The Reflect Beauty Award season is in full swing! It’s a first-of-its-kind celebration honoring the best in makeup, haircare, and skincare products that meet the unique beauty needs of multicultural women. This week: haircare!
By Jacqueline Stiff
The holiday season is coming at us at top speed, bringing with it a drop in temperature, cute outfits, office parties, the chance to catch up with all the chisme at your family get-togethers, and did I mention parties?! Thankfully, it also brings good hair days due to the glorious absence of curly-girl enemy number one: humidity! This drastic drop in atmospheric moisture gives us some wiggle room to try out new styles, even the ones involving heat!
So if you’re looking for ways to style your hair and slay at your upcoming fall events and holiday parties (and to keep those locks in place till the break of dawn, or until the dranks run out, whichever comes first!), I’ve got you covered. Whether you’re rocking your waves, curls or coils, or going with a straight and sleek updo, we all want our hair to have minimal frizz and BAWDY! So let’s explore some ways to achieve that.
Let’s talk straight hair first. I absolutely LOVE my curls and waves and rock them loud and proud, but straightening once a year is a nice switch up! In the cooler months, l like to trade in my waves for a sleeker look to give off, you know, ‘get you a girl that can do both’ kinda vibes. But I don’t just straighten so I can swang it; I also do my yearly length check. Key word: yearly. I don’t straighten my hair often because not only can it be damaging, but it also takes FOREVER. Here are your three options for gorgeous straight results, no matter if your hair is wavy, curly, coily, or even naturally straight and prone to frizz:
- Salon: Visit your local Dominican salon to get the silkiest blowout known to man, just make sure to get there extra early and take several snacks because you will be there all day (and night).
- DIY Blowout: Grab a seamless bristle brush, a heat-protectant spray, your trusty blow dryer, and a la tenaza as backup because your arms may get tired from trying this yourself. I get pretty good results blowing my hair out at home, but not as sleek as when I go to the salon.
- DIY Rollerset: Another option, which is done by many of our older generation Mamis, is to sit under a hooded dryer with some rolos on — it might take a while, but you will save yourself the long visit to the salon, the bicep building exercises of a DIY blowout, and maybe even some of the heat damage (hooded dryers utilize indirect heat).
If done correctly, all three methods will leave you with silky straight hair with all the BAWDY.
Check out how @itslesliealvarado gets body, big waves, and texture in her heat-styled hair. She uses Reflect Beauty Award-winning products like OUAI Wave Spray to achieve an absolutely iconic look. If you struggle with flyaways, Leslie has a great tip for you! She suggests using OGX Honey Hold Mega Glue to lay your edges and smooth down some of those stubborn hairs that stray.
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Finally, while I love the versatility of straight hair, as a proud curly girl, I must remind you: Don’t be afraid to rock your rizos around your tias and abuelas this season. I know they’re going to give you a hard time because “how dare you walk out con ese pelo malo”? But look, they need to see it. They need to see how amazing our hair is in all its glory and they need to see you basking in all of that confidence and curl love. You’ve been working too hard to get those natural curls right, so show them off!
One of my favorite styles this season is swooping all of my BAWDY-licious curls to one side and securing them with bobby pins. I rock a cute outfit, blingy accessories, and a few hair jewels, and I’m out the door. My tias want hair advice now — and yours will too!
