Ready to curl your hair with an iron at home? Here's what to do! Another good rule of thumb: Start with the sections of the hair underneath (nearest to the nape of your neck, for example), working your way to the crown and the hair that rests on top-this way you won’t disrupt the wave pattern you’ve just created by pushing your hair aside to get to another section. It may sound a little complicated, but Santiago, who's loving the T3 Lucea 1' Professional Straightening & Styling Flat Iron right now, insists that you can use one of three simple flat iron techniques to create a variety of curls-and she shared her simple step-by-step tutorials with me (along with some easy-to-follow videos).įor each, Santiago recommends using a flat iron with standard 1-inch plates on the highest temperature your hair can tolerate and saturating dry (always dry) strands with a heat protectant beforehand (she likes the Philip B. 'And I've had clients say their texture lasts longer when they use a straightener to curl their hair.' 'I actually use a flat iron more often to create waves and curls because I find the results look more natural,' she tells me.

In fact, Santiago's kicked her curling iron to the curb-even when she's working on her celebrity clientele. It's a trick professional stylists have been using for years, including my good friend Mia Santiago, who's tended to the locks of Mariska Hargitay, Martha Stewart, Christina Hendricks, and Dove Cameron. Want to fake blowout bends? Lusting after old Hollywood waves? Pining for the piece-y texture you’d get from a day at the beach? Grab that iron to create quick curls. But like the beauty version of a Swiss Army knife, a straightener can be used to MacGyver your strands into loads of different styles. You probably only break out your flat iron when you want to sear your hair into a smooth, frizz-free coif.

How to curl with a flat iron