A Beginner's Guide To Using A Curling Iron
Jo is a former Adore Beauty staffer and qualified dermal therapist with over decade of experience in the beauty industry.
She co-hosted our award-winning podcast Beauty IQ Uncensored for 4 years, interviewing names like Caroline Hirons, Katie Jane Hughes and Chris Appleton to name a few.
Despite having no formal qualifications in hair styling, I think I'm pretty good at it. I refused to let my mum do my hair from about the age of 7, so I managed to teach myself to plait, braid, crimp, curl and straighten my hair (oh, and use those weird hair wrap things that often got tangled and ripped your hair out). Don't mean to brag, but I did all of that without YouTube.
But for some reason, as an adult, I have struggled to learn how to effectively use a curling iron with a clamp attachment. Why? I couldn't tell you. They seem easy to use in theory, but there's something about the technique I haven't been able to master.
My usual curling wand is just a wand. No clamp. Seems to work fine, except the curls/waves aren't as long lasting or voluminous - I suppose because the heat isn't touching the whole section of hair. So, with some extra time on my hands, I decided to force myself to learn a new skill using the GHD Classic Wave Wand Hair Curling Wand.
What's So Hard About Curling Your Hair?
Ok, before you @ me, I can't even curl my hair with a straightener. Yes, I know I bragged about my skills earlier, but damn that is hard to do without getting those weird kinks.
The tricky thing I find with operating a curling iron with a clamp, is that I'm so focused on curling my hair in the right direction, that I lose sight of how I'm meant to position the wand, clamp down the hair and move it through the section of hair. Maybe I have a problem with coordination, but I'm sure some of you have had the same issue.
So what did I do? I sat myself down, gave myself a pep talk in the mirror, grabbed the GHD Classic Wave Wand Hair Curling Wand and started the process.
What you'll need:
- 1 x curling iron (I'm using ghd)
- 1 x heat protectant (my fave is Pureology Colour Fanatic)
- 1 x texture spray (I love Oribe Apres Beach Wave and Shine Spray)
- Patience (and a protective glove if you're clumsy)
The Technique:
I found this YouTube video below super helpful, so I recommend watching it if you're uncoordinated like me.
The key takeaways from this video are:
- Hold the wand vertically, not horizontally (this makes your life easier)
- Practice your technique with the iron turned OFF until you're confident
- Bend the wand away from your face avoiding curling against the clamp (this will create kinks)
- Use your free hand to loosen the clamp as you glide the section of hair through
- To alternate the direction of your curls, pivot the clamp to face backwards
What You Need To Know About ghd's Curling Iron:
For such a high quality heat tool, I expected this curling iron to cost more than $250. That's a really reasonable price in my humble opinion.
Anyway, this curling iron has quite a few features worth mentioning if you're looking to invest.
- It has a 38mm – 26mm oval shaped barrel which helps to create beautifully soft curls and waves
- This tool features uses predictive heat technology using ghd’s exclusive ultra-zone technology making it suitable for all hair types, including fine & damaged hair
- It's got a helpful sleep mode and universal voltage so you can use it anywhere
- It features a protective plate guard to keep you and your surroundings safe
The real question here is, did I manage to master the technique? Look... I won't say I've officially got the hang of it yet, that's going to take time and practice. But certainly after a few attempts at it, I'm feeling much more confident, and I've only messed it up a handful of times.
The barrel is a really good size, and gives you gorgeous flowing waves which I love, and I also find the heat technology really handy. As I said, for the price, I don't think you can go wrong with GHD Classic Wave Wand Hair Curling Wand (just have that YouTube video handy).
