6 Ways to Wake Up With Perfect Curls

By Aly Walansky

It’s steadily getting cooler out (and we don’t mean in the hipster way) — and suddenly, going out with a wet head doesn’t seem like the world’s smartest plan, so we’re looking for ways to wake up and start the day with our best (head) forward. Here are six ways to do just that!

1. Many women complain of not having uniform curls. “To enhance the natural texture of your hair, you can apply mousse such as Jonathan Product Infinite Volume Thickening Foam ($24.00 at jonathanproduct.com) to your hair at night. Section your hair into one inch pieces and double strand twist it or you can do braids,” suggests celebrity stylist Keith Campbell. Follow this up by sleeping with it overnight and let it out in the morning. Your hair texture will remain natural and enhanced. Spray with Jonathan Product Finish Control Hairspray ($22 at jonathanproduct.com) to lock in the curls.

2. Stylist Dani Hauflaire from renowned Maxine Salon in Chicago’s Gold Coast neighborhood also champions the nighttime shampoo. Then, she advises you pin-curl your hair loosely, either starting at the ends or the mid shaft, and roll upwards towards the scalp in a pinwheel motion. You can also place a full circle, soft headband on top of your hair as though you are pulling down a knit cap, placing the headband about an inch from the perimeter of the hairline. Or, with your comb and finger, start at your front part with a simple push backwards, place a bobby pin horizontally, then a pull forward and another bobby pin. Continue alternating forward and backward placements along the front hairline and you will have beautiful finger waves to work with in the morning.

Douglas David, managing partner of Douglas Carroll Salon, a nationally and internally recognized salon, says us curly girls have tons of options.

3. When your hair is already curled: The focus here is on conservation, so you want to apply products that preserve your look without sacrificing manageability in the morning. Conserve curls with a flexible hairspray like Moroccan Oil medium hold hairspray. Twist and secure your curled hair into two buns. When you wake up in the morning, shake out your curls, spray again with hairspray. Add a shine spray like Sebastian Halo Mist to tame fly-aways.

4. For naturally wavy hair: Spray a texturizing spray such as TIGI Catwalk’s Sea Salt spray onto wet hair and let dry partially. Twist hair into sections and diffuse. Gently loosen in the morning, and add hairspray. Naturally wavy hair already has “curly” tendencies, so the focus needs to be on complementing and enhancing the natural texture of the hair.

5. For crimpy, textured curls: Braid dry hair and apply a smoothing cream on the ends, like S-Factor Smoothing Lusterizer, and a soft mousse all over the hair, like TIGI Totally Baked. Shake out in the morning and hairspray. In this case, more braids (and therefore smaller braids) mean tighter and more defined waves and curls. Less braids (and therefore larger braids) mean looser waves and curls.

6. Another easy technique to wake up with curls is the sock bun, suggests celeb stylist Julia Papworth. Take a sock and cut off the toe and roll it down onto itself. Pull your damp or roughly dried (not wet) hair into a high ponytail and secure it with a soft elastic. Put your ponytail through the hole in the rolled up sock, wrap the ends of your hair around the sock evenly and proceed to roll the sock down your hair, in a motion similar to rolling it down your own leg. Make sure the hair is spread out evenly around the entire sock to guarantee uniform curls. Roll the sock down so your hair is being fed through the hole, and then up around the sock until you reach the base of your ponytail. You will not even need booby pins to hold the bun in place! When you wake up in the morning, take out the bun and use your fingers to piece out the curls. Finish with Apres Beach Spray to add texture and enjoy the extra hit on the snooze button.

Bonus Tip

“The best way to make curls and unruly behave is to keep hair healthy,” says Creative Director of Ouidad, Morgan Willhite. He advises we use a deep conditioning treatment on your hair every two weeks to “feed” your hair and keep it strong, shiny and healthy; the Ouidad 12 Minute Deep Treatment ($25) is ideal.