Easy Messy Waves

I made it a bit of a mission in 2014 to ‘do more’ with my hair, try new styles – do more than just wash and blow-dry as I usually do. Normally I do one of three things with my hair – wash it and blow dry it (so it’s dry, not in any particular style), wash it and let it dry naturally, or wash it and then use a conical wand on it to give it some curl. But to branch out from that I’ve been trying some new gadgets and tools and one of which is the Remington Silk Waver Wand – that I used here to create a bit of an easy messy waves look. I say messy, what I mean is natural and that little bit dishevelled – rather than perfect conical curls that can look a bit too prim and proper.

The Remington Silk Waving Wand is unique as instead of the typical round barrel shape, it has a sort of flattened shape to it – which gives the waves a bit more of an uneven finish – so each curl isn’t formed at the same angle. Definitely more of a wave than a full curl too. It has the same design as a conical wand in the sense that the controls are on the handle, then there’s the heated barrel that moves towards a cool tip so you can hold the end without burning yourself. It also comes with a single full heat-protection glove.

As for how you use it, it’s just like a conical wand – in that I find the ‘over the head, away from the face’ routine works best – you can see it in action in a tutorial video I did a while ago. The same applies for this shape of wand too. I find it best to take medium sized sections (maybe 2cm wide) and wrap each one around the barrel and hold for a few seconds and then release. Before you do though it’s important to prep the hair with a bit of heat protector – I’ve been using Toni & Guy Prep Heat Protect Spray, then spritz a little hair spray on after you release the hair and leave it to cool totally before you run your fingers through. If it’s not totally cool, you risk just pulling the curl out of the hair before it has set. For hairspray I’ve returned to using the old classic Elnett Satin – I’ve been using strong hold for curls as my hair is quite fine and naturally very straight – so needs quite a strong hold to make sure it lasts. But I definitely don’t find this one to be at all sticky or crispy when in the hair!

Personally, I prefer to curl ‘day old’ hair rather than freshly washed generally – as I find it has a bit more grip to it. But if you want to go for it with clean hair, a spritz of dry shampoo can give it a bit more oomph. I do also find this can help just give a bit more texture and lift to the roots too. I’ve been loving the Herbal Essences Dry Shampoo that I brought back from New York lately too – so this was the one I used for this look.

My only little niggle with the the Remington Silk Waver Wand is the placement of the temperature controls – as the buttons are a bit raised, I found I kept pressing them and adjusting the temperature up and down as I used. So try and hold the wand to the controls are towards your palm, rather than where your fingers sit or else you might find you keep dialling it up and down by accident.

Overall, I really like the slightly un-even ‘easy messy waves’ effect that the waving wand creates as feel it gives a really natural look so not like you have put too much effort in. At the moment I’m having a bit of a hair-related debate with myself over what I’m going to do for the wedding hair. I had planned to do it myself with a view to trying out different looks ahead of the day, but now having some serious doubts – and fear of it going wrong and causing a bridezilla meltdown on the day! What would you do?! My next worry is that I don’t really know any hairstylists in the area where we’re getting married and it’s quite far away, so not an easy one to visit and meet people/have trials! Should I risk it and do it myself, or try and rope in a professional?! Help- wedding hair dilemma!

Remington Silk Waving Wand * – available from Boots (£34.99)

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