No gorilla glue needed!
When styling your hair, there’s one step that takes the look to the next level: Doing your edges. Styling ‘baby hairs’ specifically, which can actually be breakage, adds a sleek touch to a lot of styles. This step is not necessary but the styling of baby hairs creates a certain ‘look,’allowing you to form a design that frames your face and acts almost as an accessory to your hairstyle. “To an expert, baby hairs are extra hairs around the hairline that are thinner, finer, and shorter,” celebrity hairstylist Kiyah Wright tells Teen Vogue. For Black women especially, the styling of baby hairs is a part of our culture. We grow up with our parents using toothbrushes to slick down those tiny hairs and growing into adulthood and wanting to swoop and style baby hairs as effortlessly as possible. The slicking and swooping add another layer to the hairstyle, and the sleekness it provides is the finishing touch you're often looking for. We may go to extreme lengths for beauty, but there are so many products and tips and tricks out there that will grant us the sleek results we want without any long-term damage to our hair follicles or scalp. Here, Shannon gives us four golden steps to lay our edges effectively and effortlessly:
****
1. Slick and separate edges using a comb
For starters, you always want to separate your edges from your hair and slick them down. Use a comb to comb these hairs out and slick them down in the direction you'd like to style them. Make sure you use a comb that won't snag on the hairs and cause further damage and use water if needed.
****
2. Swoop and create shapes using the natural boar bristles
Now comes the fun part: Swooping and styling! Creating the shape of your swoops should be natural to your hairline and you should use the natural bristles on an edge brush. While creating the shape, use an edge control of your choice to mould the hair into the swooping shape.
Choosing between a lighter or heavier edge control is solely based on the texture of your hair. “The thing about soft curly hair is that it’s the easiest hair texture to use edge control on,” Kiyah says.
However, for coarser hair, heavier edge control is needed.
Edge control has a thick and tacky consistency, one that has the ability to lay down curls. Shannon opts for a combo of pomade and a gelée. “Less is more, especially with layering, but this combo gives me the perfect amount of flexibility and stickiness for edges that stay laid all day,” she says about her experience with 3C-4A hair. Kiyah also tells us that she loves a Tancho stick. “It’s a wax stick that Sumo wrestlers used to meld their hair into a Sumo wrestling style. I’ve used it as edge control, to spike hair and for other ways." The options are endless, but the key to swooping your edges is getting a hold on creating the perfect shape and moulding it into a style that'll hold with the perfect edge control for your hair type.
****
3. Define using the pointed tip for finishing details
When it comes to defining baby hairs, the devil is in the details. For finishing touches, take the pointed tip of your preferred hair tool and go over the melding to define the shape. Using the pointed tip will not interfere with the shape you're created with the brush bristles and the fineness of the tip allows you to add and define swoops a little more. Add a bit of gel to the tip if necessary, but this step can be done with or without it.
****
4. Use hairspray for an indefinite hold
This step is optional and a lot of times depend on the texture of the hair you have and the type of style you're going for but a freeze spray can allow your edges to have just a little extra moulding and hold it in place. This can be applied directly on the tool you're using or directly on the hair, but use it lightly. “Spritz is amazing at calming flyaways and perfecting sleek updos,” Shannon says. For an extra lay down, tie a scarf on your edges for a few minutes to let the spray really do its job.