How to Curl Hair with a Flat Iron

Did you know that you don’t actually need a curling iron to curl your hair? If you have a flat iron that you use for straightening your hair you can actually use that for great curls.

This means you can toss out your curling iron and simply just use your flat iron for curls and straight styles.

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If you have ever used a curling iron to make curls or waves in your hair then you should have no problem being able to learn how to use a flat iron to make curls.

How to Curl your Hair with a Flat Iron

  1. Section your hair off. If you have thinner or average hair you should do 2 sections, but if you have thicker and longer hair you may have to section off into 3 or even 4 sections.
  2. Start with one of your sections and grab an area of your hair that is only about ½ inch. You need to do this with small sections or it will not work right.
  3. Place the small section of your hair in between the plates of the flat iron. How high up on your hair you start will depend on the style of curls you want. If you want just curls towards the end start in the middle of your hair or slightly lower. For more curls, start up by your scalp.
  4. Clamp down on your hair. Take the section of hair under the flat iron (grab at the very end to avoid getting burned) and wrap it around the flat iron. You need to pull the hair under the iron and not over on top of it. The remaining strands of hair will be straight down as you hold the very tips.
  5. You then need to rotate the iron around so that the hair is securing wrapped around the outside of the flat iron but be sure to not tangle the hair or wrap too tightly that you can’t slide the iron through it.
  6. Slowly begin to pull the flat iron down as you run it through the complete strands of hair. Be sure to let go of the tip of your hair so you don’t burn yourself. The slower you pull the iron through your hair the more defined the curl will be. But, be sure that you are not stopping while doing this as this can cause a crimp in the hair that may look funny.
  7. Take the strand of hair you just curled and wrap it around your finger while the strands are still slightly hot. This helps to define the curl more and hold the curl shape. If your hair is difficult to curl, then you may want to use some hairspray at this point to keep the curl.
  8. Take another small area of the same section of hair and follow the same directions to curl the rest of your hair.
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Curling your Hair with a Flat Iron Tutorial

Here is a really good video that explains how to curl your hair with a flat iron. The instructions are really easy and straightforward to follow.

Tips for Curling your Hair with a Straightening Iron

One of the best tips that I would share with you is that you need to practice doing this several times before you will fully master the art of curling your hair with the flat iron.

This is because the different ways you hold your iron and point it as you pull it through your hair will give you different curls. You may have to play around to see what works best with your hair style.

Be sure that you are not clamping down on the flat iron too hard.

As mentioned if you stop or put too much pressure on the iron you will most likely get a kink or indent in your hair from the straigtener instead of a bouncy curl.

Not only that but it will be harder to slide through your hair and you may end up pulling your hair out.

If you have short hair, you can try to do this, but you will need a mini flat iron that is much smaller than your normal size iron. If your hair is shoulder length or longer you should have no problem with your average 1″ flat iron when curling your hair.

Make sure that you have a good quality flat iron. You want to use a flat iron that heats up evenly and doesn’t rip your hair when using it. Check my recommendation for the best flat irons that are inexpensive but still very good.

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Lastly, if you are not getting the curls you want or your simply doesn’t curl, try smaller sections of hair in the flat iron. You may be trying with too much hair and the heat isn’t getting to all the hair so you aren’t getting the curl.

Also try a heat-safe styling spray for curls before you use the straightener to help set the curls.