The Easiest EVER Way To Curl Your Hair

So, the first — and probably the most important — thing you need to know about creating curls or defining curls that you already have is that you need to change the state. That means either going from wet to dry, or from warm to cool. Without using any heat, or by trying to curl wet hair or dry hair without taking it from wet to dry, the curls will drop out pretty much instantly. Curls form really well when you use heat, which is why we all tend to turn to curlers and wands, but it can be incredibly damaging, especially if you use heated products on your hair more than twice a week.

That's why we thought we'd do an in depth how-to guide on the easiest, simplest way of curling your hair, ever. Like, ever. It'll cost you less than $5 to get started compared to the $30-40 it'd cost you to buy a wand or set of tongs, and it'll take you ten minutes in the morning. Yay!

Gather Your Tools

What do you need? Well, to get these perfect, easy peasy curls, you need bendy hair rollers. You might also see them labelled as flexi rollers, bendy roller rods or heatless rollers. You can pick them up at the drugstore or at a clothes shop, or even online for around $5. Depending on the look you want, you can choose either thicker rollers or thinner rollers. Thicker rollers will give you those big Hollywood glamazon waves; thinner rollers more Ringletty, beachy waves. Or, you could use a mixture of the two. It's really up to you. The thicker rollers can also be used right at the roots to fake a blow-dry, and thinner rollers can add body to shorter haircuts.

See Also: What You Need To Know About Permanent Hair Straightening

You'll also need your hair to be 90 percent dry. You can either put the rollers in on freshly washed hair, or simply mist dry hair with a little bit of water so that it's slightly damp. Either way, it needs to be ever so slightly damp to the touch otherwise the curls won't hold — they'll just drop as soon as you take the curlers out. For extra nourishment, you could spritz your hair with leave-in conditioner, or a hair product that'll help to hold the curl. 

Time Needed

Now, you can either do this overnight, or you can do it within about 10 minutes. Basically, all you need to do is wait for the hair to dry and however long that takes is how long it'll take the curl to set. The longer you leave the curlers in, the tighter the curls will be and the longer they'll last, but leaving them in for 10 minutes can still leave you with long-lasting curls provided you use the right products and don't try to curl soaking wet hair.

How to Curl Your Hair

First, divide your hair into sections. If you're planning on curling your hair, leaving 'em in for 10 minutes, then running out the door, use the "alternate" method - one curl on each side of the head - so that the curls are even on either side. Run the comb down the back of the head, then spritz lightly with water or leave-in conditioner. Generally, around 12-16 curlers will be enough, and you should use the same number on each side of the heat.

To curl, take a small section of hair, around 1-2 inches in width and a half inch or so in depth, brush to remove tangles, and hold the curler at the bottom of the section of hair. Holding tightly, roll the hair upwards, underneath, stopping either around ear level or at the roots, depending on the end result you want. Fold the ends of each curler over the hair-wrapped bit, making a squashed spiral shape. All of the curlers should be rolled up and underneath hair, and the ends of the curlers should be folded over each other to prevent the hair from slipping out. Keep going til you're out of curlers and hair. This generally only takes about 10 minutes, and you usually won't need a mirror or anything fancy. Some bloggers recommend using various tools, but the more you do this, the easier it gets - and you really don't need anything other than your hands and the rollers. 

The End Result

If you want big, bouncy, Hollywood curls, you'll want to use larger rollers, and roll them right up from the tip to the root. As the hair dries, it'll add volume to the root and you'll have that just blow-dried look. If you want big Hollywood curls but you don't need big volume at the roots, just roll the rollers up to your ears. If you're trying to kid everyone that your hair is naturally curly, then you'll want to curl right up to the roots so that it looks like your hair just grew right out of your head that way - or, if you're trying to get lovely beachy waves, just curl up to the ears and then spritz with a salt spray.

See Also: How To Tame Curly Hair

Curling for 10 Or Curling Overnight

If you're curling your hair for 10 minutes, you want it to look perfect, pretty much instantly, so you'll want to use a few smoothing and perfecting products. A leave-in conditioner is a good idea - but you can also use some dry oil spray, some serum, or some oil on the very ends. Sometimes hair can look a little dry, especially if it's prone to being frizzy, so make sure you take care of the ends. If you're curling it overnight you'll probably only want to curl it to the ears, otherwise, it'll be quite uncomfortable to sleep - and if you can, use a silk pillowcase to reduce frizz! Other than that, all you need to know: make sure hair is a little damp, use the right products, and keep the rollers in until hair is completely dry. Viola! Gorgeous curls, easy!