Is it just us, or did curls recently hire a new PR team? They’re suddenly everywhere, from red carpets to social media to…the person sitting right next to you (don’t look now!). And it’s a seriously welcome change. For a long time, wearing your hair naturally curly was shunned (there were even books claiming that spirals looked messy and unprofessional, which is terrible and untrue). It’s one reason a lot of grown-ass women are only now dealing with curls for the first time, having spent the better part of their lives flattening each and every section pin-straight.
Another group simply woke up to curvier hair one day. “While straight hair is a recessive gene, curly is dominant—but it has to be activated,” explains Melissa Piliang, M.D., a dermatologist at Cleveland Clinic specializing in hair. “Hormones can switch on that gene.” Anytime you introduce a new combo or ratio of hormones (from puberty, pregnancy, birth control), there’s a chance that this curly hair gene will light up and take over. Even medical conditions that impact hormones, like thyroid disease and polycystic ovary syndrome, may turn hair wavier. Ditto for chemotherapy, which can destroy existing hair follicles and activate curls.
RELATED: 15 GORGEOUS Women Show Off Their Curly Hair Pride
Whatever your reason for needing a beginner curl course, look no further. We polled the country’s top hair pros for the curly Q’s they’re asked most. Their A’s—and the recipe for your own beautiful curls—are right here.