Last week, I went to John Sahag Workshop to get some highlights* from awesome colorist Doug Macintosh. While there, I went crazy over my friend (and stylist) Karmela Lozina’s long, loose, perfectly tousled waves, and she told me that they were easy to create…and that all you need to get the look is a flat-iron. Franny (pictured below) offered to show me how to do it, and so on Saturday morning I returned, video camera and wonderfully patient husband in tow.
Here’s both of us with our hair styled the same way: Franny’s hair is quite thick, and mine is very fine, but as you can see it looks nice on all sorts of different textures.
I know, a flat-iron doesn’t sound like it makes much sense to use if you want to create…well, curls – but that’s the reason they’re so imperfect and undone-looking. You do need a specific kind of flat-iron: a 1″ one with rounded edges that says on the package that it can be used for curling purposes. Good flat irons can get really expensive, but you can find them on Amazon for a wide range of prices (for example, this Revlon ceramic straightener is just $24.79).
The best part: I have no idea how or why, but waves created this way last forever. Franny and Karmela both told me that my hair would look even better on Day 2…and both times that Franny styled my hair like this, I woke up the next day looking like I’d just stepped out of the salon. And on the morning of Day 3 (I only wash my hair every third day because a) it’s dry, and b) I want to minimize damage), it still looked good.
Flat-Iron Curls from Jordan Reid on Vimeo.
How To Create Curls With A Flat Iron:
1. Start with blow-dried hair (parted naturally).
2. Divide hair into two sections vertically (like you’re making low pigtails), and pin up the top half of each section with clips.
3. Starting from the bottom of your head, take 1″ sections of hair and place the flatiron along the roots as usual, but then when you’re about 1/4 of the way down the hair shaft twist the iron 360 degrees.
4. Moving slowly, pull through to the ends. When you release you should have a loose, bouncy curl (the slower you pull, the curlier your hair will be). If the curl is too much for you, just run the flat-iron quickly down the section to straighten it out a bit.
Tip: Curl the hair in different directions (some sections left, and others right) to create the most natural texture, but curl the pieces immediately surrounding the face away from it to “open it up.”
*Service generously provided gratis by management.
