How to Curl Hair Using a Flat Iron

A flat iron is a great multipurpose tool.  Other than using it to straighten hair, you may also use a flat iron to curl hair! Using a flat iron creates a modern hairstyle giving the curls a relaxed shape versus the round curls you receive in using a traditional curling iron.

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All photos by Meaghan of Meaghan Clare Photography. This art teacher is a natural light photographer and enjoys decorating and updating her home in her spare time! You can follow Meaghan on her blog, Instagram @meaghan_clare_, or Facebook Meaghan Clare Photography.

I must admit, it is a little tricky to curl using a flat iron, but with practice and perseverance comes perfection and you’ll be on your way to creating relaxed, natural, and wavy curls. 

We have our favorite hairstylist, Ashley Dyson of Define Hair Salon, show us how to use a flat iron to curl your hair.  Ashley is no stranger on this blog.  You may have seen a few of her styling tutorials here and here. Here’s another tutorial on how to create perfect modern curls (thanks again, Ashley).

Materials needed

Formawell Beauty X Kendall Jenner 1″ Flat Iron

Pureology Colour Hair Fanatic Hair Treatment Spray with 21 Benefits

Redken Extreme Anti-Snap Leave-In Treatment

Redken Frizz Dismiss FPF 30 Instant Deflate Smoothing Oil Serum

Pureology Style and Protect Soft Finish Hairspray

Pureology Style and Protect Wind Tossed Texture Finishing Spray

How to Curl Hair with a Flat Iron

1. When curling hair with a flat iron, take a small section.
2. Start at the root of the hair, rotate the iron around, turn that extra hair around (the tail of the hair), and move it nice and slow.
3. When you finish curling the section, twist the hair around and let it cool to set.
4. The key factor is that you have that angle and rotation in the hair you’re curling and that you’re pulling nice and slow. 
5. Be sure to have a good quality flat iron and prep your hair ahead of time. I highly recommend Formawell Beauty Flat Iron, and you can read my review of the product here.   You want to have the iron glide smoothly along the hair and avoid kinks or crease in the curls.
6. Prep the hair by spraying hairspray before curling as well as cream or serum to give the hair a little bit of slip, which also helps in the end result to make it nice and shiny (see Ashley’s product recommendations above).
7. You may curl the hair going in the same direction, but if you feel comfortable, feel free to curl different directions (some go left, some go right).
8. The nice thing about using a flatiron to curl your hair is that it’s organic, giving you that unpredictable, natural curl look.  Every curl is going to be a little bit different (depending on the size of the section and the speed that you curl it).
9. The size of the hair section is going to control how tight the curl is – a small section will give you a tight curl; the bigger section, gives you a loose curl.
10. When finish curling, rake your fingers through the hair.  The result will be beautiful, soft, natural looking curls!

If you like what you see, book a styling lesson with Ashley or anyone in the Define Hair Salon in Ellicott City, MD!  Have them show you how to create that favorite hairstyle for your next special event!

Define Hair is located at 3419 Plumtree Dr #200, Ellicott City, MD. Call them to make an appointment: 410.696.1400 or book online.