Ella Emhoff Has Her Curl Routine Down to a Science

Ella Emhoff has long embraced the possibilities of her natural texture. In 2021, the model and knitwear designer showed off her curly helmut of a mullet in the pages of Vogue, declaring her affection for the “almost ugly-chic look.” In the years since, she’s experimented with everything from cropped, curly bobs to voluminous, halo-like shapes. Now, following her latest haircut, she’s got her styling technique down to a science.

Posting to Instagram, Emhoff walks us through her updated curl routine, which incorporates a mix of drugstore staples, cult products, and some clever tools. It’s taken a little trial and error to get here. First up, freshly washed and conditioned hair gets a generous helping of Ouai’s Leave In Conditioner, which she works through with her hands, followed by Kristin Ess volumizing mousse. The latter was something of an emergency purchase, she explains, having run out of her usual Not Your Mother’s Curl Defining Mousse.

The real magic happens with a Bounce Curl brush, which features bristles for smoothing and specially designed edges to separate and shape individual curls. Emhoff sections her hair into two lower layers, leaving the remaining hair around the crown, then brushes and twists each piece outward to encourage definition. Her bangs gets special treatment, with the brush directed forward instead.

Next comes the diffuser. Emhoff uses a Dyson Supersonic Nural hair dryer and employs a fairly athletic drying technique by leaning forward to tackle her bangs, flipping her head around, then leaning back to reach the underneath layers. There’s an awkward in-between phase, naturally. “This is the Weird Al stage,” she announces, her hair reaching increasingly impressive volume.

Emhoff’s most interesting trick comes at the very end. Rather than preserving every perfectly formed ringlet, she breaks the mousse cast by gently pulling down on her curls and running her fingers through them. A wide-tooth comb loosens the ends further, creating a softer, fluffier finish. “I think brushed-out curls are my favorite,” she declares. “I’ll say it. Controversial opinion! Or is it?”

The results? A wonderfully buoyant, slightly unruly cloud of curls, with all the character we’ve come to expect from Ella Emhoff’s look. And despite the many steps involved, she’s confident she’s cracked the code. “It’s worked every time I’ve done it,” she writes in the caption.

More tips and tricks arise in the comments section, too. “I sleep in a bonnet and use a silk pillowcase,” Emhoff said in one reply. “Usually the two slippery surfaces make the bonnet slipping off pretty unlikely. I don’t care as much about how I sleep in it, as long as they are protected. It’s more about how I care for it in the morning.” She then promised to make a video of her morning routine for a curl refresh—so watch this space. (Feeling brave enough for a curly chop, yourself? Sterling Point hairstylists Chrystal Lotz and DJ Quintero recently shared with Vogue how to exactly achieve Oona’s ’70s-esque curly shag—a perfect cut for fall.)

For anyone whose curls have a mind of their own, this all compounds into a pretty persuasive verdict for your next wash day.