Friday, December 12, 2008

How to Get Dallas Hair.

This post is because of two things.
1. Julie's post about having trouble getting her hair to behave.
2. Despite the spectacularly horrific week I'm having, my hair is behaving spectacularly well. At least one thing is going well.
I'm the queen of big hair. Yup. And proud of it, too.

I respect the chi, and all you ladies who straighten your hair. Sadly, my hair is ultra curly, and my face is baby-chub round...so the whole silky straight hair doesn't really work for me.

So...in case you're wondering how to get said big hair...here's a couple of things I've figured out over years of aspiring to have the perfect Texan lady-who-lunches hairstyle.

First, start with the shampoo. It really doesn't matter what kind, I'm sort of addicted to the old-school Herbal Essences. (Thank you Steph, for getting me hooked on this in 9th grade :)


Followed by lots of conditioner, of course. If you have oily hair, maybe be sure you just put it on the ends, and avoid the roots of your hair. I have incredibly dry skin/hair, so I slather the miracle conditioner on everywhere. Perhaps if I reduced my diet coke intake my skin wouldn't be quite so dry, hmmm? (not a chance, but it's a nice thought).

Post-shower, I usually brush through my hair, then spray some root-booster, or volumizer on the roots. I like the John Frieda Luxurious Volume, but any volumizing spray will work. Use your fingers to lift hair at the scalp, and spray generously. *Caution* Avoid spraying volumizer on dry hair...it gets a bit...crunchy. Not that I would know. *End Caution*


Now. Here is where you have to make a decision. If you're like me (i.e. lazy) you wash your hair before bed. If you are unlike me (i.e. 'a morning person'), you wash your hair in the morning. Either way will do. If you have curly hair, I'd recommend washing it at night, spraying on the volumizer, then blasting the roots briefly with a hairdryer before going to bed with it mostly wet. The natural curls will actually help your styling process in the morning, by adding texture to your hair and giving the curlers something to cling to.
If you have straight hair that's prone to going limp or oily, probably wash it in the morning, and just add volumizer, and dry hair upside down, using a flat paddle brush to smooth it. But don't take my word for it, I was born looking like Shirley Temple.

Whether you washed it in the morning, or at night, start with completely dry hair. If there is the least bit of dampness, hot rollers will just not work. Trust me. There have been some serious disasters due to my laziness and inability to completely dry my hair.
As far as curler placement, you will have to experiment to see what works for you, but I'd recommend starting in the front, at the top of your forehead. (If you have bangs, start just behind them. Using the largest rollers (These give the most volume), take a 2 inch section of hair on the top of your head, directly behind your bangs (if you have them, if not then just the first section of hair above your forehead), and place the roller behind the hair. Roll it away from you, secure with the little metal thingies. (Don't use the plastic clips, they'll leave nasty looking ridges in your hair). Continue with the next section of hair from the top of your head, you should use 3 total rollers on the top. Then use the medium size rollers to do the hair around your face (roll these towards your face. Use the smallest rollers to get any remaining hair in the back or underneath (This really won't show, so don't worry about it too much).
Leave the rollers in for at least 10 minutes. To expedite this process, blast your hair on low with the hairdryer for about 3 minutes, then use the cool button on the hair dryer and cool the rollers down for another 3 or 4 minutes. The rollers must heat the hair up, then cool down for the style to set...otherwise you'll just have a head of frizz, or no curl at all!
When you take the rollers out, start with the smallest, then the medium, and end with the large ones on the top (the first rollers you put in). Take the large rollers out one at a time, spray near the roots with a little hairspray, and tease just ever-so-slightly with a small comb. Do this to the back two rollers, do not tease the one closest to your face. Unless you want 1980's style Dallas hair.


Fluff around a little, make sure the part (or no part, up to you), is how you want it. Then, push up the hair around the crown (top of your head where a ponytail would go) with one hand, and use the other hand to spray with a little (or a lot, if you're me) of hairspray. Hold it for a sec to let it set, then lift sections of hair all the way around your head and spray with a little hairspray to hold the volume.
That's it. If you have a frizz problem, run a dryer sheet lightly over your hair. (Don't laugh, it totally works! Plus, it's not like you're going to be using that dryer sheet to do laundry, your hair looks way to fabulous to do housework!)

No comments: