Shannon King On: How to Curl Hair and Curly Hair Trends

By | April 13th, 2017

How to curl hair is still a technique that clients are always asking their stylists for help with. 2017 is the year of the curl so it’s more important than ever to get your curly-hair techniques down and help your clients achieve the look. 

“Learning how to curl hair is simply part of understanding how to manipulate hair. You have to understand how to style hair to bring an amazing design or a banging color to life. It’s essential,” says Shannon King, creative design lead for Keune Haircosmetics North America. Here, he reports on the hottest curly hair trends, his go-to products and tools for curling hair and sage tricks of the trade.

How to Curl Hair

Curly Hair Trends

King says large afros are huge right now as well as a modern-day Farrah Faucett curl, with looping curls in between. “Recently, in the salon, we have done lots of perms to create curls for both ladies and guys,” Shannon adds.

Products and Tools to Curl Hair

The best tool for curling hair? Your hands! “Next, I would say anything from a smaller diameter brush to a curling iron or wand. From there, I like to be a bit more creative using flat irons, chopsticks, foil, perm rods and bendy sticks,” Shannon advises.

For a thermal curl that’s soft, he likes to use the BLEND Prep Spray and BLEND Sea Salt Spray blended into each section of curled hair. “And for a longer-lasting thermal curl set, I prefer to blow-dry the Design Line Mousse Forte into the hair and then set the hair with Design Line Sea Salt Mist,” Shannon explains.

How to curl hair

How to Curl Hair

Shannon walks through his step-by-step method to getting amazing, long-lasting 2017 curls, including his favorite curly-hair-creating Keune products:

  • For a strong, versatile curl that can be raked through for a bouncy look, or brushed into a soft pillowy finish, I like to begin with a directional blow-dry using a golf ball to lemon size of Keune’s Design Line Mousse Forte, blow-drying the hair from wet up towards the ceiling for maximum base volume.
  • Then, I will mash-up Keune BLEND Prep Spray and Sea Salt Spray area by area.
  • The next key step is to use clean, horizontal or diagonal back subsections: Using a 1-inch marcel iron tong, I begin creating eight curls, where I feed the hair around the iron and then continue in the same direction yet now on the opposite side of the hair. This puts the ends of the hair in the center, much like a roller. This technique will give me maximum volume, bounce and longevity.
  • From there, I continue to ‘click’ the hair down towards the scalp to the base and allow the hair to get warm all the way through. I’ll know it’s ready by touching the hair around the iron.
  • Once it’s ready, just use a heat-resistant comb to assist sliding the iron barrel out without disturbing the curl.
  • Finally, pin the hair with a single prong clip to cool. Once its cooled enough and set, you can break down all the curls on the head together with your fingers, a large tooth rake, a comb or a brush for different finishes.
  • Hold curls in place with Design Line Society Hairspray and use Brilliant Gloss Spray for shine.

How to Curl Hair

More Tricks of the Trade 

“Use end papers—they are old school—as they will take care of the ends. If it’s a thermal set, just know that you will burn yourself, so deal with it! Lastly, test different products to create a foundation, protection and then the proper amount of hold for the look,” Shannon says.

Most of all? Have fun and be gentle with curls…

Now that you’ve got your curls on, learn about the Benefits of Balayage here!


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