Give the spray a few seconds to dry before you start curling—you don’t want your hair to stick to the plates. Plus, you’ll get less gunk on your plates.
Fine or damaged hair: 180 to 370 °F (82 to 188 °C) Medium thickness, healthy hair: 375 to 395 °F (191 to 202 °C) Thick, coarse hair: 400 to 420 °F (204 to 216 °C)
If you have a lot of hair, you might want to do a middle layer, then the top. That way, your sections won’t be quite as thick and the curl will hold better. Do a quick run through your hair with the flat iron first to completely straighten it—you’ll get prettier curls that way. [2] X Research source
If you have chin-length hair, clamp the section at the root and run it down a little so you don’t start the curl too close to the top of your head. Use smaller sections if you want a tighter curl pattern or larger sections if you want more of a wavy look.
You can even experiment with doing a half-turn on some sections and a full turn on others. After all, natural curls are rarely perfectly consistent. The more variation you have, the more natural your hair will ultimately look.
The speed at which you do this also determines how much curl you’re going to get. If you go slow, your hair gets exposed to more heat, which means more curl. Faster? Your hair gets exposed to less heat for more of a wavy look.
Remember, if you don’t like how a particular section looks, you can always run the flat iron down it to straighten it out and try again. Just keep in mind that you’re exposing that section of hair to more heat every time you do that.
Flip your head upside down before your run your fingers through if you want a little more volume and lift.
If you’re going to be drying your hair with a hairdryer, use a heat protectant gel or serum that you apply to your hair while it’s still wet.
Make sure your hair is completely dry before you start curling it, though. You’ll cause serious damage to your hair if you start ironing it while it’s still wet.
Coarse, curly hair: boar bristle brush for smoothing Fine to medium hair: metal vent brush for volume Straight hair: nylon bristle brush for smoothing
A 1⁄2 inch (1. 3 cm) pencil flat iron is suitable for bobs and chin-length short styles. A 1⁄3 inch (0. 85 cm) pencil flat iron is small enough for very short hair and pixy cuts—you can even use it to style men’s facial hair! Look for solid ceramic plates—they heat evenly so there won’t be hot spots that damage your hair.
