Friday, December 17, 2010

hair tutor

tutor is a word that always makes me laugh. we weren't allowed to say fart growing up, we could only accuse each other of tooting. which is embarassing to say in front of non-family members. plus, it reminds me of a girl who went to my junior high. jennifer tuter. poor thing. or my homeroom teacher in 7th grade, mr. oder. or a boy from my elementary school, greg boogher.
i digress. many have asked, and i finally put together a tutorial of how i curl my hair. it's a really easy process. it just takes some practice to figure out how you want your hair to work and how to roll the curling iron. it doesn't have to be  time consuming, it's a hard style to mess up.
 i used mostly still photos because i have a hard time sitting through a tutorial that is more than 5 minutes long. i added a quick video clip at the end.


first, i'm not sure why i chose to do this with no make-up and my alma mater sweatshirt. i must have been having a pretty confident morning. this is my hair post-blow dry. since the day before was a "rest" day, or a day i didn't do/wash my hair, i didn't need to use any extra fullness creating product. otherwise i would use john frieda frizz-ease take charge curl boosting mousse. even though i don't have naturally curly hair, it still works great.


second, i pull half my hair up on top of my head. and this is my curling iron, size 1 1/2 inch barrel. it's the biggest barrel i could find for cheap. i would LOVE a chi curling iron. i have the chi flat iron and nothing compares. and at $150, nothing should compare. but cheap is fine in this case.

these are the average hair amounts i use. if i want a looser, wavier look i use larger amounts and for a tighter, more curly look, smaller amounts. it's almost like math. i never use uniform sizes. i like it to be a little messy with a mix of big and little waves.


to start the curl i make a smaller twist in my hair section. sometimes i over twist and the curl isn't very pretty. you really only need a small twist. i clamp the iron directly onto the twist. i alway curl away from my face. that's just personal preference.

after i clamp, i start twisting the iron and coiling the hair around it.


the worst picture ever of my mug, but it illustrates a good point. gently release clamp as you are coiling the hair closely to your head. if your hair is extra thick or long, you make have to roll the curling iron a bit. i have to roll a bit because my hair is both ridiculously full and it getting pretty long.

sixth, after you hold the iron for a few seconds, slowly pull the curling iron out of your hair downward, letting the hair uncoil itself from the iron. do not release clamp and let hair fall out all at once. that creates a big tangled mess.

voila! with some practice you should be able to create a spiral coil. the twist in the hair helps create a loose wavey coil with the look of a two coils, instead of just one. however, no matter what i do i can't always get each curl to coil into a double coil. that's just the way it is. life isn't always fair.

another shot of the slow motion release


after i curl all over i let the curls cool and then i finger comb them apart and finish with hairspray.
 thank goodness for make-up.

here's the clip. notice the huge stack of harry potter books? that's my bathroom tripod. literacy is helpful in so many ways. and i'm not sure why i decided not to talk. pretend it's a silent film and i'm clara bow.

the end. or the beginning. you decide.

21 comments:

Will and Natalie Giddens said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Will and Natalie Giddens said...

xcellent information! I actually did my hair like this for church a couple of months ago. I got a fair number of compliments, so this is for sure great information.

But as wonderful as this post is, my absolute favorite part was the correct spelling of voila. Nothing grates on my grammatical and spelling nerves more than reading a blog spot where it's spell, "waa laa". What what?!?! Then again, I wouldn't have expected anything less from my French friend. Merci!

(That deleted comment is mine. I misspelled a word. Oh the irony!)

Will and Natalie Giddens said...

Hahaha - and then my E on excellent got erased. I'm a mess!

HJolley said...

Way to be witty AND informational. The silent movie is especially helpful, and your thumbs-up at the end really cracked me up for some reason.

I want to try this. Maybe my heather FEATHER (baby fine) three piece of hair will decide to cooperate.

Paula said...

Heidi!!! This couldn't have come at a better time. I have been practicing on my hair since you showed me on our visit and hasn't wasn't turning out right. I was thinking about emailing you to get a step-by-step or maybe video chat or something to see what I was doing wrong but now I don't have to. I am seriously thrilled! I love it!

I also wanted to tell you that you have inspired me to branch out of my comfort zone when it comes to my outfits. As you know I am super conservative with my clothes and color choices but since reading your blog, I have been playing around with my closet more. Nothing like you of course but hey, baby steps right?

Jeppson Clan said...

I too am a fan of the curls. What a great "toot" ha ha. Thumbs up right back atcha!

Laura said...

Thanks Heidi! how long does it take you to finish it all? Mine seems to take FOREVER. I guess a fatter curling iron would help

LittleSarahD said...

Soooo, I think it's time to tell you...I'm a secret creeper of your blog.

Love,
Sarah Dinneny

Jessica said...

hahahahaha. i love the thumbs up at the end of your silent film. classic. and i would like to reiterate paula that since i've been following your fashion blog i've been making a conscious effort to get dressed in "real" clothes more. the greater st. louis area thanks you.

and p.s. i wish my hair were long enough to try this look. aside from the fact that my hair is a hot train wreck right now (which is really just a symbol of my life these days) i don't think a 1 1/2 inch barrel would work on a shorter length.

Natalie | Make Today Great said...

Amazing! I totally lack the skills! Rock it!

DMC Studios said...

What if your post blow-dry hair is like twice the size of yours and really frizzy--like REALLY frizzy? Can I still do it?

amanda said...

You are the best!

Nicole Bolinger said...

Love the tutorial...and a video even! Awesome! :) BTW, I say toot for reals...to tha whole wide world! haha!

Unknown said...

oh my gosh you are awesome! i literally giggled at your silent but extremely helpful film! i like that you twist the hair... its good stuff!

~selina

Elaine said...

Can you just come over and do my hair for me every day....

www.clothedmuch.com

Jenna said...

I always love your hair - I will have to try this. I like one of the Kenra products for keeping curl in my very flat-prone hair. I spray it on while damp, let my hair dry & then curl away. It is the only way my hair will keep any curl.

Carie said...

I never knew the twist! Can't wait to try it!

Julie said...

That video is too funny.

Julianne said...

The silent video. The thumbs up. All of it is precisely great.

Will and Natalie Giddens said...

I think 19 comments confirms that you should do more tutorials. With videos.

Caroline said...

oh my word the video is hillarious! Especially the little look you give the camera!