If you’ve struggled to style your hair in the past and haven’t been able to achieve a natural look, there may be something simple that you can change in your hair styling routine in order to make it easier to tame your mane. Just knowing a little more about your natural hair type can be beneficial if you’re on a budget because you can cut out the cost of buying styling products that you don’t need!
Plus, these factors will have an impact on what methods you should use and what tools will work best. Whether you’re considering buying a new hairdryer, straighteners, an amika hair styler, waving tool, curling iron or any other kind of heat-styling device, these are the things you’ll need to consider:
Your own hair type
We all have different types of hair – in terms of thickness, colour, natural curl or wave, whether or not it has been dyed and so on. But did you know that each type of hair should be treated differently when it comes to styling?
Once you know what hair type you have, you can treat it in the correct way to get the most out of the way it naturally moves. There are hair type quizzes online that you can take to determine the density, curl pattern or coarseness of your hair.
Knowing what your hair type is allows you to shop for haircare and styling products that will enhance the look of your hair rather than weighing it down or allowing it to be too fluffy. For example, I’ve only just discovered that my own hair type is 2A, which means I should use light mousses and volume-boosting shampoos in order to prevent my waves from being flattened.
This can save you money in the long run because you can avoid buying styling products that won’t work with your hair type, you can minimise the number haircare items you use in your routine and, once you have a favourite product that really works, you can bulk buy it when it’s on offer to save you money in the long term.
Turn down the temperature
Having knowledge of your hair type is particularly important when it comes to using heat on your hair. While many styling tools can be boosted to super-high temperatures, you sometimes don’t need to use the hottest setting in order to set your style.
In fact, if you use too-hot plates or air, it can have the opposite effect on your hair that you’re trying to achieve; a smoothed-down look becomes frizzy or curls drop out quickly. So choose a styler that offers temperature control so you can use the correct heat for your hair type.
I previously found out that my hair would hold a curl better if the temperature of my styling tool was turned down from 220ºC to around 150ºC. Knowing your hair type can also reduce the styling time needed to achieve the natural look you want because you’re working with your natural texture, not against it.
Choose the correct cut
If you know your hair type, you can choose a cut that enhances the way it naturally moves. Some hair types look great when left long but others will benefit from being trimmed shorter to give you a natural volume boost.
Again, having a haircut that works with your natural hair rather than against it will save you time and effort while styling. This is because you can skip the step of adding in extra volume with a hair dryer or hot brush – the volume will already be naturally present.
Likewise, cutting layers into your style may mean that you don’t need to curl your hair at all – the waves may simply bounce into place as your hair air dries or while using a diffuser at a low temperature.
I hope these tips will help you to achieve a naturally styled look for a fraction of the cost and in less time than before. Of course, I can’t add styling, cut and product recommendations for every hair type here, as it would be a very long article. But, once you know your hair type, you can easily change your styling routine to make the most of how your hair naturally behaves.
Please let me know what has worked for you in the comments below. Thanks!
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This article is a sponsored collaboration. The pink links in the content indicate a sponsored link or information source. The blog post reflects my own experience and the sponsor hasn’t had any control over my content 🙂
