How Much of These Beauty Products Should You Apply?

Hair Products

Gel

Serving size: A nickel (near right). This small dose tames thick hair, defines curls, depuffs short styles, and anchors bangs. Louise O’Connor, the owner of OC61 Salon & Spa, in New York City, mists her hands with water before dispensing gel into them to help it spread more easily. Another stylists’ secret: Make a cocktail of gel and a drop of silicone-based serum. This mixture can eliminate the crunch factor, giving hair a softer finish.

Styling Wax

Serving size: A pea. Once you’ve overwaxed, you need to shampoo the product out, so it’s best to adhere to this minuscule serving. “Rub the wax between your palms to warm it,” says O’Connor. “This makes the product easier to work with.” Then pull through strands to get a piecey effect. (Apply all over to short hairstyles or just to the ends of longer hair.)