With the holiday season upon us, styling your hair into a long, wavy cascade of soft curls does not have to take hours with a curling iron. If you have straight hair, use a styling gel and either sleep with your hair wound around strips of cloth to soft curl it, or use a curling iron. If you have naturally curly hair, you probably need a gentle shampoo, light conditioner, setting gel and just soft finger fluffing.
Step 1
Start with clean hair and shampoo with a gentle chamomile or vitamin-fortified product. Vitamins A and E are especially good for the hair follicles to "plump" them up. Hair is made from keratin and responds well to all antioxidant vitamins: A, C, E, selenium and zinc.
Step 2
Use a light conditioner regardless if you have straight or curly hair. Avoid using a heavy hair conditioner, as it may weigh down hair and suppress the curls you are trying to achieve. If you have slightly oily hair, use the conditioner only on the ends of hair---where hair breakage is more common. Rinse and blot towel dry hair. Use a hairdryer at low setting and dry it until it is just damp.
Step 3
Spritz a hair styling gel if you want to use a curling iron. This will protect your hair from heat damage from repeated curling and drying hair. If you have curly hair, use a product especially for curly hair that will preserve your natural curls and help to prevent frizzy hair.
Step 4
Wind individual, one-inch sections of straight hair around cloth strips with either homemade or commercial cloth "curlers." Work so that you can wrap each section of hair all the way from the ends to the scalp so that you form a loop. Fasten with hair pins.
Step 5
Sleep with your hair in these soft curlers that will not dig into your scalp or face or leave them in for at least 20 minutes before removing. If you are short on time, skip the soft curlers and use a curling iron. Wrap one-inch sections of hair around the wand of the iron and steam press briefly for less than 10 seconds before releasing: do not brush or comb out. Spritz with a moisturizing hair product to prevent heat damage.
Things You'll Need
- Shampoo
- Hair conditioner
- Styling gel
- Wide-toothed comb
- Curling iron
- 15 to 20 strips of cotton, two inches long and one inch wide
- Hair dryer with diffuser attachment
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