How To Style Curly Hair in Utah

Welcome to Utah, one of the driest states in the US!

P.S. these styling tips don’t only work in Utah, they work in all dry climates OR if your hair is dry.

Styling curly hair can become overwhelming very quickly. There are SO many products out there now for curls and so many different styling tutorial videos with those products. Have you ever watched a curly hair styling tutorial and then went out and bought the products they used in the video and you did EVERYTHING they said to do in the video and you had ALL of the products but it still didn’t turn out? Well I can give you the answer! CURLS ARE ALL DIFFERENT.

Fine curls have a hard time being styled with heavy styling products (coconut oils, shea butters, goopy gel) and course curls have a hard time being styled with light weight products, (flaxseed gels, light curl creams, volumizers) so you need to personalize your styling routine ACCORDING to your curls.

What do curls need more than anything? They need MOISTURE! Absolutely positively no matter what curl type you have, if you don’t have the proper moisture in your hair, you will have a really hard time styling your hair. So what does this mean? What is the first step to take?

The first step starts with the conditioner you are using. If the conditioner you have is loaded with junk (parabons, heavy silicones, and shea moisture) the reason being, is that those products are not truly moisturizing your hair. They are sitting on top of your hair and not allowing the correct moisture to penetrate your scalp. Think oil and water, when you pour water into oil in separates, it doesn’t fully combine. Same with these ingredients! If you put that conditioner in your hair and top it off with some amazing styling products, they won’t do what they’re supposed to do.

SO WHATS NEXT? Water. Utah is so so DRY we need lots of water when were styling. Not only do we need to keep our hair wet when were styling, we need to keep getting it wet so the products will enter the hair without getting frizzy. If you think about it, when have you ever gotten non frizzy, defined curls when putting product on your hair while its already started to dry? It doesn’t work! The hair gets frizzy, loses its curl, and gets harder to manage. Because we are in Utah, we don’t have the luxury of humidity so we have to keep lots of water in our hair!

With all of that being said, some hairstyles are better off air drying than blowdrying with your diffuser. Some curls love the diffuser while others HATE it and repel it. When in doubt, don’t overuse the hair dryer. When you are diffusing, try to hold the diffuser for 20-30 seconds AT LEAST. If you’re moving your blow dryer too often, your hair will become frizzy and might lose some of its curl pattern. Curls need a special routine, but the outcome with the patience of creating a routine at home has an AMAZING OUTCOME.

I would love to help you out with all of your curl needs. Book a “styling lesson” at Cel Curl and get a personalized routine for YOU.

All About Me & My Curly Beginnings

Hello everyone! Welcome to my Blog! I'm Celeste Rivas, and I grew up in a small town in Utah County (Spring Lake, UT.) I loved being a part of a small community with all that has to offer. I grew up across the street from a lake, and I loved spending as much time as I could outdoors. I’ve always been such a fan of all things FASHION. By the time I was 9 years old I dreamt of owning anything and everything from Louis Vuitton (lol).

As I grew older my love for the beauty industry only got louder. I loved playing with hair products and makeup. When I was in junior high, I remember my friends would come to school with the super slick, wet, crunchy curls. I so badly wanted my hair to look like that, so I asked them how they did it. They said, “All I did was scrunch egg whites in my hair and diffuse it!” So what did I do? I went home to diffuse my hair, and it wouldn’t do ANYTHING.

I later found out that my hair is way to fine and straight to ever hold a diffused curl.

It’s finally moving day! :D

I started hair school at Taylor Andrews Academy of Hair Design when I was 16 years old. I ABSOLUTELY loved learning all about hair and the chemistry behind mastermind color formulas. It was so exciting to me being among my older peers with so many things in common. I just had to dip my hands in a little bit of everything. I tried learning eyelash extensions and ended up doing it for a while, but as time went on, I knew it wasn’t for me. I learned brow microblading, and I LOVED it but quickly got too nervous doing it full time. It wasn’t until after I graduated hair school that I found my true passion. Curly hair.

I started working at a curly hair salon as a receptionist (just to get a job after moving to Salt Lake City), and I got so fascinated watching everyone cut and style curly hair. It blew my mind watching a hair cut go down with NO COMB. I have always had straight, thin, fine fine FINE hair. I decided I had to take the Deva Curl introduction class where I learned the curl by curl haircut, and their new cutting techniques. I fell in love with it. I practiced and practiced a little more and couldn’t just stop with that one class. I decided to become a Curly Hair Artistry member.

Curly Hair Artistry is a group of advanced curly hair specialists from around the states. I flew to New York all by myself for the first time to attend this elite class. It was amazing what I learned and the friends I made, all to perfect my craft. I was so excited to come home, set some goals, and get to it. I have made such amazing friends and clients since then.

I love teaching all of my curly friends how to finally embrace what they were given and to love their curls! I had to do the same with my straight hair, I realized that you always want what you can’t have.

My favorite service in the salon is a transformational curly haircut. I love when I have a new client in my chair who has never had the curl by curl haircut before. It's so exciting teaching them all they need to know about their curls and how to style their hair at home. It’s a serious game changer!

Jump forward to a year later, and here I am now starting my own curly hair business all by myself! I can’t wait for my journey as a salon owner, and I’m so excited for what life has to bring. I couldn’t have done it without all my amazing clients, and all of my mentors. Thank you x10000.


Welcome to Cel Curl Salon! I can’t wait to see you in my chair!

- XOXO Celeste