How To Make Your Straight Hair Wavy

@harryjoshhair / Pattern by Michela Buttignol

If your hair texture is fine and straight, information technology's likely you've tried (and, ultimately, failed) to keep curls full and voluminous for an entire solar day. It tin be a frustrating endeavor. Hither's how information technology ordinarily goes: Things start off bully, and your hair looks full and bouncy immediately after styling. So, somewhere betwixt your apartment door and the subway, you're dealing with flat, limp strands. It'due south happened to the best of us, but there are ways to help.

I reached out to a few of my favorite hairstylists, masters of their craft who take encountered this problem often in their line of work. Below, they detail the best techniques and products to use when yous want your styled curls to have some staying power. From calorie-free conditioners and hot tools to a "cradling" technique, keep scrolling for the answers that you lot've been looking for. Ahead, 2 hairstylists share how to brand straight pilus curly.

Watch Now: How to Whorl Your Hair

01 of ten

Try a Styling Clay

Moroccanoil Texture Clay $22.00

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With clays, the texture is key, as these formulas are slightly heavier and requite more than muscle to the style you're trying to reach—in this case, curls that stay put. "A light-concur clay or wax will human action every bit a forming cream, allowing your hair to set in any management you want," explains Octavio Molina, the founder and creative director of Tavi Hair.

Molina advises using a less-is-more approach when it comes to styling production, beingness careful not to apply too much too quickly. "Start with a little bit and add more than if necessary," he suggests.

02 of 10

Adjust the Estrus Setting to Your Hair Blazon

BaBylissPRO Nano Titanium Spring Crimper Atomic number 26 $50.00

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As a general rule, the thicker your hair, the higher yous want the heat to be. For sparse, stick-straight strands, buy and adjustable crimper fe and keep it on the lowest setting it allows to avoid frying your hair. Our favorite crimper iron for fine hair is the BaBylissPRO Nano Titanium Spring Curling Fe. It features a 1.v inch titanium/ceramic barrel and adjustable heat levels.

03 of ten

Utilize a Lighter Conditioner

Bumble and Bumble Seaweed Conditioner $27.00

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It's true that the products we employ take so much to do with the way our hair turns out—texture, elevator, smoothness, everything. And while a lot of it has to do with natural texture, products are paramount when you're trying to manipulate your hairstyle. "Try using a very lite conditioner in the shower," suggests Nunzio Saviano of the Nunzio Saviano Salon in NYC. If you're using a conditioner that'south too heavy, he says, it'due south going to contribute to your hair falling apartment after it's been curled. Instead, cull a lighter formula, and only apply it to the ends rather than from the roots down.

04 of 10

Avoid Washing Your Hair

Dove Refresh + Care Volume & Fullness Dry Shampoo $5.00

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The rumors are truthful: Dirty hair holds shape better. If you recall almost it, the logic is sound. When your hair is clean, information technology has more slip, allowing for that polish, soft, shiny texture. If your hair has some trouble holding a curl, though, you'll exist more successful with the strands roughed up a bit. "The natural oils in your hair volition act as the product," Molina notes, "allowing your hair to be molded more easily." Help with the next-day pilus oils by giving your roots and ends a spritz of volumizing or texturizing dry shampoo.

05 of ten

Use a Smaller Atomic number 26

Hot Tools Professional Marcel Iron $50.00

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"Size does matter," Molina explains, equally the more tightly you curl your pilus the more likely it is to stay put for your desired amount of fourth dimension. Don't worry, though—this doesn't have to be a Shirley Temple situation. By the time you finish your hair, each wave volition take relaxed to the size yous're looking for. "Make sure the barrel of the curling iron is a touch smaller than the size you'd like to accomplish," Molina continues. "For instance, if you want a loose wave with a curve of virtually one and a one-half inches, become with a 1-inch curling iron, and and so on."

06 of 10

Cool the Ringlet

When your pilus is all the same hot from your styling tools, the texture volition stretch out and fall much easier because it has nonetheless to gear up. That's why you see hairstylists using their fingers to brush out clients' curls for a looser, more lived-in wait. But if your pilus frequently falls, opt out of that technique. "Cool the curl by cuddling your hair in your hands for 10 seconds subsequently each ringlet," says Molina. "By allowing them to cool off, you are preventing your difficult piece of work from relaxing and loosening too quickly."

07 of 10

Shake the Curls, Don't Castor Them

Shaking out the curls rather than taking a brush to them allows the shape to straighten out more rapidly, says Saviano. Just gently run your fingers effectually the curls without going entirely through them, and flip your pilus over one time or twice. This will help loosen the curls so they expect the fashion you desire them to without activating the falling process you know all too well.

08 of ten

Don't Overload on Hairspray

Living Proof Perfect Hair Twenty-four hour period Trunk Builder $29.00

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In one case y'all are finished styling, Molina suggests using a very light hair spray to lock in the wait. Heavy-hold products may weigh down your pilus and ultimately work against you. "Tilt your head forward and spray your pilus," he advises, "but make sure to do information technology from at to the lowest degree 10 inches away, or an arm's distance." That way, y'all won't soak your curls up with the product, and they'll concord for longer.

09 of 10

Spritz Your Brush with Hairspray

Tangle Teezer The Ultimate Detangler $14.00

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If you lot absolutely must castor out your curls, you lot can spray the brush with just a little bit of hairspray before combing through. This volition distribute the spray evenly throughout the hair from roots to ends, and forbid your strands from getting weighed down past too much product.

Make sure to add a hydrating shampoo and conditioner to your routine to go along your hair salubrious when regularly applying heat.

ten of 10

Expect Into Other Options

Alterna Haircare Caviar Anti-Aging Replenishing Moisture Shampoo $34.00

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At the cease of the day, sometimes it'due south non the technique; it's your hair. "Some types of hair just won't hold a ringlet or wave," Saviano notes. What you can do for something a bit more permanent is try an in-salon texturizing treatment like a digital or trunk wave. Fortunately, he assures today's perms are nothing like those from the '80s that were really damaging and created very tight waves. "Yous tin can get a softer result using thick curlers, and so information technology's more almost adding body. Digital waves use a special curling iron to create beachy waves that you can air dry," he says.