With holiday party season right around the corner, you want your hair to look as good as the festive ’fits you’ve got all planned out for the holiday cocktail hours, office parties, and fêtes with friends on your schedule. It might be tempting to leave that to the professionals, but you can actually get glammed at home with a tool you probably already have. Mastering how to use a curling iron can save you the time, effort, and dollars you’d normally spend for a professional do at the salon. “Curling irons can add movement, volume, and a more polished shape to hair,” says Tiffanie Richards, stylist at Louise O’Conner Salon, noting that anyone can achieve this with a few helpful pointers.
Before you panic over whether you need to use a clamp, or how to make your curls last all day (it’s possible, we promise), read on for our guide for everything you should know when it comes to curling your hair, according to experts who do it for a living. From prepping with a great heat protectant to how to maneuver your curling iron without having to mimic a contortionist, consider this your curling iron cheat sheet.
Who should use a curling iron?
Before we get into how to use a curler, let’s talk about who should use one. Curling irons can be useful to pretty much everyone. Yes, those with straight hair, but coarser textures (read wavy and curly) will find a curler helpful as well, according to Erica Quince, stylist and co-owner of House of Mane in Miami and West Palm Beach. If you have damaged hair from color treatments or excessive heat tools, she says, you need to be a bit more careful, so starting with a heat protectant is nonneogitable (but more on that later).
Curling irons allow you to shape, smooth, and add major volume to hair so it won’t fall flat by lunchtime, especially great if you have a big event or occasion that evening. If you have thinner, straight strands, a curler can give your hair body and shape, while if you have wavier, thicker, or already curly strands, it can enhance and define your natural curls, giving them a more polished finish. “A curling iron is great for creating long-lasting waves and curls because you have control over the size and direction of your curl,” says Richards.
How to use a curling iron
Curling irons may look simple, but once you have one in your hands, you’re suddenly faced with a lot of questions. What does the clamp do? Which direction should I be curling? How long do I keep it in place? It might seem a bit confusing at first, but we promise, once you get the hang of it, you’ll never look back.
Step 1: Prep your hair.
Before using any hot tool on your hair, a heat protectant is a must. “Start with freshly washed or day-old dry hair—the latter will hold the style a little bit longer,” says Richards. Next, apply a heat protectant, which can be a spray, an oil, a serum, or a leave-in conditioner cream. What type of product you use will depend on your hair type, Rogerio Cavalcante, founder of the Second Floor Salon in NYC, tells Glamour.
Use a spray if you have fine or thin strands for an effective but lighter-weight finish that won’t weigh hair down. A cream is a good choice for dry and damaged hair, or curly hair to smooth out texture and control frizz. A serum can be used on most hair types, while an oil can protect and nourish thick, dense, and coarse strands.
Apply your heat protectant all over. It’s important to make sure you evenly distribute the product all over the hair, but don’t make your hair too wet with it—wet hair is more fragile than dry. “You can brush your hair out from root to ends, but use a detangling hair brush to avoid unnecessary breakage,” says Quince.
Original video of Alanna Martine Kilkeary testing the Dae Agave Dry Heat Protection Spray
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