Ouidad: When wanting to achieve a loose curl, I’ve found that using the Ouidad Climate Control gel works best. Apply the product to your hair in sections. (The amount of hair that is between your fingers will create the diameter of the curl. so take large sections.”> Make sure you have enough product for each section to set. Let your curls set for about 15 minutes then diffuse the hair while gently pulling the ends down to stretch and elongate the curls.
Another way to loosen your curls would be to soften your curls, which is a very gentle process similar to a hair relaxer. This softening process will allow the curls to loosen into a wave pattern. Make sure you do it professionally at a salon. At my salon, everyone wants to have it done, especially before summer because it loosens the curl but retains the bounce and pulse.
Q: My niece has naturally tight curls (just like her aunt”>. She is one quarter African American and three quarters Irish. The curls from the two nationalities are not connecting like good friends! The curls on top of her head are looser, while the hair in the back is more kinky. Any ideas on how to tame two different types of curls on a 2-year-old’s head? — Leah
Ouidad: She must be adorable! I would recommend a carving cut on the back of her hair where it’s kinky, in order to puzzle those tight kinky curls together. That will give it a softer look visually. Then slice the top where it’s looser to blend both curl types together.
To care for her hair, use my new KRLY Kids No Time For Tears Shampoo, which is very gentle shampoo and KRLY Kids No More Knots Conditioner. The KRLY conditioner doubles as a leave-in conditioner that will get the knots out easily. It is light and gentle enough not to weigh her delicate curls down. Then to finish her style and keep her curls in shape, use KRLY Kids Pump & Go Spray Gel for control and smiles. A child’s hair is virgin, and my KRLY Kids line utilizes skin care ingredients so that they are extra gentle for children. Our young clients in the salon have been using my new products with success for the past year.
Q: I am a mother (with very staight hair”> of a toddler with VERY curly hair. It is adorable, but is forever getting matted and frizzy. I have heard eveything from ‘Never cut it’ to ‘Use leave in products as an adult would’ I never knew blond hair could be so curly! I would appreciate any suggestions. I also feel very strongly that she should love her hair and don’t want it to seem like a hassle for her. Already she spends too much time with it in pigtails! I live in NYC so if you have a salon suggestion for her I will take that info too! — Julie, curly toddler mom
Ouidad: We see this all the time in my New York salon. Moms with straight hair and girls with curls that don’t stop!! One of my KRLY Kids models is a 5-year-old with blond kinky tight curls. A kid’s hair is very fragile and you need to care for it gently. Hair care lines for adults require different ingredients to work with all the damage we do.
What is especially important is the knowledge on how to maintain and style curly hair. I would recommend to bring her in to my salon (Ouidad, 846 7th Ave, 212-333-7577″> and consult with one of my curl experts. They will teach you to develop skill and curl understanding. Your attitude and encouragement will prepare your daughter for a life time of beautiful curly tresses.
Q: I used to wear my fine, curly hair long. Then, I moved to a new climate, had two children and passed the 40 year mark. Things were not good. My lovely curls began to grow out and at the moment that I saw a picture of myself with what appeared to be a frizzy perm that was growing out, I cut the whole thing off. For years now, I have worn it short, blow drying it into what I think of as my ‘small market newscaster hairdo’. I miss my curly hair.
Now, I live in a very dry climate, I color my hair about every three weeks and I haven’t had it cut in four months. It looks a little raggedy. I’m going to try it long again (one last time before the mandatory 50-year cut-off”>. It’s still a little short (3 inches all around, for the most part”>, and the curls are sticking out a bit wildly. I’m thinking a perm might get me over the hump and smooth out the curves now. Can I color and perm at the same time? If I do, will I have to cut off those three inches in the end. — Susan
Ouidad: I wish you were standing in front of me because I would yell at you. Two kids and 40 years old — your life can’t get any better. One thing that bothers me is your assertion of “the mandatory 50-year cut-off of hair.” I don’t believe you need to adjust the length of your hair based solely on your age. I have clients in their late 60’s and early 70’s with gorgeous sophisticated long curls!!!
A dry climate can be a good climate for growing out your hair because you can control the moisture level in your hair with Deep Treatments, not the environment. As you are growing your hair out, I would recommend a little carving (which is my cutting technique”> to have your sides set into each other instead of sticking out. The theory of a perm might be practical, but not the perm itself. Perms are as a volumizer on straight hair to give those poor people some hope. But for you and me, it would be just the reverse making our hair frizzier and twice as big. So forget it. Condition, condition, condition with Deep Treatment instead. Using Deep Treatment every two weeks will allow you to color your hair. Personally, I soften and color my hair. Try to extend your color to 6 or 8 weeks by just doing the hair line and part in between full coloring processes. The less you color the better.<
br class=”webkit-block-placeholder” />Q: Hi! I have thick wavy to curly hair. But at 23, I still have no idea what to do with it. My mother has super straight hair so she was never able to teach me how to style my hair properly. I’ve been blowdrying my hair straight since I was 13 but I’ve never been happy with how it looks. It always turns into a wavy, fuzzy mess by the end of the day, no matter what product I use in it. I’ve recently resorted to a straightening iron to smooth my hair, which works pretty well. But, I’m concerned about the damage that all this styling is doing to my hair and I would rather just wear it naturally.
The problem I find is that my hair is different on different parts of my head. My hair runs from slightly wavy on top to curly in the back to kinky ringlets at the temples and the nape of my neck. I’ve tried diffusers and air drying, but it ends up looking dry and messy. I know that I’m not styling it correctly, but I really don’t know how else to deal with it. Do you have any suggestions on how I can tame my hair??
Ouidad: Well, from the history that you have, you have some work to do.
You must Deep Treat your hair every two weeks to try to put the life into it that you have taken out by blow-drying. The straightening irons actually singes the outer protective layer of your hair eventually causing it to break off. If you were to touch a hot curling iron with your bare skin, the first layer of your skin will singe off. The same damaging effects happen to your hair. As you condition your hair, it will start to perform for you because you are linking the internal molecular layer.
In regard to all the different parts of curls in your head, it’s normal to have three to four different curly hair textures on one head of hair. So you need to style in sections and customize your gel application to your curl pattern. For an example, I would take the finer, tighter curls in larger sections and make sure that I apply enough gel to set the curl to match the fatter looser curls. I would roll the top of my hair which is the looser curl around my index finger with gel to set a tighter curl.
With proper conditioning and a little extra attention to your gelling application, you’re home free. Let me know how you do.
Q: I am a woman in my mid-30’s and my hair is naturally thick and very curly. Last year, I decided to have my hair relaxed using the Japanese Thermal Reconditioning System. I loved the new look for a while. But started to miss my naturally curly hair. Now, 10 months and three haircuts later, my hair is driving me crazy. The top part is straight and the underneath part is curly I would love to have my curls back. But having the patience to grow my hair out is driving me mad. What would you recommend I do? A perm? A body-wave? Please help! — Julie
Have your hair sliced on the upper layer to create a layered effect and work those ends in. Actually, it will give you a look of layered curly big hair of the eighties. That’s the style we’re showing more of right now and it’s beautiful. And thanks to most ladies like yourself who took that avenue, you have given my team a lot of experience matching those ends to the rest of the hair.
Remember, Deep Treat, Deep Treat.
