3 Steps No Heat Korean Style Wavy Hair Tutorial

this is so easy and unoriginal, after you watch it you'll probably go "what!? this is nothing new at all!". i say it's unoriginal because it's the classic french braid. but it's quite "new" in a sense that.. i don't remember seeing anyone doing a french braid to get wavy curls like i do. i actually discovered this method by chance because i usually do my hair into a french braid before i exercise so that my hair won't be all over the place. i feel like a pony tail is going to strain my scalp too much with my little tail swishing in air from left to right periodically.

there was this particular day when i went out for an extended strolling session that left me entirely soaked in my own sweat. by the time i got home the sweat has evaporated, and right before i went to shower i noticed just how beautiful my hair has become - those waves! exactly what i've been trying to recreate with my three barrel tongs!

while i love my heat tools, i try not to use them too often as heat will damage hair. i can try my best to condition it after, but prevention is always better than cure. this no heat method is as good as it can get! the only caveat - you need time, and you need to know how to braid.

don't worry if you don't know how to do a french braid, i got you covered ;) scroll down for an illustrated pictorial! or you can watch the video below to get the hang of how i coordinate my fingers when i braid my own hair.



PRODUCTS USED______________________________________________________________


left to right, clock wise motion:
1. water
2. vidal sassoon magic style activator for curls (leave in conditioner, this is optional)
3. lucido l hair spray (very hard)
4. rubber bands

you really only need 1, 3 and 4. if you have super fine and straight hair, replace 2 with a curling mousse or curling cream, whatever that can give your hair more grip and hold to maintain the waves.

PICTORIALS:

STEP 1: WET YOUR HAIR

in the world of hair styling, there are two methods to change the "shape" of your hair - going from wet to dry, and going from hot to cold. we're obviously employing the wet to dry method here, so dampen your hair (if you started out with dry hair) or dry it a little (if you started off with wet hair). it should be damp but not dripping wet - being able to hold a curl/twist is a good gauge.

keep the roots dry because a wet scalp is not that great for your head (my mom says).

i threw in a conditioning step because why not? i bought the product a while ago but seldom use it. thought my hair could use some extra nourishment, and this is also me trying to show you a way to help your hair be less frizzy if you happen to have frizzy hair - "moisturize" your hair.



STEP 2: FRENCH BRAIDING

as i mentioned in the video, the beauty of the french braid is that it allows us to customize our curls/waves.

if you want tighter curls: make your braids smaller by sectioning your hair into 2 or more sections

if you want looser waves: stick to the one braid that i'm doing

if you want your curls to start nearer to the roots: also make your braids smaller so as to reduce the distance between the side of your head and the main braid (please refer to the video for annotations if you are unclear)

if you want your curls to start further away from the scalp: also stick to the one braid, but feel free to play around with the position, you can let it be on your left side of the head (so the waves would start closer to your scalp on the left side and further from your scalp on the right side)

just braid and carry on with your stuff until your hair is fully dry. i go to sleep once my hair is less damp, i try to factor in the additional 3-4 hours so that i can braid much earlier before my sleeping time.



tutorial for french braiding! YOU'RE WELCOME! ;)



STEP 3: LOOSEN AND SET

once your hair is fully dry, you can remove your rubber band and loosen your hair. set it with a hair spray for extra hold so as to ensure the waves stay curled all day!



STEP OPTIONAL: DRYING WITH HAIR DRYER

if you're out of time, there's a way to speed up the drying : heat. just make sure to let your hair cool down completely before releasing the curls, this is because curling hair with heat is just like making jelly. if it's not completely cooled, the hair won't set and will just straighten itself. what a waste of effort!



FINAL LOOK:









BEFORE YOU GO:

the method i share right here is a way to CURL your hair. whether or not your curls stays throughout the day has nothing much to do with the method, instead it's the way you set your curls. use hard hair spray for maximum strength, misting it all over your curls will reduce the tendency for it to stiffening your hair into a plastic wig cap. also, if you stay in a very humid climate (which is well known for reducing the curls to nothingness), prepping your hair with a curling mousse will greatly improve the longevity of the curls.

last but not least, remember to avoid getting styling products onto the roots (unless it's one of those products for volume at the roots), and if you do, make sure you clean your scalp properly to prevent accumulation of products in the hair follicles (which will lead to hair loss in the long run).

that's all for this week's sharing! hope you like this method as much as i do! i really love it SO MUCH because i used to spend 30 minutes curling my hair for events.. but braiding my hair takes less than 5 minutes. whatever time that's needed to dry my hair is spent very productively doing other things as i have both of my hands free.

xoxo
karman

Fringe Braided Hair Bun

i have no shame when it comes to hair bun, but i dare say i'm the queen of buns. :P
i mean, i've been doing the bunned up hair since 2009 before it was even in trend (and it is probably out of trend by now..). of course, i used to have much longer hair in the past and my bun is in epic proportions.

i've since added a slight twist to the boring hair bun by incorporating my handy dandy fringe braid!

watch me do it here!




i've also put together a step-by-step pictorial (is this how they call it? PICture-tuTORIAL?) because i actually like how they looked ever since making my first one! it's like there's this secret attraction to be able to see everything in one glance. but do watch the video if you're unsure about anything! :)



you can check out my previous hair tutorial to learn how to get that braid!
getting the bun is relatively easier if you can tear your hair right. the fluffying of the hair will really help to create a bigger and messier hairbun. the semi-tangled hair will provide a good mesh for the bobby pin to hold on to, giving you a more secured hair bun with lesser pins.

the hair is not actually tangled, it's just being held in place due to friction against the other hair. it can be easily dislodged by running your hand through your hair loosely and gently. just make sure to condition your hair after you wash it to repair your hair as the friction from the tearing actually ruffles up our hair cuticles.

good luck on getting this awesome hair!

do you like hair tutorials/pictorials like this?

xoxo
karman

Side Swept French Braided Fringe/Bangs

i can't say i invented this look, because clearly, i didn't, as i'm not the first to have come up with such a look, but i'm proud to say i've perfected it over the years to be able to get this hair done within 3 minutes (if i'm lucky). this look is different from the conventional french braided fringe as most people braid it all the way down, but i strive to be different - i tuck it underneath part of my hair. this imparts a certain volume to the side of my head that i could totally use, and it helps the braid stay slightly above my scalp to add to the voluminous look.

not only does this add volume to my hair, it adds THIS MUCH cuteness to it, making a boring hair become interesting effortlessly. plus, who doesn't like braids? it's so romantic!

this hair will work for both long fringe and short bangs as it's french braid style. the reason why i even did this hairstyle in the past was to get past the awkward "not short bangs, not yet a long fringe" stage.

watch the video tutorial now if you haven't already!



and for those who step by step visuals, here's a series of screen shots i did to help you see better at your own pace :)



i think there are three main techniques here that would take more practices to perfect,
the first is learning how much strength to use when french braiding so that the hair will not stick to the head like magnets. i actually use very little force and try to get the braid to be as loose as possible, because loose braids is what makes it looks more romantic.

the second being the change in direction from the "down the side of the face" to "towards the back of the head", the force required to tug each of the 3 sections will differ slightly according to the curvature of the braid at that section, i can try my best to explain but i know it'll just confuse you eventually. don't worry about this, because if the braid turns out to be slightly lopsided after you conform it to this direction, you can always fix the stray hair with bobby pins :) so do not panic!

the last would be the twist and push technique i used to insert the bobby pins into the hair. this took me a lot of practice, but once you manage it it'll be very instrumental in the rest of your life as a bobby pin works wonders if used appropriately. the gist is to secure the braid to the hair that's not part of the braid. those hair acts like foundations which the braid and bobby pin hold onto. this technique is worth a video on its own.

let me know what you think!

xoxo

karman


hope you like this tutorial and found it useful!