The Bends

The new style to go from runway to real life is like a wave, but not

Last year, the crimp came back, and then it was out again. And then we were all jumping on the wavy bandwagon, as if we just got out of bed/back from the beach. This spring, the newest hairstyle buzzword that you should familiarize yourself with is "the bend." Not to be confused with "the bend and snap," a la Legally Blonde, which is what Pinterest wanted to show me when I was looking for photos of anyone sporting a bend. Think of a bend in a road, not a wave in the ocean. It's more subtle and polished than its messier predecessor. You're going for just a few subtle waves, not many. The look is not, as one of my friends asked, what happens when you take your hair out of a ponytail and are left with one, big, awkward bend in the back of your head.

Model Style
The look made an appearance in English designer Charlotte Ronson's runway show last fall in New York City. Hairstylist Jon Reyman incorporated easygoing bends on the models, describing the style to the website bellasugar.com: "We want it to look like you didn't do anything, but there's the challenge of still making hair look finished."

To create the look at home, it's important to start with straight hair. Blow-dry out with a round brush until it's about 90 percent dry. If your hair takes to curl easily, you can create soft bends by simply wrapping nearly dry hair around a finger in a loose spiral and releasing, letting the hair dry with these "bends" and creating a subtle and easy texture throughout.

You can also go with a tool like the Chi Digital Ceramic Deep Waver. Focus on creating just a few large andin charge bends close to your shoulders. Since the Chi can reach 410 degrees, you can be more at risk of overshooting the temperature and creating frizz. Make sure to prep hair with a curl serum, like Redken Curvaceous Full Swirl Cream-Serum, that helps ensure your bends come out with a beautiful shine.

Reverting to Rollers
Using regular ol' rollers is another way to create these angular bends near the bottom of your hair—except, it's time to upgrade from the hot rollers you inherited from your mom that are pink and made of foam. Try Hot Tools Professional Thermal Ceramic Roller Pack instead. Don't roll them up as if you were auditioning to play little orphan Annie, either. Keep the bends loose and sparse—you can even keep sections of your hair straight, if you want, and have the bends scattered throughout as though your hair just organically decided to wave in a few, select and beautiful spots (it's OK, I won't tell).

When in Doubt, Just Wave
If you're still not sure what qualifies as a bend and when you've just created a wave, don't panic. IT WILL ALL BE OK. Using a tool like Bed Head Curlipops 1" Reverse Conical Styling Iron allows you to experiment with tight-to-loose curls, or a combo of the two, using its unique conical shape. Channel Michael Jackson, put on one glove, and bend and curl and wave away. The most important thing about this spring's style is that you have fun with it and make the finished product your own.