Try this Trick for Loose, Messy Waves

"How did you get your hair like that?" asked a relative at my nephew's birthday party. It snapped me out of the intense heat for a second, and I immediately grabbed my hair in defense and looked through it. Was there cake in there or something from the kids? You never know, right?

Y'all she was talking about the waves in my hair. After some discussion, I figured out what she meant--it's a common question I get, so I thought y'all might benefit as well. Look at the picture below--can you tell the difference between my hair on each side?

On your left, we have messy, loose waves. On the right, we have traditional curls with a slight bit of wave to them. I like both, but the one on the right is a little too polished. Here are my tricks to make it messy:

1-When curling your hair, vary the size and the direction of the curl. If you don't, it will end up in one giant curl. No one with naturally wavy hair has hair that does this. I used to study the wave pattern on my sisters' hair (#beautynerd) to try to figure out how to get that in mine.

2-Only curl the middle section, as seen above. Leave the top and the bottom of hair out of the curling iron.

Because I know someone will ask (and that would be me if I was reading this post on another blog) my curling iron is via PRO Beauty Tools® 1 1/4” Professional Iridescent Curling Iron. This is the 1 ¼ barrel. You can find them in different sizes and at Target for around $29.99. If you follow me on Snapchat, I've been obnoxiously posting this because it's so dang pretty! Or maybe I'm just drawn to shiny things.

3-So what if you've already curled your hair and it still doesn't look right? Here's my best trick that changes the game--use a flat iron on ends, and at the crown if needed. It instantly adds that undone look to waves. I've seen this done in salons countless times and it works on all lengths of curlable (I made that word up, so go with it) hair. This is also a perfect technique for those who haven't yet mastered waves with a flat iron.

Sometimes I'll go over the whole section with the flat iron to really flatten out the curls, but it depends on the mood I'm in or look I'm going for.

Sometimes I might add a little pomade to define pieces of hair, but that's it. Wavy hair that looks messy, undone, and lived in, just like me on a Monday morning. Now all I need is a beach, y'all. Who's in?

What's your favorite way to wear your hair? Do you like messy waves or polished curls?