I did this blog post on how I curl my hair and how I keep it curled for about a week. However, everyone’s hair is different and curls differently so here are a few more tips and tricks to hopefully help you if your hair won’t hold a curl!
I’ve had a few people tell me their hair won’t hold a curl and they have to curl their hair every single day. You don’t need to do that! And putting heat on your hair every day isn’t healthy for your hair or your mental health.
Here are some reasons why your hair might not be holding a curl and some things to try to help!
Your Hair is Too Healthy, Fine, or Clean
Fine, shiny, healthy, and clean hair are the hardest to hold a style. This can mean an updo and especially holding a curl.
The best time to curl your hair is on day 2 or day 3 hair where the natural oils give the hair some grip and texture. You can spray some texture spray or dry shampoo to help ‘dirty’ it up a bit if you want to curl it right after a wash.
With fine hair, you will also want to avoid products with too many oils or silicons as they weigh down the hair causing the curls to fall faster. You might also want to avoid leave-in conditioners as they help to soften the hair adding shiny-ness. Stick to volumizing products that have a drier touch to them.
Fine hair people might want to try to disrupt the cuticle with a texture iron to expand the shape of the cuticle up to give more fullness. There are the Sam Villas that are like $150 but honestly, you could just get any cheap tiny crimper like this one (use the smallest crimping plates) to get the same effect.
Your Products Aren’t Right
You ALWAYS want to use a heat protectant. There are some heat protectants, you will also see them labeled as thermal protectant spray, that help hold curls better than others.
This blog post tests and rates heat protectants you can check out but she ranked the Joico styling spray as the best. I personally just get TRESemmé from the drugstore.
If your hair is hard to curl, you will want to have a heat STYLING spray like this Living Proof Styling Spray. This will help hold the style while protecting your hair from heat damage. Having a product like this helps limit the amount of product you have to apply to your hair and purchase.
Lightly cover your entire hair with a light mist prior to curling. You could also use a light to medium hold hairspray but make sure it’s a light mist. Do not saturate your hair with hairspray before because it will be crunchy and you will smell burnt hair.
Avoid hair oils as they can weigh your hair down, even after you curl.
You Aren’t Curling Correctly
If you have fine hair or processed hair, keep your heat down lower (300 degrees). If you have healthy or thick, coarse hair turn the heat up to set your hair (350 degrees).
You don’t want to overheat your hair, but you want to make sure you are leaving it on long enough to set the curl.
My favorite curling iron that I swear by and it’s only $15!!
Curl your hair and start to count but also touch the hair and wait until it is warm. If it gets warm in 15 seconds, curl each section for 15 sections for consistent curls. Don’t just leave your hair wrapped around the curling iron for longer than you have to.
I also have a YouTube video to show you how I like to curl my hair.
Using a new technique can take some time and practice, so keep practicing bc this will heat the hair the best for a longer hold.
You’re Not Letting Your Hair Cool
Not letting your hair cool after you apply heat can compromise your curl staying power.
After you release the curl, either hold it in your hand for a few seconds while it cools or you can coil it up and pin it. Don’t brush it out right away either.
Depending on your hair, it can take up to 30 minutes for the bonds to fully form after you put heat on it. If you can curl the hair, coil it up, pin it, and leave it for up to 30 minutes, that will give you longevity in your style.
Here is a video on how I coil my curls:
Not gonna lie, the coiling and pining is kinda hard the first few times to get it down. I just grabbed some pins from Target but you can find them on Amazon.
Keeping The Style Overnight
This tip will help maintain the curl throughout the night. Before I go to bed, I put my hair in a loose coiled bun on the top of my head and secure it with a silk/satin scrunchie or 2 little claw clips.
**If you have short hair, gather as much hair as you can on the top of your head and secure with a silk/satin scrunchie. This is known as the pineapple which is usually used for curly hair but also very effective for keeping hair curled.
Here is a view of how I do it and revive my curls in the morning.
If you have shorter hair, do this step but just as a half up because that, honestly, is all that shows.
I also sleep on a satin pillowcase which helps my hair glide around as I sleep to not snag and pull my hair.
Other Tips:
- I think a 1-inch curling iron works the best for every hair length.
- Get a good but not expensive curling iron. I use the 1 inch Conair Rose Gold curling iron and I love it.
- Check out this blog post that goes over the ones I recommend and the type you should get based on your hair type.
- If you need to blow dry your hair before you curl it, do a rough blow dry without a brush as the tension from the brush will polish the hair too much causing too much silkiness to hold the curl.
- Finish your curls with a texturizing spray instead of hairspray. It’s lighter and you can keep adding more each day without it getting crunchy.
Give these tips a try if you hair won’t hold a curl and let me know if you are still having trouble!
XO, Annie
