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Home • Curly

How to Do the "Run & Swift Method" for Curl Definition

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How to Do the "Run & Swift Method" for Curl Definition
By Michelle Breyer · Updated October 4, 2018

When Mary Tamborra showed up at Christo Fifth Avenue Salon in New York for one of the photo shoots for NaturallyCurly’s book, “The Curl Revolution,” curl expert Christo couldn’t wait to put his skills to work on her beautiful 3b ringlets.

She was blessed with thick, springy curls. To help give her hair more shape and reduce some of the bulk, he used his Diametrix technique – an “inner layer sliding cut” done on wet hair.


After cleansing and conditioning her hair, he sectioned it and applied Curlisto Repair Cream as a leave-in moisturizer to protect the hair from breakage and heat styling.

To apply styling product, he uses his Run & Swift method to encourage curl formation. It’s a technique that’s easy to do at home.

The Run & Swift Method

applying curl lotion with hands

1. Mix together a lotion and a gel. Curlisto uses Curlisto Lotion Plus to create definition, and Curlisto Control II Gel for hold and humidity resistance.


2. Mix this between your hands and run your fingers through each section of hair as if they are a comb, which helps distribute the product equally.


3. Shake each section quickly in a left to right motion.


Article continues after video.

4. To give lift at the crown, clip the hair with duckbill clips at the root.


5. Diffuse the hair. (Tip: Finish diffusing with your hair upside down to create volume”>


6. To hold curls, finish off with a spritz of Structura Hair Spray.

You may already use a combination of similar steps, or maybe you’ve coined your own curl defining technique. Let us know in the comments section what techniques give you your best curl definition.

You can see more tutorials and gorgeous curly hair inspiration in The Curl Revolution.

Have you tried this method yet? Let us know it works for you in the comments below!

Other curl defining methods:

  • The Rake and Shake Method
  • Finger Coiling
  • The Skip Curl Method
  • Shingling
This article was originally published in 2017 and has been updated.

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