Loose, messy, undone waves look both effortless and fashionable, making them worthy of hairstyle supremacy. Despite their fuss-free vibe, they require quite the entourage behind the scenes – be it cumbersome curling tongs, or hours spent trying to create waves with overnight buns and braids.
Here’s a hack to change the game when it comes to beach waves – using your trusty hair straightener. It can surprisingly, and with minimal effort, give you those soft, tousled waves you’ve always dreamed of. Plus, it’s a great hack for when you’re travelling and can only take one of your hair styling tools along with you. Celebrity hairstylist Justine Rae Mellocastro gives us a low-down on achieving the iconic S-wave, along with other variations of beach waves, by using just your hair straightener.
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#1 - The ‘S’ Wave
Old Hollywood’s iconic red carpet waves have inspired generations of hairstylists. The S-wave serves as a subdued, brushed-out, yet equally glamorous counterpart. Rather than having full-blown curls, these give your hair an S-shaped wave pattern creating a subtle, natural effect. Here’s how you can create these S-waves with a straightener.
Step 1:
The most important thing to do to successfully create S-waves is to clearly section out your hair. Start by using a heat protection spray and separate your hair into four quadrants — down the middle and from ear to ear.
Step 2:
Preheat your hair straightener and further section out one of the quadrants into a 1.5-inch section from the base to the top of your head.
Step 3:
Starting at the root, move in an ‘S’ shape turning your iron in and out at equal distances, or depending on what kind of S-waves you want to create. Clamp down on your hair all the way to the ends. An alternate technique is to start at the root, and clamp your hair with the flat iron to create the first bend. Twist the section in the shape of an ‘S’ and clamp at the curve. Repeat the action all the way to the ends.
Step 4:
Repeat the above steps by sectioning out the rest of your larger sections. Once you’re done, brush through the hair to merge all the different sections and create one smooth and shiny wave.
#2 - Beach Waves
The name says it all—easy, breezy, and effortless, at least in how it looks. Beach waves play around with texture to create a relaxed and soft hairstyle. Inspired by the salted sea breeze in your hair, it’s pretty much a year-round celebrity favourite. Here’s how you can recreate beach waves with a straightener.
Step 1:
Unlike S-waves, for beach waves, you can pick up random sections and get started. Apply a heat protection spray, preheat your iron, and randomly select sections of different volumes. It’s a good idea to pick longer, vertical sections rather than horizontal ones.
Step 2:
Starting from the root, twist your iron in a downward direction as you go through to the ends. This creates a very slight curl texture, which you will open out once you’re done curling your hair. Alternatively, start from the root, turn your flat iron upside down and twist away from your face in a downward direction as you go through to the ends.
Step 3:
Repeat for all sections. Once you’re done, you want to use a good sea salt hair spray to texturise your hair. Toss your hair around, shake it up, spray the sea salt spray evenly through the hair and scrunch it in.
Cover Image : Instagram/@hot.hair.balloon
