Anyway, because I've been asked a lot lately I thought I had better put together a short post on exactly what I do to get the 'slept in, dragged through a hedge backwards, slightly 70s chic' look. First of all, I used to have naturally curly hair until I was about 20 and then for some reason the texture and thickness changed. My hair became softer, thinner and the curl disappeared. Eventually it thickened up again, but the actual strands are quite fine and according to my hairdresser, I just have lots of it.
I try to get my hair cut every six weeks and just have my layers added in again, and a small amount off the ends as it can become quite dry with heat styling and general wear and tear. Whenever I wash it I try and use a quick hair mask or intense conditioner to smooth and hydrate the lengths after I've burnt it to a crisp with my curling wand. I really love Pantene Keratin Repair Mask, as you only have to leave it on for two minutes and your hair feels a lot healthier afterwards. When I don't want to use a mask, I use the Pantene Pro-V Advanced Keratin Repair Conditioner from the same range. I also try and wash my hair every other day as the build up of hairspray and heat protection spray can make it look dull and feel heavy. I own a Dyson hairdryer which dries it pretty quickly and is supposedly better than the average dryer at minimising damage. You can read all about it here in a more detailed post.
So onto the styling part... I use a Remington curling wand that I have had for about four years, and it's still going strong! It is conical, so one end is slimmer than the other, and honestly it was only about £20 at the time and I have not found any that measure up since. What I like about it is you can adjust the temperature which is a big must for me, as I worry about the damage I am doing to my hair with those that only have one heat setting.
Considering I curl my hair nearly every day, it is in quite good condition. It also only takes me around 10 minutes per day to curl my whole head, as I've been doing it that long and I could probably do it with my eyes closed. Apart from that one time I cooked my wrist, but that's not to be talked about. On my days off I sometimes wash it, dry it upside down and leave it to do its thing, so it looks a bit straighter but still has some movement and body.
When I curl it I look like I'm wearing an Irish dancing wig for about half an hour afterwards, but the curl soon drops and it looks a bit more acceptable after a while. I sometimes run my fingers through it too just to break up any spirals, and give it a good dose of Elnett hairspray. I always curl small strands at a time, and curl them away from my face. You can alternate one away from your face and the next strand towards your face to make sure the hair doesn't clump together too.
I also sometimes only curl from the mid length down, as it gives a more relaxed looking finish. I really don't have any secret method or know what I'm doing most of the time. I just go for it, drown my head in hairspray and hope for a gust of wind going out the door to mess it up a bit. I do however think the key is to get a shampoo that isn't too hydrating as sometimes they can weigh the hair down. Also, keep your conditioner and masks away from your scalp; it's all in the swish! I really like the Coconut Weightless Hydration Shampoo from OGX, it gives hydration but doesn't leave your hair feeling greasy or over conditioned.
I own a really thin curling wand too and I've used it a couple of times when I really want to channel my inner 70s disco diva. It does require a bit more time and effort, but the end result looks amazing.
So there we have it! All the details on how I style my hair. I feel like many of you may be disappointed to learn that I really don't do much and it may not be of any help to some, but really that's it. I think the key is how it's cut, as the layers and length play a big part in how it holds the curl. Some of you might also be lucky and be able to achieve this look with some damp hair and salt spray, but for those hoping to create a bit of a messy do, I hope this post was of some help!
Click here for the exact wand I use every day, or here for the chopstick wand.
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