5 Simple Steps To Getting Beachy Waves

I think we love beachy waves so much because they evoke a sense of effortless glam. But the unfortunate truth is that, unless you've been blessed with natural waves, those Victoria Secret-level beachy styles are not so effortless to achieve. But if you're not opposed to heat-styling, you can get beachy waves using a curling iron in just five, relatively simple steps.

Now, I'm no professional hairstylist, but I do enjoy trying out different ways to get some waves in my naturally straight hair. And one of my favorite aspects of the beachy-wave style is that it has that messy-chic vibe about it. Which means that it's a little more fun and easy to achieve than perfect ringlets. You don't necessarily have to use a certain barrel size (although I'm using a one-and-a-half inch, tapered barrel for reference), you don't have to curl the same sized sections of hair every time, and you don't even have to curl them in the same direction. You can basically do whatever you're feeling, and the beachiness will come. Just make sure to use a heat protectant before getting started, and then loosely adhere to these five steps for easy, beachy waves.

Step 1: Twist

This part's easy: Just grab a small section of hair (one to two inches will do) and twist. The twist can be toward or away from your face, but for the face-framing sections of hair, I would recommend twisting away.

Step 2: Curl

Next, just curl those twisted sections as you normally would. Again, you can curl toward or away from your face (or alternate!), but for those face-framers, curl away for the appearance of more volume. After you release the curl, hold it in your palm for a few seconds so it can cool, and then release it. The twist will likely hold, but don't unravel it just yet. Letting all of the sections stay twisted while you curl will give them more time to set.

Step 3: Unravel

After you've finished curling your hair, make sure all of the sections are cool to the touch before running your fingers through to unravel the twists. This should leave you with level-one beachy hair. But if you want to increase the volume some, move on to the next step.

Step 4: Touch Up

If you don't like using extensions or teasing your hair to get more volume, go back in with your curling wand and touch up some random pieces throughout your hair. You can curl these sections normally (without twisting them), but try to start the curl closer to your head. Having some curls higher up the lengths of your hair will help create the illusion of more volume.

Step 5: Texturize & Tousle

You can add more volume still by using a texturizer or dry shampoo. Small spritzes at the roots and throughout strands will help will boost and add some staying power to the look. Then just give your hair a tousle to fluff up your waves for that truly effortless vibe.

Images: Miki Hayes