Elle's Quick Tips: Keep Your Curls

How has your week been going? This week has been a warm-then-cold-and-rainy one here in Atlanta. I wish a little snow would fall already. Regardless of the weather unpredictability, I'm keeping my chin up! Ok, that's not a serious thing to complain about, but a legit complaint: curls falling out of hair! I've gotten many emails (I'm always happy to answer beauty/hair questions, so please ask away!) about this, and here are some quick tips you might want to try.

Situation 1: Coarse, dry, frizzy hair loses curl and gets frizzier
Solution: I was always taught that a hairstyle ends in hairspray. Weren't we all? It wasn't until I once ran out of hairspray in my 20s that I learned that wasn't true. My hair had never gotten so many compliments. So if your hair is like mine in that it holds curl, but gets frizzy, avoid products that have alcohol--this is mainly prevalent in aerosol sprays, but check the ingredients on your hair products.

Can you tell a difference in the left vs right sides of my hair?

I used a curling wand for loose waves in my hair and added hairspray to the section on your right.

The right side instantly frizzed and the wave fell out, especially on the bottom layer.

Situation 2: Fine hair curls but loses curl quickly
Solution 1: Try the "curl, catch, roll, and pin" method. Simply curl your hair, gently catch the curl as it leaves the iron, roll the curl back into the original curled shape, and pin it. By allowing the curls a chance to cool, they won't fall out as easily.

Check out my How to Curl Hair Without Hot Rollers tutorial, 

where this technique was featured.

Situation 3: Coarse hair won't curl/fine hair curls but loses curl quickly

Solution 2: Buy a new curling iron. Technology has wonderfully changed in the world of heat tools for hair. The barrels are made of different materials and they get hotter--for my hair, it won't curl at all unless I am using a very hot tool. For fine hair, it (usually) curls easily but falls out fast due to the iron not being hot enough. Many curling irons just aren't hot enough, so check the temperature setting before buying.

Don't forget heat protectant before using heat tools!

My curling iron brand recommendations: Hot Tools (pictured) and Babyliss. 

Solution 2: Use a flat iron to curl hair. Flat irons get very hot and therefore do a better job of holding curls. For a tutorial on how to curl hair with a flat iron, click here.

A flat iron with rounded edges works the best for curling hair.

Hair curled with flat iron

PS: Want more tips on how to help hard-to-curl hair? Click!