Learning how to curl long hair changes everything if you have a mane for miles. Curling long hair can feel intimidating. You might assume that curling long hair takes hours. You might also be worried that gravity will drag down your curls after you put in all that hard work. However, the right techniques, tips, and products can give your hair curls without limits. Are you looking for the best way to curl long hair? Take a look at a simple guide that goes a long way for adding waves and volume to long hair!
Curling Long Hair Using Heat
Heat is your friend if you want a loose curls long hair look with staying power. This is how to get thick, bouncy, and beachy waves in your hair using a curling iron. Take a look:
- Start by blow drying your hair. Flip your hair over to dry from the nape of your neck to increase volume and body. Don’t consider your hair fully dry unless your roots are completely dry.
- Apply some dry shampoo to your roots. Yes, dry shampoo can be used as a hair supplement even if you’ve already washed your hair for the day. Dry shampoo is the ultimate hack for building body and texture that increases the staying power of curls!
- Next, you can brush out any tangles in your hair.
- It’s spray time! Yes, you can use hairspray in your hair without worrying about your hair becoming crunchy or stiff if you’re using a high-quality styling product. Just make sure you’re misting hair from a slight distance to avoid soaking strands. In addition, you should also allow your freshly sprayed hair to dry fully before brushing it again.
- It’s time for the curling wand! Hotter is better when you’re trying to form tight, long-lasting curls. In fact, you should be creating curls that are slightly tighter than you actually prefer because they will naturally loosen up to resemble the look you’re going for after a few hours.
- Curl your long hair in sections. A good practice is to start with hair in the front of your face. You’ll want to grab a section of hair, curl it back using your wand, and hold the curl in your hand for a few seconds after releasing it from the wand. Holding the curl allows it to set before it rejoins the rest of your hair. One secret to use as you’re curling strand after strand is to curl sections on either side of your head in opposing directions. This is how you create body and texture within your mane instead of producing single-direction curls that look boxy. Lastly, handle layers by curling big sections of hair before curling layered pieces over the tops of those larger sections.
- Once your curls are in place, grab your hairspray. One smart tip is to angle your head to the side to make your hair separate slightly from your face. This allows the spray to hit your hair from all directions. You can also slightly pull apart your hair as you spray to give the spray access to more hair. Just spraying the outside of your hair can create a flat, matted look.
This method for how to curl long hair with a curling iron is easy enough for anyone to do. If your arms get tired during the process, simply take a break before grabbing more strands. There’s no rush to get everything done all at once because individual strands are being treated separately.
Curling Long Hair Without Heat
There are many heatless methods for curling hair. However, adding curlers to long hair can take time. What’s more, it’s easy for long hair to get tangled up overnight. Sleeping in curlers is also notoriously uncomfortable. One easy hack for getting curly hair overnight is the mini-bun method. With this method, you’re simply creating small buns throughout your hair that you tie up with hair elastics.
Getting your entire mane into these buns can take just a few minutes. The best part is that these miniature buns are totally comfortable to sleep with because you’re not putting any hard, rounded accessories in your hair. The small, tight buns that you make will even be resilient enough to survive tossing and turning through the night. Here’s how to make curly hair using heatless overnight buns:
- Prime your hair with some hair texturizer. However, avoid overdoing it with any hair products to avoid having “sticky” hair when you wake up in the morning. The mini-bun heatless method can be used with both “dirty” and freshly washed hair.
- Creating one bun at a time, divide your hair into several small buns. The number of buns you make can vary based on your hair. If your hair is very long, you might want to consider five to six buns. Thicker hair will also require more buns. However, four buns is often enough for most people to get the soft, wavy curls they want.
- Position the buns as close to the top of your head as possible. Avoiding the sides and back of the head will reduce the amount of contact your hair has with the pillow. Unlike heavy curlers, your hair buns are light enough to comfortably fit on top of your head.
- Simply sleep the night away.
- After waking up, release each bun from its elastic. Each twist that was created can be separated into a few pieces to create a fuller look. Once you’re happy with the configuration of your curls, gently shake out your hair. You can then seal the look with hairspray.
- If you’re unhappy with any of the curl formations, they can be touched up using a curling iron. In fact, some people combine the mini-bun overnight method with the work of a curling iron when they want firm curls that really stay in place!
The beauty of the mini-bun curling method is that you can change up it every time you try it. While you may opt to make four buns for loose, flowing curls the first time you try it, you can try six, seven, or eight buns the next night to see if you like the tighter look that’s created when you use more buns. The big advantage of using the mini-bun heatless curling hack for long hair is that you’re saving time because you don’t have to go over every strand individually the way you need to when you’re using a curling iron, curling wand, or individual curlers.
Can you use the heatless bun method several nights in a row without washing your hair? Yes, this method can be used several nights in a row. In fact, using existing curls to form new curls can actually add more volume. You don’t even have to try to follow the same curl patterns when you’re regrouping your strands of hair. You just have to be very careful about not causing your curly hair to become tangled and messy when you form it into new curls.
Tips for How to Curl Long Hair: Getting Curls That Last Forever Doesn’t Have to Take Forever
Long hair can pose challenges when trying to curl your hair simply because the forces of gravity are working against you. Gravity causes long hair to “tug” at curls. As a result, curls begin to flatten pretty easily. The way to fix this is to create weight near the top of the head that balances the pull from the bottom. Some tips for helping to create lasting curls in long hair include:
- Skip a few days of washing your hair before adding curls. This creates a better texture for getting curls to stick.
- Apply dry shampoo at the top of your head before curling your hair.
- Use hair spray or texturizing spray near the top of your head.
- Start curls closer to the crown of your head instead of just creating beachy curls that start at the chin.
- Put your hair in a loose, low ponytail overnight to avoid compressing your curls while you sleep.
- Touch up your curls by spritzing them with hairspray throughout the day. However, you want to avoid soaking your hair because this can cause stiff, crunchy curls.
When curling long hair, you want to focus on the factors of heat and curling duration to get good results. If you’re going for heat, opt for a heat setting that’s slightly higher to create beautifully formed curls with some extra staying power against the law of gravity that hits longer hair. If you’re going heatless when creating curls, you’ll need to give your hair more time to curl. The best way to do this is to use curling accessories overnight to give your curls a solid eight hours to become set in place.