How To Curl Your Hair With A Straightener – Guide For Beginners

by Laura Collins17 January 2025Categories: Hair Styling 0 Comment

In this post, I cover everything you need to know about curling your hair with a straightener! I give you my best tips as well as cover the most common mistakes that are made–including why your curls may look different from one side to the next when first learning how to curl your hair with a flat iron. Note that I will use the terms “straightener” and “flat iron” interchangeably throughout this post, as they are referring to the same tool.

As a hairstylist, curling with a flat iron is my absolute favorite way to curl hair. I find that the curl holds so much better, and you’re also able to customize the shape of the curl more than you can with a traditional curling iron.

If you’re curious on learning more about the different iron types and what iron is best for your hair type, see this post here.

Tips to curl your hair with a flat iron

The following sections will cover the most common questions as well as the top mistakes that are made while learning to curl your hair with a straightener or flat iron.

What temperature should you use to curl your hair with a straightener?

One of the top mistakes surrounding ironing the hair is using the iron way too hot. The majority of people use their flat irons much hotter than they actually need to. This can cause serious damage to the hair, as well as fade hair color very quickly.

Keep in mind that as you’re still learning the movements of the iron, you’ll be much slower than if this comes second nature to you. I highly recommend beginning with the iron turned completely off and gliding the straightener through your hair until you get the hang of the movements.

Once you have the movements down with the iron cold, you can then turn the iron on a very low setting. Since you’re a beginner, you will be a bit slower than someone with experience. Because of this, a lower setting will be better so you don’t burn or cause damage to your hair.

Once you have the movements down, you can then turn the iron up to the following temperature based on your hair type. The temperature is dependent on your hair type as well as condition. But as a general rule of thumb, you should follow this chart below:

Fine, bleached, or heavily processed hair: 280-360^o
Medium textured and color treated hair: 300-390^o
Coarse and virgin hair: 370-410^o

Now, if your iron doesn’t contain a temperature gauge and only has a “high/low” setting, then I would recommend getting a better quality iron. You don’t know what temperature is being used on your hair when your only options are high/wlow, and this puts you at risk of damaging your hair.

If you fit into this category, see the following section on if you need a special iron.

Do you need a special iron/size?

Another common question is if you need to purchase a special iron that is made specifically for curling the hair. And while there are some irons that are curved for curling the hair, it’s not necessary at all.

I’ve never had any problems using even the most basic of flat irons for curling the hair. And you can use any size of iron to curl the hair. Just keep in mind that the wider the plates, the larger the curl will be. The smaller the plates, the tighter the curl will be.

A larger plate is better for long hair because it will hold the heat better throughout the length of the hair. A smaller plate is better for short hair as well as extremely curly hair that needs the iron to get very close to the scalp.

As I mentioned earlier, my main recommendation here is to make sure you’re using an iron with an actual temperature setting, rather than a “high/low” option.

If you’d like to learn about the different iron plate types and what hair types their good for, see my post here.

Below, you can find a list of my favorite flat irons to curl with. They’re listed in order of price from high to low.

***Since I’m sharing the products that I love to use with you guys, this page includes affiliate links to these products. If you take action and purchase a product through clicking one of my links, I’ll make some commission money from it at no extra cost to you. This enables me to be able to continue giving you awesome hair tips, so thanks! ***

DYSON Airstraight Straightener (Curved edges, great for curling)
AMIKA The Confidante Moisture Maintenance (Infrared light beam for reducing frizz)
FHI Platform Tourmaline Ceramic (Multiple size options)

What direction should you turn the iron?

The next common question that’s asked when curling the hair with a straightener is what direction to turn the iron. And while this can vary based on the look you’re going for, a general rule of thumb is to turn the iron away from the face.

This means that you’ll turn the straightener counter clockwise on the left side, and clockwise on the right side. When you get to the back, you can either continue the same movements, OR change the direction for each row of curls.

Continuing with the same clockwise/counter clockwise movements will create a more uniform and softer “glam waves” look. And changing the direction for each row will create more movement, volume, and texture to the look.

Should your hair be dirty or clean before curling it?

I have found that hair holds a curl best when it’s not freshly washed, but not super dirty either. I typically curl my hair halfway through my wash cycle. So since I wash my hair on every 4th day, I curl it on day 2.

Freshly washed hair may have a harder time holding a curl due to the lack of natural oils. This means you would likely need to use more product in the hair when it’s super clean.

Now that being said, curling hair that is extremely dirty isn’t a great idea either. While your curls will hold really well, you likely have oil and product build-up on the hair. When you hit this with a hot iron, you risk burning the product into your hair. This is also why you may find gunk on your iron after using it.

This brings us to our next topic.

What products should I use to curl my hair with a straightener?

It’s extremely important to ALWAYS use a thermal protectant before any iron touches your hair. This is the most important piece of advice on this entire page.

Hot tools damage is the number one cause of breakage that I see in the salon. This is characterized by flyaway hairs and frizz that travels up your entire hair. This is caused by using irons too frequently, too hot, or without a thermal protectant.

Some thermal protectants will give you added hold for hair that is stubborn, coarse, or has the tendency to lose the curl quickly. Others will improve iron performance, or even deliver added shine.

Another option is a trick that I used when I used to do a lot of wedding hairstyles. For girls that their hair absolutely did not want to hold onto a curl, I would pre blow dry their hair with a firm hold gel.

This is done by applying the gel to wet hair and blow drying the hair with a round brush until fully dry. Then going back in with a firm hold hot spray and curling the hair as usual.

You can find my favorite ironing thermal protectants below.

AQUAGE Beyond Shine (Adds shine & improves iron performance)
AQUAGE Molding Megagel (For before blow drying the hair in resistant hair types)
KENRA Thermal Styling Hot Spray (Firm hold heat spray, also blocks against humidity)

The angle of the iron: Why curls turn out different from side to side

The angle that you hold the iron will determine the shape of the curls. This is often why one side of your hair will come out looking different than the other side! Because you are holding the iron at a different angle based on if you’re right handed or left handed.

When the iron is held horizontally, the curls will be larger and more voluminous. This is better if your hair has a hard time holding onto a curl.

And when the iron is held vertically, you’ll end up with a looser curl, that can turn to beachy waves when brushed out. This is better if you often end up with too much curl, looking like Shirly Temple.

It can take a lot of practice to get the angle right. But once you get it down, curling your hair with a straightener will come second nature to you!

Take a look at my video below to see the difference between horizontal and vertical curls.

Think of it as curling a ribbon with scissors

One of my best tips that I give to clients is to think of curling your hair as if you are curling a ribbon with scissors. While the process is not 100% the same, it helps you to understand the concept of creating curl in the hair.

One of the biggest mistakes made when learning to curl your hair with a flat iron is that you try to continuously turn the iron, when in reality this isn’t necessary at all!

If you’ve done this for wrapping presents before, then you know that you only need to bend the ribbon against the scissors. You don’t need to wrap the ribbon around 7 times to get a good curl.

This is the same with curling the hair with a flat iron. You only need to create a bend in the hair against the iron. Now it is easiest to do if you wrap it around one full turn, but that’s it. No more than one turn is necessary!

How to curl your hair with a flat iron

I recommend reading all of the tips above before watching this video to learn how to curl your hair with a flat iron. Being aware of common mistakes will be extremely helpful in avoiding making them yourself.

Once you get through your whole head one time, it will be much easier the second time. One time of curling my whole head is all it took me to grasp the concept of curling hair with a straightener.

I recommend doing this for the first time on a day where you have plenty of time and no where to be. There’s nothing worse than trying a new technique on a day where you need to look presentable and are on a time crunch.

Conclusion

The following are my biggest tips for learning how to curl your hair with a flat iron. These tips are essential for beginners that are just learning how to perform this technique.

Select the proper temperature based on your hair type
Use the iron size based on the size of curl you want
Turn the iron away from your face
Curl your hair on day 2 of your wash day cycle
Always use a thermal protectant
Hold the iron horizontal for big curls, and vertical for looser curls
Think of the process as curling a ribbon with scissors

If you have any further questions on curling your hair with a flat iron, leave it for me in the comment section! And make sure to subscribe below if you want to make everyday a good hair day!

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