The how-tos of hair: 5 styles done in under 20 minutes

By Monica Nguyen
Northwest Asian Weekly

Whether you have straight, fine, thick, coarse, wavy, or curly hair, there are five products to live by:
– Hair lotion/detangler
– Thickening spray
– Medium hold styling cream
– An everyday hairspray
– Heavy duty hairspray

You will also need:
– A round brush
– A blow-dryer
– A curling iron
– Hair clips or pins

Photos by Stacy Nguyen

How to volumize thin hair

1. Liberally spray hair lotion on damp hair so that it doesn’t get scorched by your blow-dryer.
2. Follow by spraying a thickening spray on hair roots. This will create volume.
3. To hold the volume, grab your medium-hold styling cream and squirt a dime-sized amount into the palm of your hand. Scrunch it into your hair. Make sure to distribute the cream evenly.
4. Blow-dry your hair until it’s no longer dripping but still a bit damp to the touch. Don’t worry if it’s a little tangled.
5. Using a round brush, lift the hair up and away from the scalp. Blow-dry the ends and use your brush to curl the ends under, as if your brush is a hot roller. Hold it and let it cool before removing the brush.
A variation on volumizing

If you want loose, tousled curls, follow the steps above, but instead of letting your hair set in your brush, carefully remove the brush and roll up the section of hair from the ends to the roots (like a scroll) while it’s still warm. Pin the section close to your head, let it set and cool for 15 minutes. Repeat with another section. Once the hair has cooled, remove the pins and finish with a light spray of an everyday hair spray.

How to put definition into wavy, thick, or coarse hair

1. Spray hair lotion and detangling spray all over finger-combed damp hair and scrunch in a styling cream.
2. Let your hair air dry or lightly diffuse with a blow-dryer. Be sure to evenly dry on low heat or your hair will become frizzy.
3. Using a curling iron, lightly curl locks of hair on the crown of your head for a finished look.

A variation on definition

1. For long hair, to look stylish while getting thick, curly hair out of your face, section your hair in half horizontally. Put the bottom half in a loose, messy bun (use an elastic tie that matches your hair color).
2. Hide the elastic band by lightly pinning loose pieces of hair around the messy bun. The point of this is to create some structure, so not everything has to look perfect and coiffed.
3. Spray the finished product with your heavy-duty hair spray.

How to straighten hair

1. For those who use a flat iron, spray hair lotion from the roots to the ends and then use a styling cream on the ends.
2. Blow-dry with a large round or paddle brush until your hair is completely dry. (To protect your hair from heat damage, your hair must be completely dry before flat ironing.)
3. The trick to getting straight hair quickly is to run a fine-tooth comb in front of your flat iron. The comb straightens the path for your hair. You’ll spend less time working for smooth hair, and less heat and damage goes into your cuticles.
Always try to avoid flat-ironing your roots. Doing so can make your hair look greasy. (end)

Monica Nguyen can be reached at info@nwasianweekly.com.