How To Get Waves With A Curling Wand

Account for Hair Type

The type of hair you have matters quite a bit when it comes to using a curling wand. If your hair is already a bit wavy or curly, you might only need to use the curling wand to touch up the waves or enhance them a bit based on the style you want to go for.

If your hair is straight and fine or thin, a curling wand will give you enough flexibility to work on your hair while also adding the perfect messy and wavy look. On the other hand, if your hair is thicker or coarser, you will need to spend more time with a larger wand to achieve the perfect look.

Select the Right Curling Wand

Curling wands come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Make sure you keep your hair texture in mind while selecting the size while also understanding the demands of each size. If, for instance, you want your waves to be a bit tighter, a smaller wand might give you more control and twisting movements than a bigger one.

Curling wands typically have a tapering shape, making it possible to form waves of different kinds in your hair for a more natural appearance. However, there are some straighter wands that you can consider as well, although they will result in more uniform and less versatile waves.

Gather Your Tools

Apart from the curling wand itself, you will need to assemble all the tools you will need to form the waves in your hair. These include:

• Shampoo and conditioner
• Heat protectant
• Serum/primer
• Hair cream
• Leave-in product
• Holding product
• Clips/pins
• Comb and brush
• Dry shampoo

All the products that you need to apply to your hair should be safe for you to use while also providing lasting protection to your waves.

Wash Your Hair

You should start making preparations for adding the waves by first washing your hair with a nourishing shampoo and conditioner. If you do not have enough time, you can also make use of dry shampoo to clean out the dirt in your hair and nourish it a bit to make the process simpler.

Once you wash the hair, allow it to dry a bit but leave it a bit damp so that you can style it in an easier manner. Air drying is the ideal solution, but if you are in a rush, you can also blow dry your hair.

Get Your Hair Ready

After washing your hair, you should prepare your damp hair using the other hair products that you have collected and assembled. Take some hair serum or spray and apply it throughout your hair to nourish and hydrate it properly.

A primer or hair cream will also work here since it will sufficiently protect your roots from damage due to the heat from the curling wand. If you have not used a hair dryer already, you can make use of it at this point to spread the product and dry your hair a bit more.

Apply heat protectant and lightly brush your hair.

Segment Your Hair

Now that your hair is ready, take a comb with a thin tail or end and use it to carefully section your hair into multiple segments. Keep each segment thin so that you find it easier to wrap it around the wand while curling.

You will also need plenty of pins or clips here to hold each segment in place so that it does not get in the way of curling. Only keep one of the segments open (preferably one near the ends of your hair) so that you can start working on it immediately.

Prepare the Wand

You can now move on to preparing the curling wand itself. Plug it into a nearby power socket and adjust the heat and airflow settings, if applicable. You should let it heat up for a few seconds before you move on to introducing your hair to it.

Be careful while using a curling wand because it does not include a clamp that you can use to wrap the hair or control your movements. Wear gloves here so that you do not end up burning yourself, especially if this is the first time you are using the wand.

Wrap Your Hair

After getting your curling wand to function in the right settings, take the open segment of your hair and slowly wrap it around the wand. Hold the wand in a vertical position, facing either upward or downward. Keep it at a safe distance from your scalp and face to avoid burning yourself.

Ideally, you should only wrap a couple of inches of the segment at a time to avoid overcrowding the wand. Instead, keep some distance between each twirl on the wand so that the curling procedure is more effective.

Hold, Release, Repeat

Do not immediately let go of the wrapped hair. Hold it for up to ten seconds (more or less) without moving the wand around too much. How long you need to hold it will depend on the thickness and texture of your hair, with finer hair requiring lesser time and thicker hair requiring longer.

Slowly pull the wand out or unwrap the hair using your fingers. You can then move on to the next segment by wrapping the hair either in the same direction or in the opposite direction. The latter will lead to more natural waves.

Let Waves Cool

After you are done using the curling wand throughout your hair, turn the wand off and unplug it. You should allow some time to let your waves cool before touching them so that they become more secure.

At this point, you will also need to use your fingers and loosen up the curls a bit so that you can turn them into more natural-looking waves as opposed to the distinct ring shape that they might display.

You can also use a brush here to make the waves look more natural.

Add Finishing Touches

Take a good look at your waves in the mirror to see if you are content with them. If you find that there are some segments that do not quite look how you want them to, or if you think the brush straightened out the waves too much, you can touch them up once again with the curling wand.

This time, keep the hair wrapped around the wand only for up to five seconds or so and focus only on the required sections.

Apply Final Products

Now that all steps involving the curling wand and final shaping are over, you will need to apply a couple of final products to hold the waves in place. Some of these include a holding serum or spray and a leave-in product that can keep your hair healthy and in shape for a long time.

Using sprays is better here so that you do not need to make too much direct contact with the hair. If not, however, it is okay to lightly rub some of the serum or cream through your waves and crumple them up a bit.

Style Your Hair

If you have a particular hairstyle in mind, now is the time to carry it out. The easiest style is to simply let your waves hang loose and keep them as the highlight, but if this is not enough, you can consider tying your hair up, making braids, clipping half your hair, making a messy bun or more.

Try to avoid tightly braiding the waves themselves so that you do not change up their texture too much. Keeping them loose using clips instead of bands is also a good idea.

Touch Up Later

If you want to keep your waves for a few days, you will need to keep touching them up a bit by applying spray or incorporating dry shampoo. This will preserve the health and shine of your hair without needing to wash your hair and redo the curling process.

You can also tie loose braids to keep the waves intact.