Beauty 101: Your Hair Questions, Answered

For the French Twist, it’s best if you have medium to slightly long hair (not short or too long) that’s not too curly or too fine. Some hair types just can’t pull it off.

1. Gather your hair like you’re tying it up.
2. Pull it to the bottom.
3. Twist from the bottom up.
4. Pull your hair up, so the twist is against the back of your head.
5. Pin it with lots of pins and secure with hair spray.
6. If you have chunks that won’t stay put or are falling down after pinning, use a hairclip close in color to your hair to hold in place. You won’t be able to notice.
7. Use a second mirror/trustworthy friend/Mom to see how your hair looks in the back.
8. Add a pin/flower to make it look extra pretty and/or cover up any clips or pins that are showing.

On When, And How Often To Wash One’s Hair:
From commenter petey-pablo:

some people with very oily scalps need to wash their hair every day, but for the most part, 2-3 times a week is best, some people can go up to once a week. if you do wash every day, use a gentle, sulfate free shampoo (especially if you have colored hair). you can also just use a tiny bit of conditioner daily if you need to style your hair everyday. if you was 2-3 times a week, shampoo twice. you’ll notice the first shampoo won’t really lather because it is breaking up the oils, the second with be much more bubbly and ensure that the hair is clean. use a good quality conditioner and leave on for 5-10 minutes before rinsing. regarding hair masks, do NOT over use protein based conditioners, they can over proteinize hair making it more brittle and stiff. about once every 2 weeks for dry hair and once a month for normal hair is fine.

From Julia, via email:

I have been told that people with curly to wavy hair should not wash it more frequently than every other day, and my experience has backed this theory up. My hair tends to be on the drier side, and washing it everyday strips your hair’s natural oils away and leaves it drier than normal. By all means take a shower every day if you like, but don’t wash your hair every time you do- besides, sometimes the steam alone can help reactivate your curl/wave and will save you the restyling time.

On Dealing With Curly Hair:
From Honor, via email:

Less is more with curly hair, as I’ve finally figured out after years of sticky hair gels, hairdryer attachments and tears (hey, I was sensitive in middle school). The No. 1 rule of curly hair – when you air dry (and really, who actually uses a diffuser?) keep your paws off of it! No patting, finger combing, or “scrunching” until it is 100% dry. This alone, will tame frizziness by 80%. No. 2 rule – conditioner is the only product you need! Ignore all those creams and serums. Buy a decent brand of conditioner – I use the AVEDA one for curly hair – use it to condition and rinse in the shower and then rub a nickle-sized amount into your hair after your shower. I hear leave-in conditioner works, too. No. 3 rule: shampoo the roots, condition the ends. No. 4: If you have the dough, buy an expensive Korean flat iron for the days you want straight hair. Just knowing that you can go straight if you want to makes you appreciate your curls more.

From Sarah, via email:

I have really long, thick curly hair. It was stick-straight until I hit puberty, and for a few years I had no idea how to handle it. Now it looks totally awesome. Here’s what I find works to keep it bouncy and happy and tamed:

– If at all possible, buy shampoos without sulfates, which are drying to curly hair due to the porous hair shafts. Also avoid products with silicone, dimethicone, or most other -cones. They make your hair shiny, but also build up pretty heavily and weigh down curl pattern. Just check the ingredients on the back of the bottle. Most natural brands will be good (Burt’s Bees, Nature’s Gate, and whatever the Whole Foods store brand is, for example — bonus: the Whole Foods brand is way cheap), and some Suave/Herbal Essences/etc stuff is good too.

– Condition your hair! A lot! Always! And never, ever brush it when it’s dry — use a wide-tooth comb in the shower, preferably while the conditioner is in it.

– I try not to dry my hair with terrycloth towels — the friction creates extra frizz. I usually dry my hair with an old pillowcase or t-shirt, and I usually dry it by scrunching my hair with the fabric, rather than turban-ing the whole thing. Sometimes I flip my head upside down, scrunch all my hair into the t-shirt/pillowcase, and then twist it around my head and secure it with an elastic if I need my hair to dry more throughly more quickly. Once your hair is damp rather than dripping, gently work a little anti-frizz serum and/or a light gel/styling cream into your hair. Then you can scrunch it up with your hands, or if you’re me, detangle it into smaller sections and twist the wet hair around your finger to guide it into ringlets. Don’t touch it once you’ve done that, and it should try in pretty, semi-frizz-free curls. Let your hair air-dry if you have the time. Often I don’t, and I’ll blow dry it, but only if it no longer looks wet (just feels wet…you know that feeling, right?). If I shower at night and don’t want to wait for my hair to dry before going to bed, I like to put my hair in pin-curls to avoid bedhead and it’s extra boing-y in the morning.

– In terms of styling, try to keep any ponytails/braids loose around the face so there’s no tightness to clash with the soft poofiness of the rest of the hair. If your hair is flat or otherwise funky after sleeping on it or being out all day, scrunching some mousse into the ends often helps. Hairspray to the roots + some scrunching helps too.

– Lastly, and this is just a personal preference/plea: don’t straighten your hair to try to “fix it”! Natural curls are so pretty and awesome! Rock them!

From commenter coffeespoon:

I have very, very curly, frizzy, messy hair. I rarely straighten my hair, so I’ve explored many ways to rock the curls. The best, hands down? HOT ROLLERS.

My curls love ’em, in spite of the fact that they are uber-80s. I have a set that is all differently sized rollers, and I usually don’t heat them very high. I will roll warmed-up rollers into damp hair, give my head a squirt of hairspray, and let ’em set. If I’m in a rush (usually not, since I shower and fix my hair in the evening) I will use a blowdryer, with the rollers still in, to dry them. When I take the rollers out of the now-dry hair, my curls have obediently made themselves into lovely, bouncy waves.

This method is much, much better than using a curling iron or other tool, since (i) your hair, if you start out wet, will set in curls that won’t fall out during the day and (ii) the hot rollers don’t get hot enough to damage your hair like a curling iron or flatiron will.

Also, re: the hair washing, as a curly girl I shampoo my hair 1-2 times a week. Shampooing every day make curly hair quite thin and brittle — you need those oils. I do condition it much more frequently.

On Keeping Hair Healthy While Using Relaxers:
From commenter ceejeemcbeegee:

1. Stop playing kitchen beautician and get your hair done by a pro at least every other week, if not every week.

2. Yes… I said every week. You want your hair to grow and be healthy with a relaxer (yes, it is possible) you need to put down the pressing comb and let a pro do your hair. It’s hard for a layperson to gauge the amount of heat and therefore people unknowingly burn their hair.

3. Avoid heat whenever possible. Get a wet-set: roll the hair while it’s wet and sit under the dryer. I either wear the curls for a few days, then wrap it flat until my next appointment, or I wrap it flat from the beginning… it depends on my mood that week. I do not own a curling or flat iron. I do not put ANY heat in my hair… ever.

4. When I work out, I keep with wrapped and tie a funky scarf around it. Keeps it from frizzing.

5. I love to swim in the summer, so after I wash my hair with Swim Ease to remove all the chlorine, I use the same shampoo & Conditioner my stylist uses: Design Essentials Ultra Moisturizing Shampoo & their Leave In-Conditioner. Then I use A LOT of Elasta QP Mousse and let the hair air-dry. It creates waves I can wear all week.

6. regular trims (every 6-8 weeks) and root touch ups (every 5-7 weeks) will keep help your hair grow.

On Setting Vintage Styles:
From Chloe, via email:

No matter what, you need to start with a pin curl set – if you are sleeping on it, do flat pin curls. This video is great, but if you have naturally frizzy/curly/kinky hair, do this on dry hair and do not spray your hair with anything before wrapping each section toward your scalp. In order to avoid dents, I only use one bobby pin per pin curl, and I don’t let it cross the entire curl.

(She also linked to this YouTube tutorial, for those interested.)

From commenter marviehead:

If you’re looking for a particular style i.e: retro, updo, glam, etc. YouTube has a TON of great videos. There are even videos on how to style wigs. (which I used for Halloween when I went at Betty Draper)

Consider Asking A Pro For A Lesson:
From Bailey, via email:

Hi, I know this tip isn’t very hands on, but the best $40 I ever spent was having a blowout class at my salon. I have heard of salons doing blowout bootcamps, but I just brought my dryer and brush and my hairdresser talked me through giving myself a blowout. By taking the time to section and blowdry correctly I save a ton of time on drying and straightening and my hair looks healthier too.

From commenter Heatherdazy:

The best possible answers to these questions will vary based on your hair type, budget, how much time you’re willing to spend, and exactly what look you’re trying to achieve (I mean, c’mon, there are infinite curled and straightened styles!). The best idea is to get a trusted hairstylist to talk you through how she styles your hair and have her style it differently each time you go in, so you can get new ideas.

Seriously, most stylists would much rather talk about your hair than about your sister’s cheating boyfriend anyway.

Didn’t get the answer you were looking for? Please take a minute to look through yesterday’s thread, where there are over 500 comments providing detailed, helpful hints. Disagree with something you see in this post? Feel free to set things straight (or curly, wah wah waaaaah) in the comments. And as always, if you have a suggestion for next week’s Beauty 101 topic, feel free to share your ideas and questions, as well.

Earlier: Beauty 101: The Hair Up There
Beauty 101: Your Foundation And Concealer Concerns, Answered
Beauty 101: Your Eyeliner Woes, Solved