It took me 22 years to learn how to style my hair properly. Yes, you heard that correctly. Okay, maybe not 22 (I wasn’t styling my hair as a newborn baby), but you get the gist.
I had the cutest curly locks as a child, but they seemed to vanish as I got older. Now, I have hit-or-miss waves — they either look great or like an absolute train wreck.
Watch: Speaking of hair, here are 5 ways to lift your hair game. Post continues below.
I’ve used every product and tactic under the sun to try and style my hair properly to no avail. Nothing would ever be able to revive my childhood curls… or that’s what I thought.
Just to give you an idea, here's what my hair looks like when it's styled:
Now, almost every article I ever write comes out of a TikTok doom scroll — and I’m not ashamed to admit it.
And one of my latest ground-breaking discoveries has transformed the way I style my hair and has finally brought back my frizz-free, defined curls.
It's called the 'bowl method'.
I don’t know where this curly hair hack has been all my life, and — according to the comments and views — many others feel the same.
At the time of writing this article, ‘#thebowlmethod’ has 58.2 million views on TikTok, and it’s only gaining more traction.
This hashtag is full of people providing tutorials, trying out the method for the first time, and testing to see if they actually have curly hair (and have been lied to their entire lives).
So, what is the bowl method?
Essentially, it’s a conditioning and styling method for people with curly or wavy hair.
You dunk your hair in a bowl filled with water, which dilutes and evenly distributes all of your styling products throughout your hair, helping curl clumps to form. This way, when it dries, your locks will be defined, frizz-free, hydrated, and look better than ever.
This process is popular among people whose curls usually look like stringy spaghetti, or refuse to form without a little extra help.
A lot of people who grew up thinking they have wavy hair (like me) are using the 'bowl method' to find out that their hair has actually been curly all along, and the ringlets have just been in hiding.
If you’re curious about how to achieve these defined and gorg-ina curls, this one’s for you — thank me later.
How to do the bowl method.
@curlyzia.xo Bowl method full routine 🥰 Stitch and duet this I wanna see your results!! 🔥 #bowlmethod #bowlmethodcurls #thebowlmethod #curldefintion ♬ Everybody Wants To Rule The World X Electric Love - darcy stokes
First up, you simply wash your hair as normal. Once you’re done and step out of the shower, ignore the urge to wrap a towel around your head (there’s no point, you’ll be dunking it into a bowl of water).
Instead, grab a bowl that will fit the size of your head, and fill it up with some water. It doesn’t matter whether it’s cold or warm, so just do whatever you’d prefer.
Next, I flip my hair upside down and run my Hairstory Hair Balm, $56.50, over my hair (it's my go-to leave-in conditioner). You can use any leave-in conditioner, as long as it’s a cream, not a spray.
I then repeat this step with curl cream. Again, you can use any — my personal fave is Bondi Boost’s Curl Cream, $44.95.
Get ready to go for a dive, because now we’re submerging our hair in the water. Make sure you get as much of your hair in as possible, and once you’ve dunked it, gently scrunch your hair and squeeze as much of the water out as you can.
Now, here’s where the magic happens, and the curl clumps start to form.
Repeat the dunking process as many (or as few) times as you like, but I find that doing it four times is a decent amount.
Following the dunking process, I then run Schwarzkopf Extra Care Curl Flex Mousse, $9, over my freshly formed curl clumps. The gel formula is also an option, but I find this doesn’t leave my hair feeling crusty or stiff.
I scrunch it through so it helps the curls hold, and while the viral bowl method video involves drying your hair with a diffuser, I like to take an alternate route. Instead, I plop my hair in a cotton T-shirt for about 15 minutes to remove the excess moisture.
You may have the urge to brush through your curl clumps (they feel a bit strange when you’re new to the bowl method) but don’t do it. That will destroy your pretty little clumps and you’ll be back to square one. I simply let my hair air dry (I haven’t mastered the diffuser just yet), and I’m good to go.
While the process looks very involved and time-consuming, that really isn’t the case. The bowl method only takes five minutes to do — it’s the air drying that takes its sweet time.
But trust me when I say it’s worth it. My curls look moisturised and perfectly defined until the next wash day, unlike the usual bird's nest I have resting on my head.
Can anyone use the bowl method?
While it’s tailored for people with wavy and curly hair, it’s worth a shot (we don’t gatekeep here). There’s no harm in giving a new styling method a go.
Hey, you may end up discovering your hair is on the curly side.
Have you tried the bowl method before? What are your thoughts? Share with us in the comment section below.
Feature image: Supplied.
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