Keep it dirty
Keep curly hair ‘dirty’ with product, or coated with product, to get the best result. The hair then remains in a spiral and doesn’t become fluffy and turn into cotton wool!
Also, don’t over-wash: curly hair should only be shampooed every three days (if you can go for longer, great). Instead of washing, wet your hair down and/or keep it coated with product, locking in the wave.
A key tip is to add moisture every day – and this can simply be water – helping to recreate and resurrect the curl.
Cutting tips
Dry freehand cutting is ideal for curly hair. This is when hairdressers don’t use a comb to go through the hair and cut it in a straight line but instead pick up each individual curl and snip where required.
This technique isn’t new, but it is thinking outside the square and is really effective for maintaining curl. Curly hair is often uneven in its lengths, and cutting freehand and visually gives a fantastic result.
Products?
Water is great, but also look for moisturisers and/or a conditioner cream that coats the hair shaft to help reform the ringlet. Hair Screen by Kevin Murphy or No 17 by Redken are great choices.
PLUS... TIPS FROM THE 2008 AHFA WINNERS
“Embrace
your curls! Save the straightening irons for special occasions,” says
2008 AHFA Session Stylist of the year winner, Anthony Nader of Raw
Anthony Nader in Darlinghurst, Sydney.
“I am a firm believer
that curls should not be straightened. Work with what you’ve got –
don’t fight it. A colour gloss can add control and sheen to unruly
curls and gives hair that feeling of suppleness and luxury. In terms of
care and styling, look for curl control products.”
“Let it
look natural and lived in and don’t reach for the straightening irons
every day,” agrees Paula Kelly from Sublime Salons, Brisbane, winner of
the AHFA QLD Hairdresser of the Year award.
“You can create a
beautiful twist curl with product and your fingers. Allow hair to
air-dry and use a leave-in moisturiser with a medium hold factor –
nothing that is sticky in your hands. Twist it through the hair to
create beautifully relaxed curls.”
|