Every time Sarah, my lovely assistant here, is photographed you guys ask about her curly hair (it’s amazing,  I’m obsessed with it too). So today, I’m making her spill the beans and tell us all of her styling secrets! Here are 5 brilliant tips she has for styling natural, curly hair…

But first, a little known fact: I used to have really curly hair…

Pretty much exactly like Edie above. My mom would brush out the curls since back then in the 80s it was all about BODY and VOLUME. Here’s a classic childhood picture of me looking particularly wild I posted on this blog almost 10 years (!!) ago.  When I was in high school I tried using a diffuser (which Sarah says NO WAY to, btw). I hated my curly hair, flat ironed it straight all through high school and most of college and then in my early 20s it slowly started straightening out on its own. Now it only has a touch of wave left. I miss those curls sometimes though! I wish I had Sarah’s tips back then.

Here’s what I coulda woulda shoulda done with my curly hair:

1. Comb and hair dry. Comb hair when wet with a wide toothed comb just to get the tangles out and let hair air dry after applying product (see #2 below). The hair dryer is no friend of mine! If it’s too cold out to let hair dry like this I’m sure your stylist could recommend a good diffuser and give you some pointers on how to use it.

2. Lather on the cream. Find a good curl cream (I like this one). A small amount applied while the hair is damp will define the curls without weighing them down. My hair is pretty fine so I go with a lightweight product but there’s all sorts of options out there.

3. Hands off!!  I find the less I fuss with my hair the less frizz I end up with. But when you need a little help controlling the frizz, there are some great finishing creams or leave in conditioners out there. (I’m currently loving this). I also like to use that same finishing cream or leave in conditioner to perk up the ‘do before I head out at night.

4.  Skip the shampoo. Don’t wash hair too often as we all know dirty hair is so much better behaved. If you have to wet the curls because you woke up looking like your fourth grade school picture, maybe just skip the shampoo and condition the ends only.

5. Stock up on bobby pins. Humidity is tough on the curls, so on those foggy/ rainy days when I feel like a ball of frizz, I just keep the bobby pins handy. Or, if your hair is long enough for a bun that’s also super easy.