hair

FLAT IRON WAVE TRICK

PHOTOS/POST: KRISTIN ESS

There’s something about relaxed, undone waves on shorter lengths that just feels incredibly chic. It might be on of the most popular inquiries on my instagram when I post hair photos. I get asked what products I use, what curling iron size I use and what my secret is for this look. It’s a combination of those 3 things and I’m going to take you through it.

The first thing you’re going to want to do is curl your hair with THIS CURLING IRON. It’s a 1″ spring barrel and it’s pretty straight forward. If you need help with your iron waving technique, SEE THIS VIDEO. We also used THIS THICKENNG SPRAY on Nora’s hair before drying because it helps to create thickness and longer lasting hold in fine hair, but that’s optional for you. I personally have longer hair that holds curl well, so I don’t typically prep with that when I do this on myself, but totally up to you based on your hair type!

Repeat the same wave on both sides and around the back. Curl away from the face. I usually avoid curling underneath in the back all together to avoid that bulky look. I typically just do the top 2 inches of hair that fall over the back. (Time saver alert!! ha!)

Now you’re going to have something like this. Some people will prefer this and that’s totally cute if you’re into a more defined curl. However this tutorial is all about that relaxed, subtle looking wave, so we carry on…

Next step, take your flat iron (as you may already know, I greatly prefer THIS FLATIRON), very gently and quickly tap, tap, tap the wave from about an inch away from your roots, all the way to the bottom. If you need an in-action visual on how to tap, see my INSTAGRAM VIDEO for help. If you quickly tap the curl up and down the head it will soften the wave and flatten it out, just the right amount! Don’t go overboard with tapping, it’s subtle!

Your final look after tapping should be similar to this! Once you’re all tapped out, I like to add a little pomade/serum combo for separation. Here, Nora used THIS POMADE and THIS SERUM together or use MY POMADE which already has both of those things mixed together. A pea-sized dab of pomade and a pea sized dab of serum. Rub them together in your palms until they’re blended. Then rub this product cocktail in at the root and work your way down to the ends. Last but not least, add a spritz or two or three of your favorite hairspray. Here we used THIS!

Okay so your list of tools one more time, just in case:

• THICKENING SPRAY (OPTIONAL, FOR FINE HAIR)
• CURLING IRON
• FLAT IRON
• POMADE
• SERUM
• HAIRSPRAY

I do this trick on long hair and short hair, thick hair and thin hair! It’s the quickest, easiest way to get this wave and we hope you try it out! Don’t forget to tag us in your photo on our INSTAGRAM if you do!