Curling Straight Hair: Sharon has super straight hair that is very, very thick. Usually it won’t hold a curl. (Anyone else have this problem? Well, the solution is finally revealed.) The secret to giving her plenty of curl and volume here is twofold.
First, when Nichole created the initial waves, she wrapped the hair around the barrel of her curling iron, then slid it out (so that the curl maintained its shape) and pinned it to Sharon’s head before spraying it with Pantene Root Lifter Spray Gel. By giving the curl time to set, it will stay longer. Also, by adding texture with a product like a spray gel, it gives your hair extra lift and volume at the roots, and your hair is more likely to stay put than if you’re working with clean hair (which is more likely to come undone).
The other trick is to backcomb the heck out of your hair after you take the curls out. This will add volume that stays (because when you brush it smooth, you’re just smoothing out the top layer, allowing the teased volume underneath to keep it’s shape).
The Info—Stylist: Nichole Kreps of Harper Paige Salon / Photography: Hart & Sol West, Michelle Govang / Venue: The Box SF /Flowers: Green Snapdragon Floral Design /Dress: Little Borrowed Dress / Jewelry: BrideBlu Vintage + Handmade Jewelry
Polishing The Look: A lot of times when people create updo’s like this, the giveaway that you did it yourself is that your bobby pins show. Here Nichole solves that problem by first anchoring one side of the hair with two-criss-crossing bobby pins (for structural security) and then twist-wrapping the other side around that first side and tucking the last few bobby pins underneath the twist.
Curls Vs. Waves: Once she finished the general structure of Sharon’s look, Nichole went over the curls one more time with a curling iron to define the curls a bit more, but you could easily leave the waves as they are for a less formal backyard bohemian look.
Making It Stay: Nichole finished off Sharon’s look with Pantene Anti-Humidity Hairspray, which will prevent it from frizzing out later, and helps the curls keep their shape. If you’re worried about crunchy hair, remember to always hold your hairspray about eight inches away from your head. To make it even less crunch, you can brush out the hairspray a bit with your fingers when it’s dry. The curl will still hold, but it will look less shellacked.
Awesome and easy, right? Plus, huge thanks to Sharon (remember her wedding graduate post?) for being a total joy to play hair and makeup with for a day.
Have questions about how to modify this hairstyle, or which products would be best for your hair? We’ll do our best to answer them in the comments, but you can always direct your questions at @PGBeauty for their expert advice (or if you’re not on Twitter, post your questions on their Facebook page for more info).
Download a PDF of the shopping list for this look here.
**This post was sponsored by P&G Beauty. Thanks P&G for helping make the APW mission possible!**
