Learning how to curl your hair to highlight your favorite features can be life-changing, experts say. In order to delve deeper into the popular trend of ‘contour waves,’ we consulted professional hair stylists.
Recently, as Popsugar reports, a TikTok video showcasing the trend went viral, which involves curling hair to highlight one’s cheekbones and features. The aim is to create curls that frame one’s face while emphasizing the eyes, cheekbones, and jawline in the same way that makeup products can, but with your hair itself.
For those with fine hair, this technique can be a great way to add volume. Read on for tips and suggestions from Priyanka Swamy, hair expert and CEO of Perfect Locks LLC to help you master the ‘contour waves’ trend.
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How The ‘Contour Waves’ TikTok Hack Can Bring Life And Volume To Fine Hair
As seen on TikTok, many influencers and users are using this technique in two main ways to frame their faces with their curled tresses. For the ‘contour waves’ trend, you can opt to curl your hair inward to provide additional coverage to the eye and cheekbone regions, thereby producing a slimmer effect.
Alternatively, curling the hair outward would emphasize these regions instead. The curls are tailored to contour each specific area of the face that you want to highlight.
Swamy explains that getting “beautiful, cheekbone-hugging curls” as seen in these viral videos requires “knowing your natural beauty [and face shape] and picking the right products and tools.”
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“If you want to highlight your cheekbones with the contour waves trend, selecting the right curling iron and products is important,” she says. A medium-barrel curl iron or wand will create “loose, natural-looking waves that frame your face beautifully,” she adds.
Firstly, she says to “divide your hair and curl it away from your face.” This, she notes, will “open up your face and accentuate” your features. Next, Swamy recommends “keeping your curls soft and loose for an effortlessly chic finish.”
If you want to add definition to your curls, “texturizing or sea salt spray are great options” for products, she adds. Not only does texturizing spray “enhance texture,” Swamy stresses, but it also helps your “rings hold their shape for a long-lasting, glamorous finish.”
Anyone with naturally fine hair knows that creating a lifted, voluminous look can be challenging, whether you're trying to curl your hair or just style it in general. Swamy suggests using a "volumizing hair mousse or hair spray on damp hair" if your locks are naturally very fine.
"This will create a base for fuller, bouncy curls," she notes. When you’re ready to curl, Swamy says to curl in different directions. "For example, curl some of your curls towards your face and some away from your face for a naturally voluminous look," she instructs.
If you’re a beginner to curling fine hair, Swamy points out that "it’s best to start with the basics and work your way up." She says to "set your curl tool to a lower temperature and increase as needed."
In addition, Swamy concludes that you should always "make sure you’re using heat protectants to protect your hair from the heat." This 'contour waves' trend and hack, she notes, is just another fun way to "try different curling styles until you find one that works best for you and your fine hair."
