Help my curls be less uptight
January 28, 2008 4:41 PM Subscribe
How can I get looser curls out of my naturally fine, tight corkscrews?
I've tried to do this forever and never found a great solution. My hair naturally looks like this. I'd like to style it to look more like this , especially when going out at night. My attempts to get hair like Kate's include curling irons or pulling it back for a while, which works but also makes it lose shape. Is this achievable non-chemically? I have naturally curly, fine hair. I am not African American. My hair is usually in good condition but a little dry, as curly hair often is. Thanks!
I've tried to do this forever and never found a great solution. My hair naturally looks like this. I'd like to style it to look more like this , especially when going out at night. My attempts to get hair like Kate's include curling irons or pulling it back for a while, which works but also makes it lose shape. Is this achievable non-chemically? I have naturally curly, fine hair. I am not African American. My hair is usually in good condition but a little dry, as curly hair often is. Thanks!
Turning curly into wavy is going to be an uphill battle. I'd like to be more helpful, but my girlfriend's hair is like yours (or at least the picture), and I like it.
posted by rhizome at 5:29 PM on January 28, 2008
posted by rhizome at 5:29 PM on January 28, 2008
I have hair like yours, but I'm male and I deal with it by keeping it fairly short, washing it regularly and never brushing it (15 years and counting!). If my wife or daughter try to brush it, i freak!
Your solutions: Chemical straightening? Pretty harsh and won't last for long. I once had an interesting accident with a blow dryer which resulted in my hair getting rather straight, but staying frizzy (back when i was a kid and used to brush it). Maybe a fairly intense blow dry with brush plus appropriate use of Product™ to calm the frizz might help. Probably damage your hair by having to reapply every couple of days though :-(
posted by singingfish at 6:11 PM on January 28, 2008
Your solutions: Chemical straightening? Pretty harsh and won't last for long. I once had an interesting accident with a blow dryer which resulted in my hair getting rather straight, but staying frizzy (back when i was a kid and used to brush it). Maybe a fairly intense blow dry with brush plus appropriate use of Product™ to calm the frizz might help. Probably damage your hair by having to reapply every couple of days though :-(
posted by singingfish at 6:11 PM on January 28, 2008
Response by poster: Thanks guys. Seriously no women have answers to my question?
posted by sweetkid at 6:45 PM on January 28, 2008
posted by sweetkid at 6:45 PM on January 28, 2008
after drying your hair, run a good ceramic iron through sections of it very quickly until you get the desired texture.
posted by violetk at 7:03 PM on January 28, 2008
posted by violetk at 7:03 PM on January 28, 2008
To achieve a look like Kate Hudson's I would first blow dry your hair straight. Then I would use Bumble and Bumble Surf Spray. That product is really good for giving you wavy, beachy, hair. With you straightening the curl a bit that should help it from getting super curly.
posted by peperoxors at 7:05 PM on January 28, 2008
posted by peperoxors at 7:05 PM on January 28, 2008
I have hair almost exactly like yours, although thicker strands. But yeah, that curly and not of African descent. Try using a straightening iron and then braiding it and sleeping on that overnight. If I do that, or don't wash my hair for several days and sleep with it in braids (pippi longstocking style) it comes out looking roughly like the second picture (but much thicker). In my experience/opinion, it looks dirty/messy the second way, and you're better off just going with it natural or totally straight (with a straightening iron). Dunno, though. Usually it seems like the Kate look is for people with straight/fine hair without a lot of body trying to get it to look more like... ours.
Have you gotten a professional blowout yet? It it a very dramatic change from what you have, and it is pretty fun and exciting and not that damaging.
Good luck; I'm curious to see other answers from the curly-headed ladies.
posted by tk at 7:07 PM on January 28, 2008
Have you gotten a professional blowout yet? It it a very dramatic change from what you have, and it is pretty fun and exciting and not that damaging.
Good luck; I'm curious to see other answers from the curly-headed ladies.
posted by tk at 7:07 PM on January 28, 2008
My hair isn't quite that corkscrewy, but it's very stubbornly wavy and very curly and quite thick. I used to get something not entirely unlike Kate Hudson's hair by doing the following:
Shower, no shampoo. A bit of styling product (it was the early-nineties, I think I used mousse.) Blow-dry with large round brush (resting arm as necessary.) Put up with larger rollers in hot roller set. Take down, finger-comb, hairspray.
Avoid humidity.
posted by desuetude at 7:48 PM on January 28, 2008
Shower, no shampoo. A bit of styling product (it was the early-nineties, I think I used mousse.) Blow-dry with large round brush (resting arm as necessary.) Put up with larger rollers in hot roller set. Take down, finger-comb, hairspray.
Avoid humidity.
posted by desuetude at 7:48 PM on January 28, 2008
My hair also isn't quite that corkscrewy, but it's very stubbornly wavy and very curly and quite thick. Shampoo/condition as usual. I use a lot of silicon-based shine spray, and it relaxes the curl/wave a lot. I also use gobs of heavy-duty gel. Right now I'm using a gel with the silicon already in it and my hair is really nice, but the product was discontinued. You're looking for a primary ingredient to be Dimethicone or some other -cone, which is silicone. It makes your hair slippery, which helps the curls stay loose. I never use a dryer.
Those tv ads where the model's hair flows like water - that's what silicone does.
And that corkscrew hair - it's gorgeous. I always wished mine was just a bit curlier, so I could have that look. Nobody's ever happy with her hair.
posted by theora55 at 6:28 AM on January 29, 2008
Those tv ads where the model's hair flows like water - that's what silicone does.
And that corkscrew hair - it's gorgeous. I always wished mine was just a bit curlier, so I could have that look. Nobody's ever happy with her hair.
posted by theora55 at 6:28 AM on January 29, 2008
My hair is not as curly as yours but I use a product by Aveda called Brilliant anti-humectant pomade that makes my hair straighter.
posted by Melsky at 7:20 AM on January 29, 2008
posted by Melsky at 7:20 AM on January 29, 2008
Kate Hudson's hair isn't naturally curly the way that yours is. It's naturally wavy or straight, and she uses a curling iron (and a thousand dollars worth of professional styling help) to make it curlier. In order to get that look, you need to start from straight, which means straightening your hair and then re-curling it.
I have hair exactly like yours. My #1 tip: don't fight it. I spent years trying to make my hair do things it just doesn't do, and I was unhappy until I stopped trying to be something I was never going to be. Don't try to be Kate Hudson. You don't have her hair (nor do you have a stylist you can pay hundreds of dollars an hour to follow you around and touch you up every time the wind blows). The woman in the first picture is gorgeous. If you can get your hair that defined and fluffy and adorable, you'll be getting constant compliments. But work with your hair, not against it. You'll be much happier in the long run, and you'll spend much less time and money and heartache on your hair (and it'll be less fried from all the heat styling, so it'll be healthier and look better).
posted by decathecting at 8:00 AM on January 29, 2008
I have hair exactly like yours. My #1 tip: don't fight it. I spent years trying to make my hair do things it just doesn't do, and I was unhappy until I stopped trying to be something I was never going to be. Don't try to be Kate Hudson. You don't have her hair (nor do you have a stylist you can pay hundreds of dollars an hour to follow you around and touch you up every time the wind blows). The woman in the first picture is gorgeous. If you can get your hair that defined and fluffy and adorable, you'll be getting constant compliments. But work with your hair, not against it. You'll be much happier in the long run, and you'll spend much less time and money and heartache on your hair (and it'll be less fried from all the heat styling, so it'll be healthier and look better).
posted by decathecting at 8:00 AM on January 29, 2008
Best answer: I have hair likes yours (also not African American) and I have found some fairly easy solutions after years of trying to attain that same hair style.
1) The longer your hair is, the looser the curls due to the weight of the hair. If your hair is long enough, I use Brilliant Brunette shine gloss when my hair is wet and pull it all the way through my hair. Then I use some frizz controlling lotion. Towel off a little of the moisture and then use a blow dryer on the cold setting. While blow drying your hair (and the lack of heat shouldn't make it any dryer) twirl good size portions around your fingers (others use brushes but I can't seem to master that) while pulling down to lengthen and extend the curls. If it starts getting frizzy, just keep putting on some curl taming lotion (not gel) and your hair won't look to contrived.
2) Blow it straight, iron it (you can skip this if you are actually able to blow dry your hair straight, in which I'm jealous), and curl it.
hope that helps
posted by CAnneDC at 9:36 AM on January 29, 2008
1) The longer your hair is, the looser the curls due to the weight of the hair. If your hair is long enough, I use Brilliant Brunette shine gloss when my hair is wet and pull it all the way through my hair. Then I use some frizz controlling lotion. Towel off a little of the moisture and then use a blow dryer on the cold setting. While blow drying your hair (and the lack of heat shouldn't make it any dryer) twirl good size portions around your fingers (others use brushes but I can't seem to master that) while pulling down to lengthen and extend the curls. If it starts getting frizzy, just keep putting on some curl taming lotion (not gel) and your hair won't look to contrived.
2) Blow it straight, iron it (you can skip this if you are actually able to blow dry your hair straight, in which I'm jealous), and curl it.
hope that helps
posted by CAnneDC at 9:36 AM on January 29, 2008
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posted by parmanparman at 5:15 PM on January 28, 2008