Are they beachy waves? Are they curls with straight ends? However you describe them, “Utah curls” are trending nationwide — and the hairstyling technique popular in the Beehive State is a little bit of both. The name doesn’t refer to curly hair, but to the look created when hair is loosely curled until an almost magical flick of the wrist leaves the ends straight and relaxed. While the style itself isn’t new, searches for “Utah curls” are enjoying a surge of fame, with queries like “Utah girl curls,” “How to do Utah curls” and the most pressing — “what are Utah curls?” — on the rise over the last three months, according to Google Trends.
It’s also trending on other media platforms, such as TikTok , Instagram and YouTube. The term “Utah curls” has spiked on YouTube the last three weeks. A post shared by Milledgeville, Ga 📍 (@glowsalonmilly) National beauty news outlets have weighed in on the style’s Utah branding.
Utah-based social media influencers popularized the style, Glam.com wrote . The culture of Latter-day Saint women — who are “taught to always be cognizant of their outward appearance and are encouraged to wear makeup and style their hair” — was the perfect launchpad for the trend , a writer for TheList.
com asserted, under a headline that questionably put Utah in the Midwest. The style 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,” .