As a natural hair person, you know that those luscious bouncy curls your after can fall flat even after a few hours of putting in the work.
But … when they behave just right, you’ll have silky, bouncy curls all day long. On a bad day? It’ll be flat as a pancake.
If you’d like to make those silky eye-catching curls at home without visiting a stylist, here’s a quick guide on how to do just that.
You can achieve this look with tracks added. But if you want these silky curls, you’ll need to use 100% human hair for your tracks. Anything else and it won’t curl as well.
What you’ll need:
- Flat iron. You’ll want a good quality, salon-grade flat iron that helps to reduce frizz. A 1.25″ flat iron can help you create those bouncy curls you’re after.
- Curling iron. Get a 1-inch barrel iron that will help you get those big curls.
- Heat protectant. A leave-in conditioner with heat protectant is a good option here. It’ll help you control frizz, treat dryness while protecting your hair from heat damage.
- Hair spray. A flexible hold hair spray will allow your curls to bounce without looking overly stiff.
Step-by-step process to achieve silky, bouncy curls
Start with clean hair. Build-up will impact how well your curls set and last. So, you’ll want to do this on clean, blow-dried hair ready for heat styling.
Add your heat protectant/leave-in conditioner combo.
Starting from the nape, work in small sections of hair at a time. Start by creating your curls with a 1-inch barrel curling iron. (Yes, we know it’s small, but trust us, you’ll get those big curls at the end.)
Next is the curl set process. Run the flat iron over the length of the hair at least once. Then, while keeping your flat iron parallel to the ground and starting from just below the roots, use the flat iron to curl the hair inward while slowly moving down the length of the hair. While you’re moving downwards, take the hair that’s left out the bottom of the flat iron and loop it above and to the right of the rest of the hair in the iron.
Once the flat iron is through, do a quick turn of the section with your fingers curling the hair in. Continue until you’ve curled your entire head.
Once finished, run a feather comb and your fingers through the curls to loosen them up a bit and give them a bit of length and volume. This tousling also gives a nice effect around your head and adds a bit of volume to the area close to the roots.
Finally, lock your style in place with a light mist of a flexible hold hair spray.
SL Raw Notes:
- If your hair is fine or over-processed, then you won’t be able to hold curls. For fine hair, you can add texture and volume with natural hair extensions.
- If you try to rush the process, your curls will fall flat. Make sure you set aside time to do it right.