I've put my curly hair through hell trying to get the waves to behave - and then I got these tips from James Kennedy. Here's how to make the most of your curly coif:

Dry hair with paper towels. They absorb water without roughing up the cuticle like fabric towels.

Use a little bit of leave-in conditioner to keep the hair from frizzing, especially on dry days.

When using products, always rub them vigorously in between your palms before applying to the hair.

Start with a straightening balm and comb it through your wet hair.

Then add a curl amplifier.

Get a trim every six to eight weeks.

Cut your hairFind James at the ME Salon on El Paseo.

Address: 73-920 El Paseo, Suite 1. Phone: 779-0011. "I usually do it when people are sitting in front of me at the movies or at an event," he said.

"I need to have enough time to really take them in and figure out what will make them look best." After all, that's what Kennedy does in real life, too. He has been a hair designer for 36 years, working his hair magic all over the world.

"It's fast. It's fun. The creativity keeps flowing.

And it's all over in 20 minutes!" he said. Though his own work is wearable art, Kennedy said he always remained humble when working with clothing designers.

"It's their work, their idea," he said. "I'm just there to frame it properly." He doesn't buck the trends, exactly - because his styles certainly still look modern and new.

"I don't want to be a say-no hairdresser," Kennedy said. "You know your own hair best. You've been living with it your whole life.

"But at the same time, I don't want to give someone something that will look completely wrong." Clients would be wise to trust his eye, too. He discovered model Jill Goodacre, long before she was a Victoria's Secret model and married Harry Connick Jr.

Kennedy found her in a Boulder shopping mall, did her hair and make-up and got her on the cover of Denver Magazine, launching her career. Kennedy moved from Denver to Palm Springs. He now works at the ME Salon on El Paseo in Palm Desert.

He is a meticulous stylist. Sometimes he'll even pull up a stool to sit behind the client, holding one lock of hair at a time between his fingers. Then he carefully slices away with the scissors.

The trend now, he said, are easy cuts that work with the unique texture of the hair. People are no longer forcing straight hair to go curly and vice versa. "Women want more natural looks, especially here in the desert where they don't want to spend a lot of time styling," he said.

"I always spend more cut time than styling time," he said. "It's a good cut that makes all the difference.