If you are loving all of those “natural” beach-like curls we see all of our favorite celebrities, like Jessica Alba, rocking on the red carpet — you’re in luck. I know you are probably thinking that you have tried every curling tool on the market but just can’t get it to look as effortless as theirs do. That’s because their stylists aren’t using anything more than a professional blow dryer and a round brush! This is one super easy trick that will save you tons of time, and believe it or not — it can even, with experience, take less time than blowing your hair out with a round brush! Here’s a super easy step by step and how-to video, but keep in mind, these curls are not tight, they should look loose and wavy:
1.) Prepping your hair: So, since you aren’t going to be aiming for the super sleek blown out look, we recommend spraying your hair generously with a light hold heat protection spray, we love Bain de Terre’s Thermal Iron Protector, and omit using any heavy smoothing creams. If you have really frizzy hair, add half the amount of your normal smoothing serum just to ensure you aren’t going to weigh down the curls.
2.) Do a rough blow dry: Utilizing your fingers, roughly blow dry your hair until it is about 80% dry. Don’t worry if it seems frizzy, because in the next step you will be using the round brush to smooth and curl. This is simply a time saving step which can be applied to any blow dry!
3.) Section your hair: First, find your part. Then, beginning at the nape of the neck and using horizontal sections, take about 1/3 of the back of your hair down. This is the section you will begin with, taking even sections from the back and working your way up. On the sides, separate your sections horizontally into 2-3 sections, depending on the thickness and heavy side of your part.
4.) Roll your hair into your round brush: For this step, I prefer to use a 1 1/4″ to 1 1/2″ tourmaline round brush to assure I am getting even heat distribution all the way through the brush. Begin as you would if you were simply drying your hair with the round brush using medium tension to smooth the hair, however instead of letting the section fall, continue rolling the brush into all of the hair is wrapped around it (similar to using rollers). Once the hair is wrapped on the brush and dry, use the cool shot button on your blowdryer to set the hair. If you skip the cooling step, your hair will not hold the shape of the brush.
5.) Unravel: Unravel your hair from the brush by turning the brush vertically with the tip pointing towards the top of the head and unwinding in a clockwise or counter-clockwise fashion (depending on the side of the head that you are on) with a gentle “twist and pull” motion. This step should be done somewhat slowly to assure you don’t disrupt your curl.
6.) Finish with a light hold hair spray: and enjoy your gorgeous, “natural” looking waves!
