Curling iron for dummies

[sweetface18]

this might sound super dumb..but how do you get those nice curls with a curling iron...i want more of a soft wavy naturally look...i'm talking about how do you hold the curling iron? Am I suppose to be holding the clamp tight? Am I suppose to use hair spray?

Can anyone recomend a good curling iron? I heard really good things about the marykate olsen one but they don't sell it anymore. How big should it be?

 

[girl_geek]

Hm, I'm not an expert with curling irons, I haven't used them much since I grew out my poofy 80's bangs

If you want waves rather than tight curls, you probably want a larger curling iron, unless maybe your hair is just very hard to curl. If you hairspray each section of hair before curling it, it will definitely make your hair curl more! However, with my hair at least, once you curl a section once you should leave it alone -- additional curling tended to just make my hair straighter! But it was always hard to get my hair to hold a curl with a curling iron, even though it's naturally wavy! And of course hairspray afterwards helps hold the curl, that should go without saying

I also learned the other night on TLC's "What Not To Wear" (I learn way too much from that show, lol) that if you are curling long hair, wrap the hair like a spiral around the barrel. That will allow all the hair to touch the barrel and get curled. (If you wrap the hair on top of itself, then only the inside hairs will get hot and curled!)

Hope that helps! Maybe a curling iron expert will see this thread and offer more advice

 

[greeneyedangel]

I use the CHI 1 1/2" barrel for large waves. The bigger the barrel the better. A ceramic one is great and won't damage your hair!

I've also use the CHI Flat Iron to curl my hair! It works great too!! Its all in the way you twist it.

 

[NYAngel98]

Yup... bigger barrel = bigger curls. I'd go with one at least 2" if you want loose curls and waves. Clamp the hair at the very end and wind the iron in the direction that the ends are facing - so you don't get crimp marks. A styling spray also helps too