Curl your hair with straighteners

They can do so much more than flatten frizz

From tidying a disobedient fringe to smoothing away a cow’s lick or taming an outbreak of f rizz on a humid day, hair straighteners are the ultimate styling tool. But with trendsetters such as Alexa Chung and Kate moss now sporting waves rather than blunt ends, can straighteners keep their crown as the nation’s favourite hairstyling secret weapon, asks MANDIE GOWER.

Yes, says Frankie Pullen, style director at Daniel Galvin’s London salon. ‘Even if you don’t want that ultra- groomed, poker- straight l ook that was so popular in the Noughties, straighteners are incredibly versatile.’

Frankie came up with five styles for mandie, all created using the humble hair straightener. Here’s how she did it . . .

FAKE A BOUNCY BLOW DRY

THIS look was a revelation. Frankie spritzed the roots with volumising spray and gave them a one-minute blast with a hairdryer, before misting hairspray throughout and pulling it through the length with her fingers.

She then took a chunky section about 3in wide from the top of my head, j ust i n front of the crown, and clamped it 3in from the roots in a wide pair of Cloud Nine irons (£129.99, cloud

ninehair.com).

She rolled the straighteners under the section, almost as you would with a roller, rotating them 360 degrees, held for a few seconds, then gently pulled the irons down the length, like using scissors to curl a ribbon, before pinning the end of the section on top of my head in a loop. She then repeated the process through the rest of my hair, leaving the other sections loose rather than pinned, before unpinning the first section and brushing it all through.

Voila! Sexy, swishy hair, no washing required!

THE 15 MINUTE UP-DO

IF I want an up- do for a special night out, I book a salon appointment, but Frankie assures me t hat her style is super-easy.

Start by making a l ow side parting, using the irons to sweep the hair across your forehead and pinning it just above your ear.

Then you make a side ponytail with three-quarters of the remaining hair, leaving the rest loose by your ear.

Next take the hair in 2in sections and, using ordinary straighteners, create kinks in the ponytail and loose hair.

Clamp the hair 3in from the band, rolling the straighteners under the hair, rotating them 360 degrees, holding for f i ve seconds and then slipping them out sideways so the curl isn’t lost

As you go, pin the curls randomly, close to the ponytail hairband, tucking the ends under so they can’t be seen. Don’t worry too much as it’s not meant to be too polished. The end result l ooks as if I’ve spent hours in rollers, yet the whole look took less than 15 minutes.

BEACHY WAVES

AS A child, I used to beg my mum to plait my hair tightly at night in the hope I’d wake up with what I called mermaid hair.

But apparently, there’s now a quicker way to make waves. After doing four low plaits around the nape of my neck, Frankie uses straightening irons to set the kinks in place.

Starting at the top of each plait, she held the straighteners in place for a f ew seconds before working her way down to the ends. ‘The secret is to leave each plait to cool while you straighten the others,’ she says.

A few minutes later, she undid the plaits and I was amazed to see beautifully defined crinkles in place of my regular straight hair.

A generous spritz of salt spray added some volume and a more messy, matte texture.

A fabulous five-minute trick for a night out.

COMPACT CURLS

‘TRADITIONALLY, this is quite a time-consuming look,’ says Frankie. ‘You’d usually blowdry your hair first to get a smooth texture.

‘But with straighteners you can skip that step, because they give such a sleek finish.’

Taking small sections of hair, two-thirds of the way down you roll the straighteners under the hair, around one and a half times, hold for a few seconds and then gently ease them out before pinning the whole curl to your head. Once all the hair is pinned, you need to leave it to set for 30 to 60 minutes. The pay-off is beautifully compact curls.

‘Usually tight curls like these would drop quite easily, especially with any humidity in the air,’ says Frankie.

‘But by using straighteners, which take away any excess moisture in the hair, they’ll go the distance.’

BARDOT BEEHIVE

THE high temperatures and l ong- l asting hold make straightening i rons your secret weapon when it comes to backcombing a beehive.

making a centre parting at the front of my head, Frankie pulls back the hair at the crown and, working from back to front, splits it into three sections, which she vigorously backcombs. Then she holds each section in the straighteners for a few seconds at the roots.

The matted hair is smoothed back and gripped behind my crown, giving far more height than I’ve ever achieved with backcombing.

Finally, Frankie uses the irons to add a few waves around my face. She takes small sections, less than half an inch wide, clamps them one-third of the way down, with the irons pointing downwards, and rotates them a quarter turn to create waves.

Brilliant. A no-fuss Bardot beehive — all done with just the one tool.