One of the biggest mistakes we make when trying to create a lasting curl is to use a tool like a tong, wand, or styler. These are great for ease of use and will give a nice temporary curl, but those curls will drop very quickly, especially if you have fine hair, or very heavy, long locks. You can still use your heated tools for a longer lasting curl, just add in one extra step. Clip each tonged coil to your head as you curl it, letting it sit on the head until it's completely cooled down. This goes back to the last point: you need to change the state to set the curl. Speed things up with the cool-shot button on your hair dryer, and only shake the hair out when it's stone cold. Your curls will last twice as long this way.