The style is “beachy,” and may have been named after a social media influencer who lives in landlocked Utah.
(Charles Sykes | Bravo) Lisa Barlow, a cast member of “The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” (pictured here at the Season 3 reunion), is one of the most well-known faces of the spring 2024 trendy “Utah curl” hairstyle.
| June 12, 2024 5:46 pm
| Updated: 5:57 PM
Do you have beach waves or curls with straight ends?
However you describe it, “Utah curls” are trending across the country, and the Beehive State's popular hairstyling technique is a little bit of both. The name doesn't refer to curled hair, but rather to the look you achieve when your hair is loosely curled until the ends are straight and relaxed with just a magical flick of your wrist.
While the style itself is nothing new, searches for “Utah curls” have skyrocketed in popularity, with search terms like “Utah girl curls,” “how to do Utah curls” and, most urgently, “what are Utah curls” all increasing in the past three months, according to Google Trends.
It is also trending on other media platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. The term “Utah Curl” has trended trending on YouTube for the past three weeks.
National beauty news outlets have noted the style's branding in Utah: Utah-based social media influencers popularized the look, Glam.com wrote. Latter-day Saint women's culture, where they're “always taught to be appearance-conscious and encouraged to wear makeup and style their hair,” made them the perfect starting point for the trend, a reporter for TheList.com argued, raising a questionable headline that placed Utah in the Midwest.
The hairstyle has also been seen on at least one Utah celebrity: Lisa Barlow, one of the cast members of “The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City,” who occasionally sported wavy hair as a contrast to her straight hair.
Mackenzie Anderson, an Ogden-based hairstylist who has been in the industry for five years but has loved the profession since she was in high school, told The Salt Lake Tribune she knows what Utah Curls are.
What is a “Utah Curl”?
“The ends are straight and the curls are loose. It's got a beachy feel to it.”
Does Utah Curl have a history?
“Utah people just love to dress up, there's no other big history to it. [and] People want to look their best. … That's definitely a Utah thing because … you don't see it anywhere else. … The beauty industry is so big here, so maybe that's what it comes from.”
How are Utah Curls different from regular curls?
[The end of the curls are not styled, but they remain straight. Anderson said that technique adds another layer to the hairstyle.]
“Straightening the ends gives it a looser look… It also adds a beachy vibe… It looks neat, but is easy to do. Growing your hair out like this means you don't have to work on every strand.”
(Mackenzie Anderson) A screenshot from Ogden hairstylist Mackenzie Anderson's Instagram account, which showcases her work and examples of “Utah Curls.”
How to make Utakaal?
“Usually when you curl your hair, you undo it as you stretch it out. You should always use a curling iron with a clamp….Then when you get to the ends, pull them straight. If you don't have good wrist control, some people curl their hair and then go back and straighten the ends. This definitely takes practice.”
Why is this hairstyle so popular right now?
“It's different for people from outside the state. [from] “Utah seems to be craving styles that we haven't seen before. It's summer right now, so I feel like people are craving beachy, laid-back, relaxed styles. … I feel like a lot of what's trending on TikTok is Utah in general. There are a lot of Utah influencers on TikTok, so maybe that's getting the attention.”
