Sleek hair is something we all strive for—unless you're a curly girl through and through, of course—but sometimes it's a task and a half to get (and keep) you hair looking straight and smooth. To get the low-down on how to score a sleek 'do, we reached out to Jeanie Syfu, a NYC-based hairstylist.
1. Start with a smoothing shampoo and conditoner. These typically contain nourishing ingredients that help hydrate and strengthen the cuticle (your hair's outermost layer) so it lays flat and not ruffled, which results in that frizzy look and feel. We like Carol's Daughter Chocolät Smoothing Sulfate-Free Shampoo, $18, and Chocolät Smoothing Sulfate-Free Conditioner, $20 each, amazon.com, with hydrating cacao extract and strand-strengthening soy protein.
2. On towel dried hair, apply a body-building formula, like TRESemmé 24 Hour Body Root Boosting Spray, $17.99, amazon.com, focusing it on your roots. Then, comb it through your hair to distribute the product. Next, flip your head upside down and being blow drying your strands using a paddle brush. Make sure to brush your hair in all different directions to ensure a sealed cuticle (aka less frizz) and lift at the roots.
3. When your hair is 90 percent dry, flip your head upright and blow dry the strands around your face with the same brush. Using a windshield-wiper motion, brush your hair to the left and right across your forehead and over the top of your head. Repeat this step until your hair is completely dry.
4. Lightly spritz your hair with a heat-protectant spray, then flat iron it to straighten out your strands. Try Garnier Fructis Style Sleek & Shine Flat Iron Perfector Straightening Mist 24 Hour Finish, $3.47, amazon.com.
5. Create a deep side part (if you so desire) and lightly apply a frizz-fighting formula over your hair for a long-lasting smooth finish. We recommend Aussie Anti-Frizz Cream, $9.38, amazon.com.
Will you be wearing your hair sleek, smooth, and sexy this weekend?
Carly Cardellino was the beauty director at Cosmopolitan. If you follow her Instagram, then you know she'll try just about any beauty trend or treatment once (the pics of her purple hair are on IG to prove it). But her favorite part about being in beauty is finding the most effective products, and then sharing that intel with others—because who wants to spend money on stuff that doesn't work? No one, that's who. Her most recent discovery: De La Cruz Sulfur Ointment, which will change your blemish-clearing game! Hopefully through the beauty stories she writes—and the experiences she shares—you can see exactly why she's in this business.
