P O S T D E T A I L S
Kérastase Nectar Thermique Heat Protectant, Bumble & Bumble Thickening Spray, Shu Uemura Texture Wave Finishing Spray, Shu Uemura Micro Fine Finishing Spray, Sezane Floral Sweater
Let it be known that I always wear my hair one of two ways – wavy or straight. OR in a pony tail or a mom clip but those don’t count. I’m always looking for ways to elevate my look with ease, especially around the holidays. I turned to my go-to hair stylist, Reva at Salon Buzz in the Gold Coast, to share some easy tips for achieving glam holiday hair. We have three hairstyles to show you and the first one is two ways to master the perfect holiday curl.
Before we get started I want to be clear that my main goal was to make this as easy as possible. I am a clueless when it comes to hair and I usually have 20 minutes (max) to get ready. I wanted these styles to be simple and something that anyone can feel confident doing! Although my hair is actually pretty short right now, I wanted to share that you can achieve these curls no matter what length your hair may be.
In the front of my head I wanted a retro, hollywood, glamour curl and in the back we did some easy beach waves. Here is what Reva had to say…
Section your hair into four sections. For Liz we divided the front into two sections (retro curls) and the back into two sections (beach waves).
For the retro curls: hold the curling iron horizontally and wrap a section of hair around the iron, starting at the base of the iron to the end of the iron. We wrapped it with the hair over the iron and wrapped down toward the floor but you can also put the iron on top of the section and wrap up (a slightly different look but ultimately the same idea). Make sure to wrap each section going the same way. When wrapping the hair, twist the strand (rather than wrapping the hair flat) to create an “S” curl. When done curling break up the curls with your fingers or a wide tooth comb gently racking down your hair to loosen your curls. Spray a texture spray though out and lightly back comb the underneath to keep the hair together. Finish with a light mist of hairspray. *Make sure to use a comb vs. a flat brush to maintain the curl.
For beach waves: hold the curling iron downwards, take first section and wrap hair away from your face. Alternate this technique wrapping the hair in opposite directions with each section – away from face then towards face – and leave ends out of the curling iron (or straighten if necessary) for a more undone/messy look. Spray with texture spray and brush with a loose comb.
A few tips I learned from Reva:
- If you have layers (like me) you are better off using a curling iron with a clamp rather than a wand. This was actually a huge a-ha moment for me because I have used a wand for the last few years and always have to go back to touch up pieces that fall out of the coil. A clamp is an obviously better choice for those with layers so you can hold all of the hair in!
- Curling in smaller sections = more texture, smaller barrel size = more ripples.
- Curling in the same direction causes the curls to fall into each other, more unified/perfect/pretty look (this is what we did for the retro curls on the front of my head).
- Curling in different directions cause the curls to bounce off each other, more messy/beach/natural look (this is what we did for the beachy waves on the back of my head).
- Beach waves=curling in different ways and keeping the ends straight.
- Do not hair spray hair before using a hot tool, this can cause the hair to get crunchy and stiff and can ultimately loosen the curls too much when you are combing them out.
Shop the products we used:
Kérastase Nectar Thermique Heat Protectant: Put a marble size dollop all over wet or dry hair focusing on the ends before styling with ANY hot tool (blow dryer, curling or flat iron).
Bumble & Bumble Thickening Spray: Apply to roots to add lift and hold to your style. Can be applied to wet or dry hair but needs to be blow dried into the hair.
Shu Uemura Texture Wave Finishing Spray: Apply to dry hair only to add texture/grit to the hair were needed. Either at the roots or all over.
Shu Uemura Micro Fine Finishing Spray: Hairspray, medium hold. Put throughout dry hair after curling to set your style.
*If you have any specific questions, I’ll answer them in the comments so everyone can see!
Photos by Heather Talbert.