Curls!

Holy shnikes! I have not blogged in WEEKS! Apparently, I really do need a 30 day challenge to get me to blog regularly. Oops! I have plenty I could talk about, but I'm going to do a little beauty post - something I haven't done in a while!

Whenever I curl my hair, I get asked how I get the curls to stay. Well, they don't ALWAYS stay. If it's super humid out, sometimes nothing helps. For some, their curls fall flat. For me, my hair gets frizzy and the curls change from "coiffed" to crazy with my natural curly texture. However, humidity aside, I can usually curl my hair and it will stay curled for a couple of days.

First, let me just say that I have thick, coarse hair and my hair type can hold a curl pretty well, but I've used this technique on others who have more of a fine, silky hair texture and it worked great! This isn't some magical trick - I think it's very common and have seen most hair stylists do it. I just wanted to show it being done by a non-professional, and also because I do get asked about it a lot.

You'll need a flat iron, duckbill clips (bobby pins will work if you have thinner hair than mine) and a touchable hair spray. I find that the curl I get from the flat iron stays longer - and my trusty old Chi and I have been straightening and curling my hair together for almost 10 years.

Start by sectioning your hair. I split mine into 3 large sections, horizontally. Top, middle and bottom (that was probably unnecessary to explain...). I start at the bottom and break that section into 3 even sections, splitting them vertically. Then each of those 3 sections gets broken into 3 more sections horizontally. Confused yet? Yeah, I should have taken a picture. Depending on your hair texture and thickness, you may need more or less sections. Basically, I do this in 1"-1 1/2" sections. Then I start to curl, working bottom to top. If you don't know how to curl with a flat iron, search it on YouTube. There are a million videos about it. It's so, so easy.

Once I run the iron through and the curl is formed, I twist my hair a few times in the direction of the curl to help define it. Then, I wrap it up and around my finger (again, with the direction of the curl) and use a duckbill clip to secure it in place. Quick note: The faster you run the iron through your hair, the more loose the curl will be. I took these pictures as I was getting ready for a wedding and I wanted pretty defined curls, so I went fairly slowly.

Clipped curls.

I roll each curled tendril up just like this and let it cool for at least 15 minutes. The longer is sets, the better the curl will hold. Now is also when I spray my hair. My very favorite hairspray is Sexy Hair's Soy Touchable spray. But apparently, it's everyone's favorite because it has been a nightmare to find lately. I lightly spray all over my hair while the curls are cooling.

Once they feel cool to the touch (or when you run out of patience), start unclipping! I am OCD and I have to unclip in the same order I curled. And I DO NOT brush them out or I will look like a Texas Pagent Queen. (I can say that - I live in Texas.) I simply comb my fingers through them to break them up a bit, touch up where needed and that's it!! See, told ya, SO EASY!

Finished product (sans makeup)!

View from the back of my hair.

They do fall a bit as you wear them, which is why I like to start with a tighter curl, and I LOVE how they look after I've slept on them. I hope this was semi-helpful and answers the questions for those who have asked! Have fun curling!!