Curling hair with feathers (lush and loose waves) was popular in the 70s and 80s, especially among women with long hair. This hairstyle is quite voluminous, but it is relatively easy to make it (both on hair with a puff haircut and without it). All you need to do is grab a curling iron and some hairspray to create the look you want!
Steps
Part 1 of 2: Preparation
Step 1. Understand what feathers are
Feather curling is usually done on puff haircuts, so that the wavy curls overlap in much the same way as feathers in a bird's plumage. Most often, for such a hairstyle, a central parting is made in the hair and curls are carried out in the direction back from the face. The basis of a hairstyle is usually a haircut with clearly defined layers of hair. At the same time, hair can be practically anything, from short and straight to long and curly. However, to get a visible effect on curly hair, you will first need to straighten it.
The feather curl carries a bit of 70s retro style with its lush and flowing hairstyles. A classic example of feather curling is the hairstyle of American actress Farrah Fawcett or the hairstyles of the heroines of the first series, Charlie's Angels (1976-1981)
Step 2. Get your hair cut
To get the most effective hairstyle, you need a flaky cut. And for this it is best to contact a professional hairdresser. Nevertheless, you can do a puff haircut yourself if you have sufficient experience in cutting your own hair. But in the absence of experience, it would be wiser to entrust a puff haircut to a professional. He will perfectly understand what exactly you need, and has sufficient skills in order to create the desired image.
- It can be helpful to choose a specific type of feather curling before you even cut your hair. Curling can be done on very long or very short hair. Before heading to the salon, consider whether you want to see this hairstyle on long or short hair. View photos of examples of feather curls to help you make your choice.
- Feather curling in the 70s usually involved bangs with a parting in the middle. Therefore, if you need just the classic version of the hairstyle, you should have bangs.
- The hairstyle can be done without a layered haircut in the base, but with it you will get a more beautiful framing of the face with curly "feathers". But if you don't want to cut your hair just for the sake of styling it beautifully, then don't worry about the flaky haircut.
Step 3. Wash your hair and create a parting in your hair
Before you style your hair, you need to wash it to create extra volume and highlight the parting. For a classic feather curl, make a center part on your hair, dividing both the bulk of your hair and your bangs in half. Nevertheless, if you are not satisfied with this option of parting, make yourself the usual side parting on the right or left.
Step 4. Dry your hair and treat it with the necessary products
If you have naturally wavy or curly hair, blow-dry it using the diffuser attachment. This will help stretch the natural waves in your hair to make the subsequent feathers more visible. If your hair lacks volume, use a mousse or volume spray before drying it. If you have straight hair, treat with texturizing mousse and volumizing mousse to create volume and slightly show the natural wave in your hair.
When drying your hair, be sure not to disturb the parting you have created. To achieve the best volume and to prepare your hair well for perm with feathers, use a round brush to brush through the hair that surrounds your face when blow-drying. Brush the hair away from the face so that it curls or straightens (depending on hair type) backward
Part 2 of 2: Styling your hair
Step 1. Spray your hair with a heat protectant spray
When the hair is dry, it should be treated with a heat protectant, since the hairstyle you need implies styling with a curling iron. Spray the product of your choice onto your hair to evenly coat it with a protective layer. It will protect your hair from the damage that a hot curling iron can cause.
Step 2. Divide your hair into sections
Divide your hair into four sections, dividing it in two with a center parting, and then dividing each of the halves into two more sections. Often, curling hair is divided into layers of haircuts, but since for this hairstyle you need to create more pronounced waves in the front than in the back, it is better to select sections according to the type of curling that you will do on your curls.
- Essentially, you first need to do a center parting from the forehead to the base of the neck. Divide the resulting two sections, putting each hair on your shoulder so that they don't accidentally merge. Then divide each section in half again into the front and back. Pin the back sections of hair with bobby pins. After this operation, you will be left with two loose sections of hair in the front of the face. When you have finished curling the front sections of your hair, you will need to chop off the back sections of your hair and leave them lying on your back behind your shoulders to continue working. Try to keep the already curled front sections of your hair hanging down in front so that you don't accidentally pick up a strand of hair and curl it again.
- Divide your hair into layers if desired, but this is optional. It is easier to select only four sections, in addition, it will save you from the effect of sheep curls, like Shirley Temple. The latter should be avoided as you want loose waves in your hair, not tight curls.
Step 3. Start by curling the front of your hair
Using a 2.5 cm curling iron, start curling the front of the hair in separate strands of about 1.5–2.5 cm wide. Pin the top layer of hair with bobby pins first, so that you can start curling from the bottom layer of the front section of the hair. To curl the strands, step back about 5 cm from the hair roots to get loose, wavy curls closer to the ends of the hair.
Step 4. Curl your hair away from your face
A classic feather curl should create the most volume around the face. Therefore, you should not wind the strands on the curling iron towards the face. Hold the curling iron and curl the strands around it from the face towards the rest of the hair.
- In other words, take a strand in your hands and wind the curling iron behind it. If you look in the mirror, the strand should be in front of the curling iron. Next, just wind the strand around the curling iron. This should be done away from the face, which will allow you to get a voluminous curl in waves.
- Curling should not turn curls into tight curls. However, it should give the hair visible waves that will last for a while. Therefore, if for the desired effect you need to keep the strands on the curling iron for more than a few seconds, do so. Later, the curls will need to be slightly combed, so at this stage there is nothing to worry about if they are still more elastic than required.
- If you curl on short hair, you can make a slightly smaller indent from the roots, for example, 2.5 cm or so.
Step 5. Continue curling the back of your hair
Once you've finished curling the front sections, move on to curling the back of your hair. The back sections should be curled in larger waves, so use 2, 5 cm or more wide strands and start curling as before from the bottom layer of your hair. The hair on the back should not curl much, you should curl it in such a way that smooth waves remain on the curls.
Step 6. Curl your bangs
The bangs should not come out curly, therefore, to curl, form large strands of it about 5 cm wide and curl with a curling iron upwards. The bangs can be curled both before and after you part them.
The bangs are curled close to the hairline, since the hair is short here. In this case, be sure to wind the bangs on the curling iron in the direction from the face. If you mix up the direction, the hairstyle will lose the feather-curling effect and just look like curls framing your face
Step 7. Treat the curl with hairspray
Once the curling iron is completely finished, treat your curls with hairspray. There should not be too much of it, otherwise the hair will become coarse and crispy, however, there should be enough varnish so that the hairstyle retains its shape for the whole day.
Step 8. Lightly comb through the curled strands
After polishing your hair, tilt your head forward and comb through the curled locks with your fingers. This step will create smooth and voluminous waves in the hair. You can also shake your head to straighten individual strands.
Don't worry about loosening your perm too much because of this. Feather curls do not rely on curls at all (except in the areas around the face). In this case, the curling iron only helps to add volume and texture to the hair
Step 9. Lower your head down, and then throw it up and adjust your hair as you should
After you lift your head, the hairstyle may take on a slightly eccentric look, so it will need to be corrected. Manually style any loose strands. To correct the position of any curl, it can be wrapped around your finger in the back direction. Remember to part your bangs so that they frame your face on both sides. Now you can admire the achieved result!