HOW TO: TEXAS TEASE YOUR HAIR (AND STAY INFLATED ALL NIGHT!!)

hgca2015
Jul 5, 2017
4 min read

After this weekend’s events and a flurry of questions and comments about my mile-high hair, I thought I’d offer some help and guidance to those looking to get closer to heaven.

‘Tis the season of pastels, gingham, and monogrammed Easter bonnets. Spring is upon us. Now, as I’m still a ways away from the days of mini-me’s running amuck in coordinating monogrammed suits and sundresses, “Spring” for me is a bit different. The end of Winter marks the beginning of “beach-body ready” crash diets, laying out in the Greek sanding coolers, and getting ready for the much anticipated event known as formal. Having a black tie attire event in Texas’ early Spring is a perfect catch 22. The lighting is usually great for outdoor pictures and bodies still have the post Spring Break glow and tone but the sticky, white skies hide potential tornado threats that tempt to drop at any minute. At formal, a Texas girl is known for, and expected to be, pageant-ready as they enter the room and fully encompass the “higher the hair, closer to heaven” mentality. Now, this seems nearly impossible to have mile high hair for any longer than thirty seconds after walking into the terrarium-feel of the outdoors it is definitely not as hard as one would think!

This seems to be my motto for any mildly important event, whether it be game day or brunch.

Most would think that hair and make-up is a 2 hour or less preparation for any event short of your wedding day. Like in most things, I am extra and defy expectations, and my hair process starts the night before the event. After shampoo-ing normally and finishing with just a hint of conditioner, I brush a mist or two of leave in conditioner through my hair. I follow it up with a pump of volume enhancing mousse to my roots and tie it all up in a top know to soak the goodness in. Having it dry while up and in a top knot bun also helps add volume and body for the morning after. Once the morning of the anticipated event is finally upon us, I release the beast of waves from its cinnamon bun shaped cage and start on phase two.

After heating up my fat, 2 inch curling iron and divide my hair into 3-4 layers. My first layer, usually the bottom third of my hair, I then divide in half over each shoulder and douse it with heat protectant and smoothing spray. After brushing that through, I hit it with heat-activated hair spray (to prevent crunchy curls) and begin twisting and curling. After releasing the iron, I hurry and finger curl pin the newly waved chunk so that it continues to set while I finish styling. After about an hour of this, my hair is fully curled and re-pinned and I resemble a 50’s housewife.

My DIY hybrid of finger rolling and hot curlers. Looking crazy for an hour is well worth it when your curls are the only ones that will last all night!

Once this has been done, set, and misted with your first layer of mid-strength hairspray it is time to release the curls (again!). Now is where the magic really starts. The photo above, where I am protesting my teasing allegations, was taken shortly after unpinning the curls with absolutely nothing else done to it. What happens is both my favorite and most crucial step in the process. Armed with my teasing comb and dry hair spray, I begin underneath the top half of my hair. I first spray the dry hairspray then attack it with my comb, in the same up-and-down manner one would finely grate cheese.

Once everything is adequately teased and flounced, set the fluffy mounds of hair back into place. With your trusty teasing comb in hand, start smoothing down the hair balls. Keep doing this until the frizzy element has moderately died down and you’re satisfied with the height of your new ‘do.

Before your next big (and I mean big!) layer of hair spray, grab a dime size drop of your favorite glossing serum and gently smooth it from the middle of your curls down to your roots. Spray another layer of hairspray all over your head, think 80’s movie hairspray scenes, you really can’t have too much! If you’re still feeling a little frizz-prone, you can top yourself off with a mist of shine spray and, TA-DAA! Your hair is properly “Texafied” and it’s strong enough to last through a night full of heat, rain, and tornadoes.

Below is a list of my favorite go-to products: