I am a cosmetologist, and even though it has been years since I worked in a salon, I still love messing around with hair and trying new styles and techniques. I’ve often been asked how to get the beachy waves that I wear, and thought I’d share my techniques and favorite curling wand with you.
A curling wand is the key to easy beachy waves. I use the Infiniti Pro by Conair Tourmaline Ceramic Curling Wand and love it. If you click on the link, it will take you to Amazon, where they show a couple of videos of how to use the wand. I also show 2 of my favorite videos below, one for beachy waves in long hair, one for short hair.
This curling wand gives spiral curls that start wider and taper to smaller (like an inverted triangle) which I prefer compared to the uniform curls of a non-tapered wand. It keeps the curl from starting too tight up high by your scalp, as long as you hold the wand with the tip pointing down. I like that I can hold the hair around the wand longer for a tighter curl, or can pull on the curl after releasing it from the wand to make it more of a wave. I also love that this particular wand allows you to adjust the heat.
I think wands are much easier to use than curling irons, especially once you learn the proper way to use them. Keep reading for lots of tips, tricks and 2 videos.
How To Get Beachy Waves With A Curling Wand
~Comb out your tangles.
~Section hair. Use a clip or hair tie, leave a 1-inch section at the bottom, and clip the rest on top of your head.
~Use a 1-inch curling wand and take 1-inch sections of hair.
~Curl sections around the face away from the face, but alternate the rest—away than toward, away than toward.
~Leave your ends out of the wand (about an inch or two) for a beachy look.
~If your hair does not hold curl well, spray with hairspray (Kenra 25 is my FAV) as you go to give the hair some ‘tackiness.’
~Let curls cool before messing with them in any way. Important! This sets the curl and makes it hold.
~Work around the whole head using 1-inch alternating sections, leaving the ends out.
~When finished with your whole head and after letting curls cool, use fingers to piece out and break up the curls.
~Use backcombing on last 2 layers if you need extra volume. (see video below for technique and volume root tease spray.)
~Smooth any flyaways and finish entire head with a flexible-hold hairspray.
Top 2 Tips for Beachy Waves:
{these are key for a modern, beachy look!}
Curl away from the face around the face.
Leave 1-2 inches of your ends straight.
Keep reading for videos of the technique. Take note the 2 products she uses in the first video. They are easy- to- find drugstore products. I especially like the root lift spray and teasing technique at the crown for those of you who need volume.
Sidenote: notice her eyebrows. I love that thicker eyebrows have come back into style. No more over-tweezed skinny eyebrows! Her brows are a bit more structured than I do, but I still like them! I’ve been filling mine in and will share the brow products I use in an upcoming post.
Have shorter hair? I don’t want to leave you out. Here is a video tutorial for you!
Notice, she uses a large curling iron, but the same technique for beachy waves. You can use a curling wand in place of a curling iron. She uses sectioning, curls away from face around the face, and a leaves bit of her ends out for that beachy waves look! Also, look at her eyebrows. Nice and filled in! Love.
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So there you have it! Beachy waves for all lengths of hair. I just adore the undone easy look of the waves and especially love that it looks even better on the 2nd day.
If you try it out, let me know how it goes!