Curls Are The Hottest A-List Summer Hair Trend – Here’s How To Enhance Or Create Yours

According to Luke Hersheson, who counts Victoria Beckham among his clients, there is one thing all truly great curls and waves have in common, and that’s the right cut to help your hair fall into the shape you want. “A good shape is the foundation of a curly look,” he says. “Good layers, and hair that has been slightly tapered at the ends so that’s it’s not too blunt, will give you a more natural-looking shape.”

“I think some people forget they have curly hair. They’ve spent so many years stretching and straightening their hair out, they kind of forget how to dry and style it in a way that makes the most of their natural curls,” says Hersheson. But how to enhance your natural curls? It’s remarkably easy if you follow his hacks.

Apply your heat defense and curl cream and then “use your fingers to twist small sections of your wet or damp hair, before using low heat and low speed on your hairdryer or diffuser to dry it.” You’ll need to exercise some patience here, because the low-and-slow method takes a while, but the results are more than worth it. The one rule is to not touch your hair while it’s drying. “You can touch your curls while they’re wet, and again when they’re dry, but never during the drying process, or you’ll destroy their shape and create frizz.”

There are some hard-and-fast rules you must follow if you want shapely, defined curls instead of frizz, advises Hersheson. “You want to keep the wind during drying to a minimum; the more wind you give your curls, the frizzier they will be. I love to use a diffuser, because it means you can use low heat, low speed and keep the movement to a minimum while your hair dries. Secondly, if you must comb your hair, direct the comb outwards, not down, to ensure you keep maximum volume and bounce. Combing curly hair downwards is a sure-fire way to flatten it.”

As for what products to use, Hersheson recommends creams and oils to help hydrate and create definition. “I like to use a moisturizing balm and sometimes mix it with a little hair oil. Use your hands to scrunch the product in to help your hair go back to its natural, curly form, before using the diffuser to dry it.”

Creating ‘cheat’ curls with a tong or curling iron is a great way to determine how tight or loose you want them to be. Likewise, if you have naturally curly hair but some sections are straighter than others, you can use a tong to tighten the curls in places. “A pencil tong is great for creating a full head of tight curls,” says Hersheson. “If your hair is naturally straight and doesn’t hold a curl well, mist it with a high-hold styling spray before tonging, and then set the shape with lashings of hairspray at the end.”

If you have bangs, you will likely understand the dilemma of what to do with them when wearing the rest of your hair curly. “It’s tempting to forget about your fringe when curling the rest of your hair and just style it as you normally would, but a straight fringe and curly hair never looks good,” warns Hersheson. “Have a look at model Mica Argañaraz – I think her hair is a great example of how you should style your fringe when your hair is curly. A subtle curl in the fringe looks great, so it’s always a good idea to enhance its texture a little. To make it easier to style, ask your stylist to blend the fringe into the rest of your haircut, so it doesn’t look disjointed when you wear your hair curly.”

3 easy styling hacks for effortless beach hair

Beyoncé and Zendaya’s hairdresser shares her top hair hacks