if only.
They’re like Jaws.
Am I the only one that is legit terrified of flat irons? (Conversely, I’m afraid of curling brushes too.) Blessed/cursed with naturally straight hair, I’ve used those scary snap-jawed styling tools a few times to polish a super-straight look but actually didn’t own one until about a year ago, inherited from a friend.
I’ve been reveling in the joys of of styling my hair again since autumn finally arrived in Los Angeles and it’s not too face-meltingly hot to bother acknowledging that I have hair (don’t worry, both the mild temperatures and my enthusiasm won’t last). Experimenting with the flat iron was top of my list.
I won’t be that bitter blogger who links directly to a site and calls them out for sucking, plus I’m way too lazy for a Twitter beef with some gorgeous makeup guru, but I checked out a few YouTube tutorials and just couldn’t make them work. It’s tough to say if I’m a completely lousy stylist, which is not only feasible but likely, or if the tutorials just don’t cut it.
I tried wrapping sections of my hair around my middle and index finger and sort of rolling them up to my head, the way my granny used to (probably still does) pin curl her hair, then clamping it with the iron and releasing. The waves were less than casual and beachy and more geometric, with hard angles and fuzzy areas.
Speaking of fuzz, did I mentions I have generally pretty glossy and completely straight tresses? I think I’m doing the temperature setting terribly wrong because each stroke I made left a fuzzy, damaged feeling in its wake. How hot should it be? There doesn’t seem to be a general answer. I tried four-hundred degrees but kept thinking of the hair tutorial girl who accidentally burned off a lock of her own hair [left].
I also tried the method of flat iron curling that is supposed to be like curling ribbon. You clamp your hair a few inches from the bottom, flick your wrist, and with a flourish pull the hair through to reveal a sweet spiral that could accompany a special Christmas gift. But, again, mine came out with sharp crimps at the end that were neither curled nor straight, just wrecked. What am I doing wrong?
At A Beautiful Mess blog they share this easy-sounding how-to, below. What’s your go-to method for getting casual waves without a ton of work?
- Part your hair into three sections. If you have thicker hair or lots of layers, part it into four or five sections.
- Begin curling each section at a time. To do so, start at the highest point you want curled (I started about five inches from the bottom) clasp it to your hair and curl your hand outwards as if you’re turning a door knob. Once you’ve turned your hand as far as possible, release.
- Then, return the straightener at the end of where you just released and repeat the process.
- Curl each section into one large curl so that you end up having 3-5 curls all together. 5. Next, gently run your fingers through your hair, separating the curls.
- All done! This hair-do is perfect for any occasion and took less than five minutes. Hooray!
Image credit: subbotina / 123RF Stock Photo
