How to Get Beachy Waves with Your Flat Iron

It’s universally acknowledged that the “cool girl” hairstyle of the moment is the casual, beachy wave. Take one look at a red carpet, any red carpet, and you’re bound to see at least one celebrity rocking this tussled, low-maintenance look. But you don’t have to be an A-list star (or have an A-list stars’ stylist) to get these deconstructed waves — you can create them yourself right at home.

This look will take you under 10 minutes to pull off, so it’s easy to throw together when you’re rushing out the door for work or a fun night out. Let’s be honest, if you can make a look THIS polished and trendy, even if you’ve been putting off getting ready for an hour? You need this.

Best of all, this tutorial doesn’t require any expensive product or weird hair tool you’ve never heard of. All you need is one simple thing, and most ladies probably have one hanging around somewhere: your flat iron.

It probably seems weird that you’ll be creating loose, messy waves with a straightening iron, but you’ll be pleasantly shocked at how well this method works! Even if the tool of choice isn’t the one you’d expect.

To start, it never hurts to spritz your hair with a little product to get those beach waves ready to go. If you don’t have any product, don’t worry; like we said, it’s not crucial to this beauty tutorial.

Next, part your whole head of hair so it falls on both sides of your head. Then, separate one side into two sections, twisting them tightly and holding onto the ends. You’re going to combine these two twist to create one larger twist, and keep holding onto the ends to keep the twist as taunt and together as you can get it. If you have layers and some smaller pieces are coming free, don’t worry, this won’t ruin the beach wave look.

As you’re doing this twisting of your hair, make sure your flat iron has been heating. You want it to be ready when you have your final, large twist; your arm is going to start to get tired if you’re pulling that twist for too long!

To see how you’ll be using your flat iron to achieve epic beach waves, you’ll have to watch the Kerastase Hair video below. The tutorial is just over a minute long and we guarantee you’ll get inspired by this model’s gorgeous end result. You’ll be breaking out your flat iron the next chance you get – we know we will!

Bonus: Good Housekeeping has compiled three MORE ways to get the gorgeous curls in no time at all! Some require smaller and larger curling irons, but each method is easy to follow and has stunning results.

What did you think of this simple loose waves tutorial? Do you have another way of accomplishing those trendy beach waves? Share your thoughts and your techniques in the comments section below.