How to Style Hair – All My Lessons + Best Tips (Full Guide)

Let me just settle in here with my giant iced vanilla matcha latte before we dive into today’s massive topic. Lately, my comment section has been absolutely flooded with questions about my everyday routines, and honestly, I completely understand why.

Figuring out your own personal look can be so incredibly overwhelming when you’re just scrolling through perfectly curated social media feeds all day. Today, we’re stripping it all back and talking strictly about Hair Styling Basics. Because let me tell you, it took me literal years of tragic mistakes, awkward phases, and completely fried ends to finally figure out what actually works for me in the real world.

I feel like nobody really talks about how difficult it is to learn the absolute basics when you’re older. Growing up, I was basically a tomboy who just threw everything into a messy ponytail and called it a day. When I finally decided I wanted to put some effort in, I was totally lost. Trying to figure out how to style hair for beginners is like trying to learn a totally new language while blindfolded. You see these aesthetic girls on video tutorials doing a messy bun in two seconds, but when you try it, you look like a bird decided to build a nest on the top of your head. It’s a universal struggle!

But I promise, once you get the hang of how to style hair properly for your own specific texture and routine, your entire morning changes. You feel so much more confident walking out the front door.

How Actually Master Your Freshly Washed Mane

Okay, let’s start with the absolute hardest part of the routine. Dealing with soaking wet strands. Figuring out exactly how to style hair after washing used to give me so much anxiety because if I messed it up, I was stuck with a weird cowlick for the next three days. Let me share a highly embarrassing story with you guys.

A few years ago, I read this article that promised you could get beautiful, effortless beach waves by just sleeping with your hair in two tight wet braids. So, I tried it. I woke up the next morning, took the hair ties out, and I literally looked like a swamp monster that had just been electrocuted. The waves were these harsh, stiff zig-zags, and the top of my head was completely flat. It was a disaster, and I had to go to a very important morning meeting looking like that!

Since that deeply traumatic day, I have completely changed my approach. If you are wanting to know how to style hair without heat, the biggest secret is letting it air dry about eighty percent of the way before you do anything at all to it.

Never put wet hair up in tight elastics! I’ve been using those big silk heatless curling rods lately, and they are honestly a complete game changer. You just wrap your damp lengths around the silk tube, secure it with a soft scrunchie, and go to sleep. You wake up looking like you just got a professional blowout.

When We Actually Want to Plug the Irons In

As much as I love my heatless routines, there are just some days where you need the heavy artillery. Learning how to style hair with heat safely is crucial so you don’t completely destroy your ends. When I was in high school, I didn’t know what heat protectant spray was. I would literally take a straightener set to the maximum temperature and just clamp it down on my front pieces until literal smoke filled my tiny bathroom. My ends were so crispy they basically looked like straw. Please, I am begging you, always use a good heat protectant spray!

When I use my curling wand now, I always leave the very bottom inch of my ends out of the barrel. It gives you that effortless, modern wave instead of looking like a perfect, bouncy pageant curl from the early 2000s. We really want those hairstyles that look polished fast, right? Nobody has an entire hour to spend curling every single tiny section. I usually just curl the pieces framing my face and then take huge, random sections around the back. It takes me maybe ten minutes max, and it gives that perfectly undone, cool-girl aesthetic.

The Absolute Reality of Dirty Wash Days

Let’s be completely honest with each other right now. I only wash my hair maybe twice a week. The rest of the time, I am heavily relying on dry shampoo and pure hope. Figuring out how to style second day hair is usually pretty easy because it has a little bit of grit and texture to hold a loose wave or a nice clip. But day three or day four? That is when the real struggle begins. When you need to figure out how to style greasy hair, the slicked-back look is going to be your absolute best friend.

But beware, the slicked-back look is a tricky balancing act. I tried to do the aesthetic clean girl slicked-back bun once for a brunch outing. I used way too much gel and pulled it back so tight that I literally gave myself a migraine. I looked in the mirror and realized I looked exactly like a colonial founding father on a vintage coin. It was not cute! The trick is to use a boar bristle brush to smooth the top gently, use a flexible hold pomade instead of rock-hard gel, and make sure you leave your natural parting visible so it doesn’t look like a helmet.

Working With Your Unique Texture

We all have totally different struggles depending on what kind of genetics we were blessed with. For my girls battling the humidity, knowing how to style frizzy hair comes down to moisture. Instead of using a regular fluffy towel to dry off after the shower, try using an old, clean cotton t-shirt. It stops the friction that causes all that crazy frizz. Then, smooth a tiny drop of lightweight oil on your ends while it’s still damp. It seals everything in perfectly.

If you have the opposite problem and your head is constantly flat, learning how to style thin hair or how to style fine hair is all about strategic product placement. You don’t want to weigh it down with heavy creams. A really good volumizing mousse concentrated just at the roots works absolute wonders. And if you have a massive, heavy mane and need to know how to style thick hair, sectioning clips are your holy grail. Don’t try to brush or dry it all at once. Break it down into four manageable sections, and it will save your arms from getting a major workout.

Adjusting for Your Current Cut

The length you currently have totally dictates your morning routine. A few years ago, I chopped all my hair off into a bob because I thought it would be easier. Spoiler alert: it wasn’t. Figuring out how to style short hair actually takes a lot of effort because you can’t just throw it in a messy topknot when you’re feeling lazy. Texture spray is an absolute must for shorter cuts to give it that piecey, lived-in movement.

If you’re in the awkward growing-out phase, knowing how to style medium length hair can be super frustrating. It flips up at the shoulders in weird ways. I love using a big claw clip for this length. You just twist it up and leave the little ends poking out the top. It looks chic and keeps it off your neck. For my girls with mermaid lengths, learning how to style long hair is mostly about keeping it healthy and preventing tangles. Loose braids are amazing.

And if you have a ton of movement built into your cut, knowing how to style layered hair is best done with one of those round blowout brush tools. It swoops the layers beautifully around your face.

Quick Fixes for Chaotic Mornings

At the end of the day, we are all busy and usually running at least five minutes late. You really need to know how to style hair quickly so you can get out the door. I love sharing easy ways to style your hair with you guys because I am the queen of hitting the snooze button too many times. You absolutely need a repertoire of simple hairstyles for everyday that don’t require ten different tools.

One of my absolute favorite low maintenance hairstyles for women is the half-up, half-down look with a cute scrunchie or a metallic clip. It pulls the pieces out of your eyes so you can actually see what you’re doing, but leaves the length down so you still look dressed up. You can literally do it in the car at a red light if you absolutely have to. Another lifesaver is the low, textured ponytail.

Tease the crown just a tiny bit, tie it low at the nape of your neck, and pull a few little wispy pieces out around your ears. It takes thirty seconds but looks so incredibly elegant and romantic.