even more height) and the front sides. Hairspray again and you're ready to go!


Here's how it looks with all my own hair:

Here's how it looks with 2-3 tracks of extensions. I use the same method of curling for the extensions, but curl them before putting them in because I find it's easier:

How was this little tutorial? Was I clear on how to do it? Did you find it helpful?

How do you curl your hair? Do you wear your hair curled often?