Everyday Loose Curls

You’ve asked for a while now and today I’m delivering!
Besides “what lipstick color are you wearing?”, my most asked questions via email and my social media sites are “How do you curl your hair & what products do you use?”
So today, I’m going to explain to you step by step how I get my everyday loose curls and how I get my hair shiny, frizz free, voluminous and smooth.

If you know me, you know I have naturally curly hair so I heavily rely on GOOD styling products. I don’t cheap out on hair products as I really feel like they make a HUGE difference in the way my hair turns out.  Another key tip that has really helped the texture of my hair is that I only wash it about 2 times a week. This has really kept my hair healthy, shiny and able to curl more easily.
Let’s get into the steps!

Step 1: After washing my hair, and before blow drying, I mix about a dime size of this Perfect Hair Day 5-in-1 Styling Cream, this Caviar CC Cream & a drop of this amazing hair oil in the palm of my hands. I then run the products through my wet hair with my fingers & proceed to blow dry my hair in sections with my T3 hair dryer.

Step 2: After I blow dry, I section my hair into about 3 or 4 different sections to prepare for curling. I’ve recently been using a Hot Tools 1.25 inch rainbow gold curling iron as I find that it really holds my curls over a longer period of time. Before I switched over, I was using a 1.5 inch curling iron and found that my curls were falling out faster. 

Step 3: Beginning with the bottom section of hair, I take each piece, brush it out (I don’t have a special brush, just a cheap-o one from Target) and beginning curling. I place the clasp of the curling iron facing outwards, and curl the hair around the barrel while leaving about an inch of the bottom out of the iron.  I hold it in place for about 5 seconds and release the curl. I continue and repeat the process with the rest of the bottom layer on hair. After I’ve completed the bottom section, I lightly hairspray it to keep it in place. I switch hairsprays all the time, but some of my favorites include this one, this one & this one. 

Step 4: I then take the next section and continue the process. If I feel like I still have some frizzy sections or some kinks, I will use my Chi straightener to smooth those sections out. 

Step 5: Once I curl all the layers and get to the top section, I curl the left side of my head first, leaving my thicker bang section for last. I take the last bang piece and curl it upwards instead of to the side. (I’ve found that curling this piece upward adds more volume around my face). 

Step 6: After I’m finished curling every piece, I take my fingers and run them through my whole head of hair. This loosens up the curls giving them a soft and bouncy look without too much curl. 

Step 7: To finish the look and add some volume/texture to my hair, I add some of my absolute favorite products. I spray Living Proof’s Dull Dry Volume Blast throughout my hair sparingly (don’t use too much or your hair will get VERY textured) as it adds a little bit of “grit” to the hair causing the curls to stick. I then sprinkle Big Sexy Hair Powder Play into my roots to add volume to the top of my head so my hair is not too flat. I then lightly hairspray it all over to finish.

Step 8: For 2 or 3 day hair, I just quickly add a couple more curls to my waves and spray Triple Sec by Drybar to add volume and freshness. It also acts as a dry shampoo so I love using it to keep my hair looking clean and fresh. 

I always start the curling process mid way through the piece of hair. I feel like it makes the curls not so kinky curly.

Tip: If you feel like your curls aren’t holding, try switching curling irons or curling iron sizes. 

I use to be so afraid to run my fingers through my hair as I didn’t want the curls to fall out, but actually in doing so, it separates the curls, adding more volume and a looser, bigger curl look.

Before Blowdrying Products:

** Living Proof Perfect Hair Day 5 in 1 Styling Treatment

** Cavier CC Cream

** Rejuveniqe Hair Oil (If you don’t have a Monat rep, my friend Melissa is an awesome resource if you have any questions!)

(I mix about a dime size of these products together and run them through my wet hair before I blow dry. You only need ONE drop of the hair oil…it’s THAT good.)

After Curling Styling Products:

** Living Proof Full Dry Volume Blast (Use sparingly, a couple of sprays go a long way)

** Big Sexy Hair Powder Play (Powder comes out white but disappears on darker hair)

** Drybar Triple Sec 3 in 1 Texturizer (I like to use this product on my day 2 or 3 hair)

Styling Tools:

** T3 Blow Dryer

** Hot Tools 1.25 inch Curling Iron

** Chi Ceramic Straightener

Below is the link to the Instagram story I shared live on my IG (@ashdonielle) the day I published this post in case anyone missed it!

** Instagram Story Loose Curls Hair Tutorial **

So simple and easy and EVERYONE can do it. It definitely gets easier and faster every time but if my thick, curly head of hair can become smooth with loose curls, so can yours!

Please feel free to comment below, email me or DM me on Instagram if you have any questions!

Key pointers?!

Good products are key.

Don’t wash your hair everyday.

Curl your hair in sections.

Run your fingers through your hair when you’re done.

Wishing you many happy hair days ahead!

xo

Ashley