My Hairstyle Lasts For Days Thanks to This Curl-Setting Hack

The way my hair looks can make or break my entire day. I know I probably shouldn’t put too much stock in something like hair, but that’s truly how I feel. If I’m having a good hair day, I’m having a good day in general. On the other hand, if I’m having a bad hair day — yep, you guessed it — my day is usually shit. Plus, now that I’m dating again, if my hair isn’t cooperating before I’m set to meet someone, there’s an 85 percent chance I’m going to cancel (sorry, boys).

I’ve canceled a date before because my curls fell way too fast. But recently, I saw celebrity hairstylist Sunnie Brook share a hair hack on Instagram for alleviating this issue, and I figured I’d give it a try before my next night out. Essentially, all you have to do after curling a piece of your hair is hold it in your hands for about 10 seconds to cool before releasing it.

Truth be told, I’ve seen people use this trick in the past, but I never paid much attention to it because I knew it would add more time to my getting-ready routine. I’m the type of person who is perpetually late, and the last thing I want to do is be tardy on a first date. However, when I really took the time to weigh my options, I realized I’d rather have my hair look good all night long (and possibly even the next day) than be on time. What can I say? My priorities are skewed in favor of all things beauty.

I was curious why the hack worked, so I asked Brook if she could break it down. “After curling your hair, the heat sets the shape of the curl,” Brook tells POPSUGAR. “By holding it in your palms while it cools down, you’re allowing the hair to set in that curled position. This step is crucial for maintaining the curl’s structure.”

This made sense to me, especially when reflecting on my past experiences of getting my hair done. Whenever I get a professional blowout, the stylist always holds my hair in the round brush even after they’re finished blow-drying it. I realized that’s likely part of the reason my hair always looks so much better leaving the salon than when I do it at home.

“This also makes the shape of the wave cool down in a more flat wave pattern versus clipping the curls in a looped shape,” Brook adds. “[This] gives a more natural wave pattern that looks less [like] curling-iron curls.”

I don’t have an issue with the way my hair looks curled with a curling iron, but I do love an effortless look. So, without further hesitation, I gave it a try.

To test the hack, I started by washing and conditioning my hair in the shower. When I hopped out, I prepped using the Unite 7Seconds Detangler ($38) and the Crown Affair Calming Scalp Serum ($58). I rough-dried my hair using my Dyson Supersonic ($429) hair dryer and then divided it into sections. I clipped the top half of my hair up and split the bottom half on the left and right sides. Then, I started curling using the T3 SinglePass Curl 1.5″ ($170). After each pass with the iron, I held the curl in between my hands for 10 seconds, with one caveat – I wanted to truly test the claim, so I opted not to hold the curls on my left side, just on my right.

When all was said and done, the results were clear: the hack really works. Initially, I was skeptical, but the difference in my hair was noticeable after just a few hours. The curls on the left fell a lot faster than the curls on the right side of my head, and the right side just looked better in general.

Next time I do my hair (and every time after that), I won’t skip out on this trick.