Curly-haired gals, please take note: You probably have no idea that your locks are basically the stuff of dreamsright now.
While you're spending your mornings fighting frizz and trying to tame your mane, brides everywhere are taking extreme measures to coax their hair into a crazy cloud of curls. Take pride and take advantage! Here, below, every type of curl and how to make it look #goals on your wedding day.
Loose Waves
Your texture: Relaxed and beachy. Keep the look casual by minimizing scalp oil, which can migrate down the hair shaft and flatten waves.
Hair care: Eliminate oil by shampooing the scalp and conditioning only the ends. “The scalp is where dirt and sebum get trapped,” says Chadwick Pendley, a hairstylist at Ouidad by Chadwick & Igor in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Wash strands every other day—or the morning of your wedding.
Body-defining ingredients: “Look for products that build texture,” Pendley says. Panthenol, a type of vitamin B5, helps thicken, and grapeseed oil will add a light shine. Try the Body Shop’s Grapeseed Glossing Serum ($12) or Evo Day of Grace Leave-In Conditioner ($33).
Classic Curls
Your texture: Unpredictable—sometimes they’re loose spirals; other times, they’re tighter corkscrews.
Hair care: Shampoo about every three days, and two days before your wedding. “Your style needs a few days to evolve,” says Vernon François, who works with Ruth Negga and Lupita Nyong’o. Let your hair dry naturally, he suggests, and don’t touch it—even when you’re adding styling product; he developed Vernon François Curl Moisture Spray ($32) so that you can mist it on and not disturb the curl pattern. If you’re accessorizing with flowers or jewelry, secure them with U-shaped hairpins, which hold more hair than bobby pins do.
Body-defining ingredients: Drench your hair with oils high in fatty acids, like coconut, because they can deeply penetrate the hair shaft to loosen the coil. “My clients always want longer hair,” Pendley says. “The more hydrated your curls are, the longer they’ll look.” Myrrh also helps: “It stimulates hair growth and moisturizes your scalp,” François says. Try DevaCurl SuperCream Coconut Curl Styler ($28) or Now Essential Oils Myrrh ($40).
Coily + Kinky
Your texture: Coily strands are tightly wound, and kinky strands are zigzags; both are enviably voluminous (though prone to splitting).
Hair care: You need to shampoo only about once a week. During the week (and after working out), refresh with a co-wash, like Carol’s Daughter Hair Milk Conditioning Co-Wash ($12), which cleanses while keeping natural oils intact. Shampoo three days before your wedding to “encourage the volume your hair needs to fly free,” François says.
Loose Waves
Your texture: Relaxed and beachy. Keep the look casual by minimizing scalp oil, which can migrate down the hair shaft and flatten waves.
Hair care: Eliminate oil by shampooing the scalp and conditioning only the ends. “The scalp is where dirt and sebum get trapped,” says Chadwick Pendley, a hairstylist at Ouidad by Chadwick & Igor in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Wash strands every other day—or the morning of your wedding.
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| 16 Wedding-Worthy Hairstyles for Curly Hair |
Classic Curls
Your texture: Unpredictable—sometimes they’re loose spirals; other times, they’re tighter corkscrews.
Hair care: Shampoo about every three days, and two days before your wedding. “Your style needs a few days to evolve,” says Vernon François, who works with Ruth Negga and Lupita Nyong’o. Let your hair dry naturally, he suggests, and don’t touch it—even when you’re adding styling product; he developed Vernon François Curl Moisture Spray ($32) so that you can mist it on and not disturb the curl pattern. If you’re accessorizing with flowers or jewelry, secure them with U-shaped hairpins, which hold more hair than bobby pins do.
Body-defining ingredients: Drench your hair with oils high in fatty acids, like coconut, because they can deeply penetrate the hair shaft to loosen the coil. “My clients always want longer hair,” Pendley says. “The more hydrated your curls are, the longer they’ll look.” Myrrh also helps: “It stimulates hair growth and moisturizes your scalp,” François says. Try DevaCurl SuperCream Coconut Curl Styler ($28) or Now Essential Oils Myrrh ($40).
Coily + Kinky
Your texture: Coily strands are tightly wound, and kinky strands are zigzags; both are enviably voluminous (though prone to splitting).
Hair care: You need to shampoo only about once a week. During the week (and after working out), refresh with a co-wash, like Carol’s Daughter Hair Milk Conditioning Co-Wash ($12), which cleanses while keeping natural oils intact. Shampoo three days before your wedding to “encourage the volume your hair needs to fly free,” François says.
Detangle wet hair with a wide-tooth comb, and protect your curls by drying with a microfiber towel instead of a coarse terry-cloth one. “Hair has a memory, so the sooner you start treating it correctly, the less time you’ll have to spend prepping on your wedding day,” François says.
Body-defining ingredients: Black-oat extract smooths to prevent frayed ends; castor oil can strengthen and reduce frizz. Try Kérastase Discipline Maskeratine ($65) or It’s a 10 Miracle Hair Mask ($31).
Body-defining ingredients: Black-oat extract smooths to prevent frayed ends; castor oil can strengthen and reduce frizz. Try Kérastase Discipline Maskeratine ($65) or It’s a 10 Miracle Hair Mask ($31).
