How To Get My Signature Waves

I am finally sharing a very long overdue post… how to get my beach waves! I have received so many questions on how to achieve my effortless, yet glam waves… so I am finally sharing all of my secrets. My go-to guide can also be helpful if you are attending any future weddings or events, especially when your hair is a day old (I’ll explain later 😉 Follow along step by step below, feel free to leave me any questions!

PRODUCTS:

Remington Large Pearl Ceramic Curl Wand: Everyone raves about really expensive curling irons or wands, but to be honest, I don’t think it is necessary. I have tried out a ton of wands / curling irons and the Remington is by far the easiest to use and the most effective.

Moroccan Oil Luminous Hair Spray Medium Hold: This is my favorite hairspray, ever. The scent is amazing and it is the perfect medium hold so you don’t get that sticky feel.

Kerastase Resistance Ciment Thermique: This is the best product, along with some other Kerastase products for prepping your hair before you blow dry and curl. Using heat protective products is very important, especially when you have highlighted hair.

Kerastase Elixir Ultime: I love this product for adding some shine and also protecting my hair from heat damage and frizz. The smell is addictive and I know I am protecting my hair while styling it.

Kerastase Nutritive Nectar Thermique: I mix a little bit of this with the Kerastase Resistance Ciment Thermique. Both do similar things, but I like the combination for extra protection. This acts as a leave in conditioner, smoothing and defining.

PREP

Hair care is so important so I am so excited to finally share all of my secrets to achieve my easy beach wave look. First step is to air dry and/or blow dry your hair. I have very thick wavy hair, so if I have enough time I will let it air dry but I usually will use the blow dryer for some extra help. Most important is that your hair is 100% dry before using a hot curling wand! Your hair will burn against the heat if there is any residual moisture that is not dry. I don’t go crazy with blow drying, I just like to get it a little bit straighter then it would naturally dry while removing some frizz.

STEP 1

Now the fun part, ready to start wanding! Let me preface this by explaining why I love a wand, over a curling iron. I have used both – and I typically like the relaxed beach wave look more. I found a wand to be MUCH easier to use, versus a curling iron. The clip on the curling iron tends to add an extra element of difficulty, and I don’t love when the curl reaches the end of my hair. I like to keep my ends straight and focus on the length of my hair.I use a 1 1/2″ curling wand because there is nothing worse than a tight curl! I want my look to be beachy, relaxed, and look effortless. I have very thick hair so another little secret of mine is that I don’t wash my hair every day. I am lucky enough that I can keep my hair for 2-3 days without washing. Curls tend to also stay and hold better on day old hair… so I always plan accordingly if I have a special event I am styling for. My photos for this post were taken on the same day of washing & blowing my hair so I will definitely have to put together another post with 1-2 day old hair to show the differences!

I begin my taking 1-2″ sections to curl at a time. I usually start underneath or at the front by the pieces framing my face. Once you have your sectioned piece, wrap your hair around the curling iron, away from your face! This is by far the most important lesson…. you want the waves to frame outwards, therefore you have to wrap the hair in opposite directions on the right and left side! As you can see below, I hold the end of my hair off of the iron as I want it to remain straight. I don’t want to have that little wave at the bottom, this helps create a beachier look. Once your hair is all around the wand, hold for 5-10 seconds. The longer you hold, the tighter the curl. Blake and Gold tip: If you are prepping your for a wedding or event, hours in advance…. You will want to keep the hair on the iron longer, to allow for a tighter curl. Everything will fall and you want to be sure you are able to keep a curl for a longer amount of time.

Once you are finished with one piece, do not brush out the curl. Let it sit and move onto the next piece.

STEP 2

Now you are ready to start on the next side. Typically, I like to curl the left side of my part to the left, and the right side to the right. I want everything to be away from my face, creating large beach waves. You are going to do the same process as Step 1, just curling in the opposite direction. Once you get through the entire head, you may look a little bit like Shirley Temple (don’t freak out!) because the fun has just started! Like I said before, everything will fall and we are going to brush through the curls to create a loose wave.

As you can see on the opposite side of my part, I am curling the hair in the opposite direction, away from my face.

STEP 3

Almost done! You have curled the entire head, without brushing through the curls. Last step is to give your entire head a quick spray with Moroccan Oil Hairspray, medium hold. The scent is amazing and it gives your hair the right amount of hold. Run your fingers lightly through your hair and tousle it up. Below is a photo before I begin to pull out the curls. I do one quick spray over the entire head and then I begin to brush through each piece with my fingers. If you want to go extra dramatic, you can use an actual brush to give your hair that smooth but super glam and polished look. For this particular post, I went with easy everyday waves.

After brushing through the curls, you can see if you need to re curl any pieces that may have straightened out. Sometimes the first pieces I wand tend to straighten so I like to re curl and tweak. At this point, you are pretty much done! 3 easy simple steps to achieve those coveted big waves. You also don’t need any budget-breaking products!

Like I said before, your hair is the softest when first washed and dried. Therefore, I tend to love how my hair comes out 1-2 days after washing as the curls hold best. For an alternative look, I also love to tease my curls and add some volume. Nothing I love more than a glam wave!

I hope this was helpful! I am happy to answer any questions, so please reach out if you are confused! I will also work on a post to show the difference between 1-2 day old hair, how to achieve those glam smooth waves, tease curls, and more! x A

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PRODUCTS:

PREP

STEP 1

STEP 2

STEP 3

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