How To: Curl Your Hair FAST

Wednesday, May 12, 2010



So we're all in agreement that it's annoying when someone thinks that because you look put together, you're neglecting your kids, right? Especially when there are so many shortcuts to getting ready that there's no excuse for looking like you walked out of a bad mom commercial.

I was just thinking about how me and my two best friends as a teenager, Vanessa and Erin, would get together for the sole purpose of "getting ready". We would drag all of our hair and makeup stuff to Vanessa's house, because she had the biggest mirror, and take HOURS to get ready for a Friday night. One day, while getting ready, Vanessa discovered :ironing" her hair. Like, actually ironing it. With a clothes iron. Thus commenced a year of ironed hair for all of us.

It really did make it straight!

But ironing your hair is very, very bad for it. Can we say damage? Just think of all the crap you subjected your hair to as a teenager in the name of beauty. Then you have a couple of kids and up into the ponytail it goes! It gets to the point that if you DO style your hair, your husband is all "Hey, did you lose weight? Let's head upstairs!"

My hair is a frustrating cross between wavy and straight, so for me to tame it into submission, it must be styled. And ever since I found this neato little trick, it takes me two seconds to look put together and polished. And now I will dispense this wisdom for you.

CURL WITH A FLAT IRON!

I know that this doesn't make sense. I've been doing it for like, six months and I still don't know really how it works, it just does. And it's so easy and fast.

So you have a flat iron right? A skinny, inch-wide one is best. I usually do this when I've gotten out of the shower and didn't take the time to blow dry my hair, so it's all wild and wavy in weird places. Here's the steps that I take.

1) Brush a mousse or hairspray through your hair to give it a little staying power.

2) Take a small section of one to two inches, and clamp the flat iron in, as per usual, like you're going to straighten it.

3) Then, twist the flat iron upward, so that the top of the flat iron is flat against your head.

4) Slowly drag the flat iron downward, holding the twisted position all the way down.

5) Voila! You should get a) a perfect curl and b) a tangled cord. But we don't care about the tangled cord so much when pretty curls are to be had!

6) Repeat all over your head.

The benefit is that it takes no longer to curl your hair than it takes to straighten it. AND! The curls are loose and natural, not Shirley Temple and girly. Here's a pic of me with flat iron curls (they are also pinned back.) Also, my daughter has them too. VERSATILE!



So honestly, if you have five minutes to spare today, try the flat iron curl and see that it takes two seconds to look out of the ordinary. Then give your flat iron a little kiss NOT WHILE IT'S HOT and thank it for saving you from a lifetime of curling irons. Seriously. I haven't touched mine for like, a year.


ETA: I found a really good tutorial online for those who want to see how it's done. This girl curls in the opposite way than I do, but I think going both ways, turning some out AND turning some in, give a more natural curl over all.

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

hmm sounds like when you curl a ribbon. I have to go try this now, as my hair is also wavy.

0 said...

I lost redonkulous amounts of hair post-birth, and also never had time to do anything with it, not even brush it, so I was all 'HEY! I KNOW! I'LL CUT IT ALL OFF!'
And I did. I went from 2foot long to the Pixie Cut Of Death.
It looked good for like, a week, and ever since then I've been dyeing it daft colors because unless it's fuschia it looks like a small furry animal crawled onto my head and died.

Moral of the story: Do not get drastic haircuts when you have PPD. It is Bad News. You should have to pass a psych exam before cutting more than 6 inches off your hair, in my not-so-humble opinion.

Also, I don't own flat irons, and I don't have enough hair for them to be worth owning, but you've just made me really really want some. I suspect it would be a waste of money though. The last time I used my hairdryer was in September.
To dry a bra.

Sara K. said...

I TOTALLY used to iron my hair with an iron on an ironing board!!!!

Nathaly Blalock said...

HAHAHA, someone got up at church on Sunday and trash talked "moms who care more about looking cute and stylish than they do about taking care of their kids". Huge eye roll.

And when my hair was down to my waist, I totally used to iron it with a regular iron. Worked like a hair frying charm.

bequi said...

Arienette, My hair was short like that and I used a 1" straightener. I looked like David Bowie from "The Labyrinth" but at least it wasn't a frizzy mess. Might look cute & edgy with pink hair. ;)

Lisa said...

I really like your blog. Will you put some thought into doing a 5'8" and up fashion section. Summery clothes and dresses are harder because the proportions and cut can be very off once you hit that height, unless you are a bean pole. I love the look of maxi dresses, for instance, but for me and my sister and sister-in-law they can appear not so maxi. Also, finding jeans that work is ridiculous, they have to be longer in the inseam, and also in the rise to hit like they are cut to hit and the whole thing is really demoralizing. I would love to see what you would put together...

Jae said...

Arienette, I chopped my hair directly after having one of my babies and it RUINED ME for three months. Really. I might have worn mom jeans during that time. I can't be responsible for what I do with bad hair.

Hair dryers are overrated.

And it is APPALLING how many people used to iron your hair. It was SO BAD.

Lauren said...

I think I need a video of this. lol Or is it really as one user described, like curing a ribbon?

McMel said...

ugh. i have the same wavy problem. i'm also now losing ridiculous amounts of hair post-partum.

i have a picture of one of my friends ironing my hair with an iron at summer camp. ah, memories.

maybe i will try this one day. i haven't had time for my hair dryer in ages..

Krista said...

I'm visiting from Kate's blog and I thought I would quickly check you out. I just kept reading and reading! Great blog - but I'm blaming you when I have to get up early for work. BTW, my hairdresser chopped my hair off a month ago and it's only barely recuperating. I decided we better not discuss her husband when she's mad at him.

Rebecca Robertson said...

This looks wonderful! I have naturally curly hair. I would love to try this, though, because my hair is also very, very long, and the curls tend to get pulled out of shape by gravity. Maybe this will help bring some bounce back to my poor curls, lol.

You may also want to look up Michelle Phan on YouTube. She has a tutorial for curling your hair using brown paper bags. It's completely sans heat, and looks great.

Brittany or Jason Wadsworth said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Brittany or Jason Wadsworth said...

You don't know who I am, but I totally love your blog! It has helped me have the motivation to not turn into a frumpy mom!

Today my son was sick so as soon as I got out of the shower he needed me. Great for him, not so great for my hair. When I finally got around to looking in the mirror it was a crazy wavy catastrophe. Luckily I thought of this post and decided I might as well try it because my hair couldn't get any worse. It totally worked! I went from looking like crazy frumpalicious mom to stylish mom in minutes.

Thanks for the fun tips and motivation!

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Unknown said...

Hi I saw your video and loved it but I couldnt get the curls to actually curl any suggestions to why??

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