Pretty Ideas for a Bad Hair Day

Basic Hair Tools Checklist

You don’t need a drawerful of products—just assemble a simple kit of must-have tools for your hair type.

For Fine, Straight Hair

Blow-dryer.
Fine-tooth comb. When hair is dry, use a fine-tooth comb to tease sections at the crown to get lift. Start two inches from the scalp, and comb hair toward the roots.
Hot rollers. Hot rollers (not the Velcro kind, which pull and tear fine hair) are the secret to volume and bounce for this type of hair. Look for velvet-covered hot rollers. Use on dry hair, and remove after eight minutes.
Round boar-bristle brush. Boar bristles are gentle on delicate hair, and a round shape helps you attain maximum volume. Use the brush to pull sections of hair upward as you blow-dry. To fight flyaways, spray the bristles of your brush with Static Guard. Spray from two feet away, let dry, then brush through and start styling.
Thickener. Use one containing body-building wheat protein before applying other styling products.
Volumizing spray. It’s the antidote to drooping hair: Spritz at the roots, then blow-dry.
Volumizing or thickening shampoo. These formulas have fewer conditioning agents that can weigh down hair.

For Fine, Wavy or Curly Hair

Blow dryer.
Diffuser. When you don’t have time to air-dry, attach a diffuser to your dryer and blow-dry on low to speed things up.
Duckbill clips. Use them for lift. Open a clip and slip it into damp hair at the roots, twist it slightly, then anchor. Repeat all along the hairline. Remove clips when hair is dry.
Leave-in conditioner. This seals water into damp hair. Use a superlight hydrator on towel-dried hair before applying other styling products. Twice a week, swap your regular conditioner for a protein-based one, which hydrates intensely.
Round boar-bristle brush. When you want to blow your hair straight, use a gentle boar-bristle brush, which won’t snag hair.
Shampoo. Textured hair tends to be dry, so use a formula with silicone or oils (such as almond) to avoid frizz.
Volumizing mousse. Versatile mousse creates thickness and shine and lifts fine curls without weighing them down. Too much styling cream and defrizzing serum can cause fine curls to collapse.

For Thick, Curly Hair

Blow dryer.
Boar-and-rubber-bristle round brush. To wear your hair straight, blow-dry with a round brush. Mixed bristles grip hair well.
Conical curling iron. Use it to enhance your natural assets—it can help define unruly curls no matter how tight or loose they are.
Curl cream. Holds thicker curls together. A protein-based cream defines natural curls without stiffness.
Diffuser attachment. Air-drying thick hair can take a long time; blow-dry using a diffuser (which keeps curls intact) to cut down on styling minutes. Towel-dry first by gently patting out excess water. Rubbing can agitate the hair or take out too much moisture, which creates frizz.
Rich conditioner. When thick, curly hair is well moisturized, it’s less likely to frizz.
Shampoo. Textured hair tends to be dry, so use a formula with silicone or oils (such as almond) to avoid frizz.

For Thick, Wavy or Straight Hair

Blow dryer.
Flat cushion brush with mixed bristles. No brush works better to create a smooth, straight look. The boar bristles mixed in with the nylon ones help grip and move through thick hair.
Flat iron. When you’re in a hurry, skip washing and blowing out your hair and go for a flat iron. A ceramic one is gentle and adds polish and smoothness.
Gel cream. Keeps hair smooth but not greasy.
Shampoo. Textured hair tends to be dry, so if your hair is wavy, use a formula with silicone or oils (such as almond) to avoid frizz. For thick, straight hair, use a double portion of shampoo in a formula for your hair type—normal, oily, dry, or chemically treated.
Silicone shine spray. Hold the bottle at arm’s length and spray a fine mist over the entire head before flat-ironing. The spray will provide a protective barrier to the direct heat of a styling iron and amps up glossiness.
Velcro rollers. To give thick strands body, wind sections around the rollers, spritz with hair spray, blast with a dryer, then remove. To avoid tearing hairs, unwind down the length of the hair instead of pulling up as you go.

For Coarse, Relaxed Hair

Blow dryer.
Conditioner. Choose an ultralight leave-in so that the hair retains its body. Apply it to towel-dried hair every time you rinse or wash in the shower. A heavy, creamy conditioner will weigh down relaxed hair.
Flat iron. Use it to touch up sections of dry hair around the face or at the roots.
Heat protectant. When you use a flat iron, you must protect your hair from its direct heat. Apply a featherweight liquid strengthening heat protectant before ironing. Since it contains silicone, it will add shine, too.
Shampoo. Use a protein-based shampoo (common ingredients include silk amino acids and extracts of wheat and soy) to help reinforce weak areas.
Shower cap. To avoid having to blow-dry and iron too often, don’t wet hair every day (too much heat styling can make hair prone to breaking). Use a shower cap on days you don’t shampoo.
Silk scarf. Sleep with your hair covered in a kerchief made of satin or silk to protect from breakage and keep it smooth.

For Coarse, Wavy or Curly Hair

Blow dryer.
Flat iron. After blowing hair dry, use a flat iron to smooth frizz and make the hair shine.
Hair spray. When you blow-dry your hair straight, hair spray controls flyaways and keeps hair in place without a sticky, tacky feeling. Note: If you wear your hair naturally curly, there’s no need for finishing products. When moisturized with enough conditioner and setting lotion, your hair will behave.
Leave-in conditioner. Make this hair type wash-and-go: With your fingers, rake a quarter-size amount of leave-in conditioner through damp hair to activate and define the curl pattern.
Paddle brush. On days when you blow your hair straight, use a flat paddle brush, which keeps hair smooth as you dry.
Setting lotion. To help tame frizz and bring out natural curl, apply a setting lotion to wet hair. You can dilute it with water depending on how much hold your hair needs.
Shampoo. Textured hair tends to be dry, so use a formula with silicone or oils (such as almond) to avoid frizz.

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