How To Wave Your Hair With a Flat Iron

One of my favorite hairstyles is long, loose waves. It reminds me of the summer and the beach, of hippie music festivals and Botticelli paintings. It's definitely super casual elegance at its easiest.

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I tried numerous times to give myself those effortless waves (heads up: they're not exactly effortless) but I always somehow did it wrong. I tried a curling iron, pin curls, a round brush....all failed as far as I was concerned. They left my hair looking frizzy, unkempt, and just plain rat's nesty.

Then the Youtube gods smiled upon me and I discovered tons of videos that showed you how to get these gorgeous waves with a flat iron.

Dude, a flat iron? Bullshit.

Except not. It totally works! I gave it a go this morning and I wasn't too disappointed with this method:

The How-To:

1. Start with fresh, clean hair. Spray the roots with a volumizing spray.

2. Spray hair with a heat protectant product.

3. Either blow dry or air dry your hair (whichever you prefer).

4. Once your hair is dry, begin curling your hair with a small barrel flat iron. Separate hair into one inch sections (these sections can be smaller if your hair is fine). Start at the roots and twist the flat iron around, slowly pulling the hair between the plates to the ends.

5. Allow the curls to cool. Once cool, run your fingers through the curls to loosen and separate them. Set with hair spray if you want the curls to keep their shape.

And this is what you should end up with:

It's not quite as sleek as Lauren's hair in the picture above, but I think I probably went a little overboard with the volumizing spray. My hair will probably settle a bit more as the day goes on.

Have you tried waving your hair with a flat iron? Tell me what tricks you use to achieve your favorite styles!