Just as conditioner can make your hair too smooth to hold a curl, styling creams and oils also "weigh it down," Contrastano says. You need styling products to give your hair texture and grip, not make it smoother.

Before you curl, think about using light stylers -- e.g. mousse or spray -- to give your hair light hold and bounce. Save greasy products for blowouts or slick hairstyles like ponytails and topknots.

If you have trouble keeping curls locked in place, you're gonna need to use styling products before and after you go at your hair with an iron. Potempa suggests a cocktail of mousse and heat protectant, whereas Contrastano likes using texturizing volume spray.

Spraying your curls with hairspray after styling is an obvious move to keep curls in place. (Flexible hold hairspray, please; you want these curls to move, right?) But the real trick is waiting to spray until after your curls have cooled, Potempa says.

Contrary to what you've heard, you really can touch or brush your curls after styling. "For a relaxed look, spray a flexible hairspray on the On Set Pro Brush, $42, and brush through the curls," Potempa says. "For a more natural, beachy curl, run your fingers through the curls to break them up."

Again, the key is waiting until your curls are totally cool. "A lot of women are tempted to touch or brush through the curls immediately after curling, but letting them cool is essential to making them last for a few days," Potempa says.

Avoid the impulse to fuss with your hair by putting on your makeup -- or picking out your clothes and getting dressed -- immediately after you're done curling. Also resist the urge to play with your hair throughout the day; the natural oils on your hands will relax your curls.

Sectioning your hair with clips before curling might seem a little precious, but Potempa swears it's "easier" and more "efficient" than diving right in with a curling iron. Not only are you less likely to miss spots by sectioning your hair, "curling smaller sections of hair will also give you tighter curls and more hold," she says.

Potempa recommends separating your hair into four sections with darby clips and curling "one-inch subsections for an even curl pattern."

If you're using all the fancy tools and all the hair products but your hair still won't hold a curl, Contrastano and Potempa suggest doing the retro thing and pinning them. "When you take the pins out, the curls will have even more structure and volume," Potempa says.

Using duck-bill clips like these, "just wrap the curl, pin and let it set for a few minutes," Potempa says. Contrastano suggests leaving your curls pinned until you're ready to leave the house; then, let 'em loose and spray them.