These lived-in, tousled waves are so easy to achieve, and look so good on so many different lengths! If you’re intimidated by curling with a wand, or just not sure how to create the un-done “I woke up like this” casual curls, I gotchu, fam!

Wands 101

I have a lot of clients who are really intimidated by curling wands. They don’t know how to hold them, worry about burning their little fingies, and are just generally confused about where to start.

What is the difference between a traditional curling iron with a clamp and a wand? Curls that formed inside the barrel of a traditional curling iron are more uniform and more spiral shaped. Curls that are wrapped around a wand are bigger and more vertical. Sort of like the difference between spiral and cavatappi pasta.

Spiral noodles, if you curled noodles in a curling iron.

And cavatappi noodles, like if you curled them around a wand.

You can use a curling iron with a clamp as a wand simply by not using the clamp and wrapping the hair around the entire iron. But the clamp handle can be kind of annoying to work around, and sometimes the clamp can cause a bit of a crimped line in the curl.

To add to the confusion, there are also a million different types of wands. There are tapered wands, fat wants, skinny wands, wands that kind of look like items that belong in a nightstand… so many options.

I have had several different wands, and my favorite is from Nu Me.

The exact model I have with the 3 interchangeable wands isn’t available anymore, but they have similar ones. And they have awesome sales periodically, so keep your eye on that. I also love my set from Paul Mitchell. 

In my experience, the diameter of the wand matters, but the curls are much more dependent on how you wrap the hair. How big your sections are, whether the hair is wrapped flat or twisted, how long you hold the curl, and so many other factors. The biggest thing you can do is experiment! So much depends on your hair texture and how you wrap the hair, but there are a couple of rules of thumb.  The bigger the barrel, the bigger the curls. The longer you hold the curl in, the tighter the curls.

One of my favorite looks to do with the wand is a tousled, lived-in curl. It’s super quick and easy, and very forgiving, since it’s supposed to look a little un-done. It goes well with both casual and dressy outfits, and looks great on so many hair lengths.

Tousled Curls

Here’s a video, complete with so many awkward faces and several unflattering angles of my many chins, to show you how! And if you’re more a step-by-step photo gal, I got that too!

This looks works best on hair with some grit. Squeaky clean hair doesn’t usually hold curl very well. Hair with some waves or wonky parts is fine, but you do want your hair on the smooth-er side starting out, since we won’t be smoothing the top.

Depending on the thickness of your hair, you’ll do this in 3 or 4 sections. Let down the first section from about ear to ear. Spray this section with some hairspray before you start. Work in 1- 1/2 inch sections.

A lot of people get confused about how to hold the wand. Hold the wand with the barrel pointing down, and wrap the hair down the barrel. If you hold the barrel with the handle at the bottom, it’s impossible to wrap the hair going up the barrel, and it gets all twisted and wonky.

For this look, we want to do a flat wrap around the barrel. This means the hair is wrapped around the barrel of the wand smoothly and without overlapping/twisting. Wrap it straight down the barrel in a spiral shape.

Leave the last 1-2 inches of your hair out of the curl. This makes the look more lived-in and modern, and also ensures your fingers won’t get burned!

Pull the wand out, cup the curl in your hand, and hold the curl up towards your scalp for a couple of seconds to set the curl as it cools.

Give the curl a little twist in the direction you wrapped the hair to coil the curl. After you drop your curl, just leave it!! Don’t comb through it or mess with it yet.

Let down the middle section after you’ve finished curling the bottom section and spray again with hair spray. Alternate which direction you wrap the hair. To wrap the hair towards your face, just be sure the hair is pulled smoothly over the barrel, with no kinks or bends.

Continue to leave the last couple of inches out of the curl.

Pull the wand out, and gently hold the curl up to cool.

Remember: If you wrapped away from your face, twist the hair away from your face. If you wrapped towards your face, twist towards your face.

In the front sections, start the curl about chin height. You don’t want a super high and bouncy curl right in your face.

With the curls still untouched, spray your whole head with a little bit of hairspray. Then rake through the curls with your fingers, shake them out, and tousle for that casual, lived in look!

Happy curling, friends!