This is How I Do (My Hair)

Alright, here goes nothing! I was hesitant about posting this blog because of the quality of the photos (the picky photographer in me just takes over sometimes), but I figured the tutorial is more important than the actual photos. So, anyway, here is my soft curls how-to!

I’ll be honest, I owe the discovery of my magic hair tool to my best friend, Lauren. Before I lived with her, I didn’t own a blow-drier, curling iron, or straightener (I actually still don’t have a straightener).  After I discovered how beautiful her hair looked after using the wand I kept stealing hers to do my hair! Her and my other college roommates all finally pitched in and bought me my wand Junior year, after that I was hooked! So, I’m passing on the magic to all of you who have asked me how I do my hair.

Let’s start from the beginning. My hair is naturally board straight, so it takes a lot of effort to keep it curled. I like to shower the night before if I need my hair to stay put all day, but for this tutorial I started with wet hair to show a couple of products I like to use.

Step 1: Products

My mom recently introduced me to Mark Hill hair products (she met him in London, but that’s another story). He’s based out of England but recently, thank goodness, started selling his products at Walgreens. I’ve never been attached to any hair products, I pretty much used to change them every time, but now I am so obsessed with these few products. Also, just to throw it out there, he did not send me these or pay me to say this! I really am in love with his stuff!

The first is his MiracOILicious Argan Oil. This tiny little bottle will change your life. It helps with frizz, keeps your hair healthy during heat treatment, and the best part, it speeds up drying time! Thick-haired girls, can I get an AMEN?! I part my hair to either side of my shoulders and use one pump for each side, staying away from my scalp. 

My second can’t-live-without product is his Defrizz-ilicious Bedazzled Anti Humidity Shine Spray.  This stuff is really meant to be sprayed on after you style you hair, but I like to add a little when it’s still wet. I’ve found that it helps support my curling efforts while keeping my locks shiny. If you don’t have a problem keeping your hair curled, you can probably use it after!

Step 2: Drying

I have thick, heavy hair that tends to lay pretty close to my scalp. Because of this, the drying step is a really important one to do correctly! I alternate drying with my hair flipped over my head and pulled up with my roots lifted. It’s an arm workout but I definitely can see a difference between the times when I’m lazy and the times when I do it right. I find that volumizing mousses make my hair greasy, so this is my alternative.

Voila! Nice, lifted, clean hair. Time to get started on the curling.

Step 3: Curling

Say hello to my little friend! I use the Enzo Milano 1″ barrel clipless curling iron, AKA my magic wand. Get it? Haha! It’s sold out, but Target sells one almost identical to it. You can find it here.

Disclaimer: I am not using a glove in this tutorial because I am silly and lost mine. I have been using this product for years and still occasionally burn myself, so PLEASE use a glove.

I have some pretty blunt layers, so I have to pull them up and do my long layers first. If your hair is all the same length, though, definitely don’t do this and just do all your hair together. It takes WAY less time and will look fluffier.

Comb your hair and get out any tangles.

Take a small-ish section of your hair. The bigger the section, the bigger and fluffier the curls. If my hair would hold, I would do my whole head with only 5 sections, I love the bigger look! But, alas, the smaller sections hold better.

Twist the section of hair a couple of times and wrap it around the barrel of the wand. Once you get to the end, carefully hold the end piece as close as you can to the barrel without burning yourself. If you want a more surfer-girl, effortless beach look, stop and leave about an inch off of the barrel. I like having the end pretty curled, though!

See, that’s pretty close. You need a glove, I promise.

I won’t tell you how long to hold your hair on the wand, I think every girl’s hair takes heat differently and you should use your own judgement.

Once you’re ready, gently drop the curled section into your palm and hold it until it’s cool. This is another step for dedicated gals whose hair doesn’t like to hold curls. If your hair holds, skip this, it can be tedious but worth it. Letting it cool in my palm makes a huge difference to my hair.

Now I’m on to my top layers. Complete the same steps with them!

Step 4: Finishing Up

Woohoo, that was an arm workout!

Time to use some hair spray. After I’m done, I do a pretty generous layer of hairspray to finish the look. I honestly won’t recommend a hairspray to you because in all my 24 years I have still not found one that I love. If you have a recommendation for me, please leave it in the comments!!

Yay, now we look like Goldie Locks!

Just kidding, we’re not done. When I’m getting ready for an event I will finish my hair and leave it in this spiraled state until right before it’s time to leave, then I will comb it out. Combing it out too early or too much will cause it to fall faster.

Use a thick-toothed comb and carefully run through the curls a couple of times until you feel like it looks more natural. Don’t over-do it or you will ruin all your hard work!

And that’s all she wrote!

I hope this has been helpful! Let me know if you have any questions, comments, suggestions, anything! I’m by no means an expert and would love to hear any feedback 🙂

Thanks for reading!