February 2022

For all of our curly Qs, this one is for you. Taming the mane is not for the weak, and if you’re someone who likes to get up and go, sticking to the one or two hairstyles that you know will never let you down is definitely the safe option. We know the struggle of wash days that take hours and tending to each coil on your head; however, when it comes to styles and cuts curly-haired girls can pull off, the limit truly does not exist! Don’t believe us? 

Today, we’re taking a page out of the books of expert stylists on the perfect haircuts for curly hair and the products you’ll need to keep up with your ‘do. Keep scrolling for trending haircuts that’ll have you booking an appointment with your stylist ASAP!

 

Meet the expert
Nicole Mangrum
GLOBAL HAIR ARTIST, EXPERT ON INTRO
Mangrum is a global hair artist whose work has been featured in Oprah Daily, Vogue, and Wall Street Journal. She is also an expert on Intro, a platform for booking one-on-one advice video chats with style and beauty experts.

 

1. Diamond ‘Fro 

If you have 4A to 4C curls, we’ve found the cut for you. The volume, the bounce, the shape—it’s nothing short of everything. Your curly texture gives this style all the hold it needs to stay put, but if you want to give it some extra lift or define your curls more, keep them moisturized. Use a leave-in product to fluff up the hair and shape it to your desire, especially in between wash days. Another tip: If you wake up and your hair looks a little squished or flattened, stand in the shower without getting your hair wet and let the steam reshape it. This adds the perfect amount of moisture back into the hair to give it some life again. 

Flora and Curl

Sweet Hibiscus Curl Activating Lotion

This leave-in lotion is ideal for reshaping, re-fluffing, and re-zhuzhing your 'fro. It's sulfate- and alcohol-free and filled with sweet almond and coconut oil to leave your hair super soft and moisturized. Make sure to massage it into your whole head from roots to ends.

 

2. Layers

Consider this the curly girl’s “Rachel.” It doesn’t have the same swoopy-ness, but it gives off a similar look of ease. Unlike the ’90s layered hair we’re seeing come back, this style is perfect for a wash ‘n go. Because the cut already gives your hair dimension and body, you don’t need to do too much styling to make it look good. Opt for a really good curl cream or gel to set your curls in place. Because this style is medium to long in length, we also recommend a microfiber hair towel to plop your curls to give them lots of shape and extra volume at the roots. 

The Doux

Big Poppa Curl Define Gel

Unlike other gels, this one actually seals in moisture to make your hair feel even softer (AKA no crunch in sight).

Aquis

Rapid Dry Lisse Hair Wrap Towel

Plop your hair into a towel like this made of microfiber that won't cause frizz, breakage, or shrinkage in your curls. We love this one because it's big enough to fit long and thick hair and feels comfortable on the head (especially if you plan to wear it all morning like we do).

 

3. Bixie

The bixie—a length just between a bob and a pixie—is taking the world by storm. We’re seeing it in all textures but especially all curly textures from 3A to 4c. With kinky and coily curls, little-to-no styling is required to make this look good, and it’s ideal for those who like to take their wash days as far as possible. On a more curly texture, you can use a curl-defining cream and twirl your curls with your fingers to give them a tighter shape. 

Briogeo

Curl Charisma Leave-In Defining Crème

Curly girls swear by this cream because it does it all: defines curl pattern, adds moisture, doesn't flake, reduces frizz, and is made with good-for-hair ingredients like rice amino acids and avocado oil.

 

 

4. Curly Bangs

“I love to see coily and curly hair in their natural textures but cut in strong shapes such as a heart shape or fringe that makes a statement,” said Nicole Mangrum, global hair artist and expert on Intro. Gone are the days where curls had to hide—instead, put them front and center with a bang. This can be paired with a long length to add dimension and frame your face, with a bob or pixie for a bolder look, or even with a layered cut. The options are endless.

We especially love bangs on curly hair because they’re so easy to style. Finger-coil every strand, and then use a blow dryer with a diffuser to set them in place. 

Dyson

Supersonic Hair Dryer

This is arguably the most famous hair dryer in the world—and for good reason. The famed Dyson Supersonic was made for every hair type, length, and texture in mind. It comes with a diffuser attachment and has low speed and heat settings specifically for diffusing hair.

 

5. Shag

Although it goes by a few names—shag, mullet, wolf cut—this style is defined by one thing: lots of messy, undone texture, apt for curly hair. We’ve seen this on celebs like Whitney Peak and Natasha Lyonne, and it’s usually paired with a full bang, lots of choppy layers, and a medium length.

Because this style thrives on that undone look, you can get away with going longer between washes. However, that also means by the time your wash day rolls around, your scalp might be in need of a little detox. Opt for a scalp serum to hydrate and bring your hair back to life in between washes and massage an ultra-moisturizing shampoo into your scalp. 

PATTERN by Tracee Ellis Ross

Scalp Serum

Dry, flaky, itchy scalps have met their match with this blend of peppermint, rosemary, and lavendar oils, along with aloe, castor seed oil, and niacinamide to soothe and nourish the scalp.

Ouidad

Curl Quencher Moisturizing Shampoo

Like a tall drink of water for curly hair, this shampoo cleanses roots without stripping all the oil and moisture from your scalp and hair. You'll get all that rehydration you crave without any extra weight shrinking your coils.

 

6. Chin-Length Bob 

According to Mangrum, shorter cuts are all the rage, with the French-style bob haircut at the top of the list. If your style is chic, you’ll love the blunt edge of this cut. On curly hair, this style looks especially bold, so get ready to make a statement. Unlike previous iterations of the style, it’s not necessary to have sleek, straight hair to pull it off. Instead, keep your hair looking special by using a gel that makes your hair ultra-shiny. You’ll get that same sleekness without compromising your natural texture. 

Oribe

Curl Gelée

This is the perfect gel for those who like to make a statement with their hair, all due to the blend of Murumuru seed butter, avocado butter, mango seed butter, apricot oil, and more. These butters and oils leave hair slick and shiny—without looking greasy, weighing hair down, or straightening out your curls.

 

7. Long Lengths

Just because short cuts are in doesn’t mean everyone is forgoing their long, luscious locks. Curls can do it all, including long and blunt or long with layers. A long, blunt haircut will allow your curls to take center stage, while a layered cut gives extra dimension and body while framing your face (like the cut above). 

 

Long lengths require lots of drying time, so you’ll likely rely on a good blow dryer with a diffuser attachment to get you out the door quicker. Also, invest in a product to revive your curls to avoid washing so often to protect your hair and keep it long and healthy.

Conair

InfinitiPRO by Conair Hair Dryer

This blow dryer was made to dry your hair fast, using a powerful motor with infrared heat that is still gentle on your precious locks.

Bumble and Bumble

Curl Reactivator

When your curls just look a little "blah," this moisturizing spray gives it that oomph you're looking for. It moisturizes, adds hold, and reduces frizz to revitalize curls in just a few spritzes.

 

8. Lob

Hair at this length is bouncy and fun, but if you want to keep your curls smooth and frizz-free, you’ll need to make sure to step up your moisture game. A deep conditioner is a must, especially if you only wash once a week (or less). Your hair is literally a sponge while it’s wet, so you want to add as much moisture as you can before hitting it with a blow dryer or waiting while it air dries. After you deep condition, use a moisturizing leave-in from scalp to ends. 

Sienna Naturals

Plant Power Protein & Moisture Repair Hair Mask

This vegan hair mask uses pea protein to moisturize, strengthen, and prevent damage. It can be used on all hair textures, color-treated hair, relaxed hair, and more, but it shines (literally) on hair that is extra dry, making it feel smooth, hydrated, and strong.

CURLS

Blueberry Bliss Reparative Leave In Conditioner

With over 490 five-star reviews on Ulta, this is a product that makes you wonder if there's magic in the bottle (and there might be). One even said, "I've tried leave in sprays to combat this, and they don't do ANYTHING compared to this absolute gift from God. A little goes a long way, but it also doesn't weigh down my hair at all, so I'm able to use a good amount and get sufficient moisture without ending up with flat, lifeless hair." Plus, the under-$15 price tag and blueberry Jolly Rancher scent don't hurt.

 

9 Haircut Trends You’ll See Everywhere in 2022
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The post This Just In: 8 Trending Spring Haircuts That Are Perfect for Curly Girls appeared first on The Everygirl.

There’s a person inside me who survived all-nighters during finals, late nights with my girlfriends, early spin classes, and a life that contained not a single nap… and I barely even drank coffee. So tell me why, now, at the ripe age of 25, I can’t seem to function unless I’ve nodded off by 10 p.m. sharp. If I didn’t know how to use concealer before, let’s just say I started drowning myself in the stuff.

If you ever have a conversation with me, you’ll hear a few standard lines: I love the Jonas Brothers, beauty is everything to me, and I naturally wake up around 6 a.m. most days. My body’s internal clock refuses to sleep past 6:30 a.m., whether I’ve gone to sleep at 9 or 3 a.m. This leads to many mornings that my face looks… well, haggard, to put it lightly. However, I refuse to bring that negative energy into Zoom meetings or on my morning coffee runs, so I had to come up with a system to make myself look like I got double the amount of sleep I actually received. Here’s my secret weapon, and it’s all about my concealer routine (which, in case you were wondering, is *only* four steps):

 

 

Always start with an eye cream

I never realized how important this step was until I consistently put it into practice. I thought that if I didn’t have dry under eyes, eye cream would just make my concealer and powder crease like a mofo. Oh, the contrary. Good-for-you ingredients like caffeine and peptides plump up the eyes and help reduce darkness over time that will require less concealer as time goes on (no matter how much sleep you get—score!). Plus, hydrated eyes make the product go on so much smoother, so you can spend less time blending and more time sleeping. 

When I apply my eye cream, I’ll always do a light massage around my eyes with my ring fingers to spread the product around and wake up my eyes. While my under eye bags are hereditary, the puffiness can be dissolved with a few quick strokes (or even better, an ice roller). 

Wonderskin

Purevoc All Day Glow Multi-Corrective Eye Cream

When I want a major boost of hydration or want to give myself a short depuffing massage, I opt for this eye cream. It's thick and emollient on the skin, but it never clogs my pores or makes my eyes greasy. I use it nearly every morning for smooth, prepped under eyes.

The Inkey List

Caffeine Eye Cream

For those with normal to oily eyes that just want a boost of caffeine and peptides in their under eye routine, this lightweight option has hundreds of five-star reviews on Sephora.

 

Use a liquid luminizer under the eyes 

I used to think using a dewy product under the eyes would them crease and all the product would gather in fine lines. Instead, this is the secret sauce to getting rid of dark circles and making my eyes look bright—without the dreaded triangle of super light concealer. Heck, some days, I do this and don’t even wear concealer. An illuminating product with a sheer coverage is the first step of covering up the darkness, but its real power is reflecting light. Because darkness is often a shadow under your eyes, we want that area to look bright and open. A dewy product like this reflects light, inadvertently disguising and diminishing dark circles. It’s truly magic.

I use a skin-tone luminizer without shimmer or glitter just where the darkness is (usually in the inner and outer corner of my eyes). I apply it with a concealer brush and blend it out with a sponge or my finger. You can immediately tell a difference in my eyes without any cakiness. 

Charlotte Tilbury

Hollywood Flawless Filter

Hollywood Flawless Filter is one of those cult-classic products that just about everyone should have on their vanity. It has so many uses: concealer, foundation, highlighter, primer—the list goes on. Under the eyes, it's a genius product that covers and brightens without making you look like an oil slick or adding noticeable glitter.

Sigma

Concealer Brush

You'll want a domed, synthetic concealer brush to apply product to the under eyes to avoid adding too much or getting it in the areas you don't want it (like the sides of your nose).

Beauty Blender

Original Sponge

Nothing works like an original Beauty Blender, especially for blending out anything under the eyes.

 

 

Apply concealer to just the inner and outer corner 

When my eyes are particularly dark and droopy, concealer is a must. But I avoid applying it in a massive triangle like it’s 2016 all over again. If you’re on makeup TikTok, you’ve definitely seen this viral trend of applying concealer just to the inner and outer corner to lift the eyes and use as little makeup as possible. Or if you’ve wondered how people get their under eyes to look so bright without getting cakey, this is exactly it. 

I’ll use the doe-foot of whatever concealer I’m using to apply it to the area, and I blend it out with a sponge. For me, a sponge always gets rid of any streaky lines and looks natural, but you could use a brush if you wanted more coverage. The key to this trick is avoiding the center of the eye where the product tends to bunch up and crease or get heavy-looking. Whatever is leftover on the brush or sponge can be dabbed there, but focus all of your coverage right on the areas that actually need the brightness. Trust me: You won’t miss the triangle. 

NARS

Radiant Creamy Concealer

The reigning champ of concealers, NARS Radiant Creamy glides on and smoothes out like butter under your eyes, leaving behind nothing but bright, awake eyes. You'll never get cakey or dry, and you have to use the tiniest bit to get the coverage you desire.

The Ordinary

Concealer

You don't always want a creamy, dewy concealer, especially if you have oily skin. This affordable option brightens under eyes and leaves a natural finish that stays put all day long.

 

 

Tap on powder only where I need it

As a final step to make sure my concealer lasts through all of my meetings, my mid-day phone scroll, and the 2 p.m. power-nap I need to get through the day, I’ll apply a little powder to set everything in place. Remember: We use a dewy product to reflect the light, so if you go in with a heavy matte powder, that step is essentially rendered useless. To keep my eyes radiant and bright, I use a very finely-milled powder that keeps all the glow but makes sure my makeup doesn’t budge. 

Kosas

Cloud Set Setting Powder

This powder is practically the antithesis of powder. If you're used to dry, heavy, cakey powders that do more harm than good, let me introduce you to her. Instead of that, you get a smooth, radiant appearance that practically looks no different than before you put the powder on... but I guarantee you'll notice the difference in how long your makeup lasts.

Beauty Bakerie

Flour Setting Powder

While this powder was made with every skin type in mind, it's ideal for those with oily skin who still want their glow to peak through without the extra grease and shine. Plus, it blurs pores like no other.

Real Techniques

Setting Brush

This brush is genius for setting the face because it's small and dense enough to pack on powder, but the fluffiness makes it so easy to diffuse any edges and blend powder right into the rest of your makeup.

 

10 Hacks to Achieving the ‘No Makeup’ Makeup Look
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The post This Concealer Hack is the Only Reason I Look Alive Every Day appeared first on The Everygirl.

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