Easy & Effortless Beachy Waves Hair Tutorial
I received free products in a PR package that I use in this post. All opinions are my own!
Fun fact: I tried to get an ombre/balayage put in my hair 3-4 times and each time, it didn’t go quite as planned. The first time? I was living in China. I somehow thought that going to a Chinese hairdresser who spoke no English (and I spoke very, VERY limited Chinese) with a picture of what I wanted would work out. Spoiler alert: It didn’t. The second I got back to the states, I died my hair back to brown and had to cut most of the fried bottom ends off.
The second time? I got it done at a beauty school. The girl left the bleach on for far too long and I was left with very, VERY fried ends. So, I cut it all off.
The third time? One of my best friends (who is a licensed cosmetologist) did it. It came out BEAUTIFUL and very blonde, which is what I had wanted. And then I went home to New England for 6 weeks, where my very hard well water turned it orange within days. So, I had to put an ashy brown color over it.
And yet, I was determined to have the balayage of my dreams. So, a couple weeks ago, one of the very talented ADT wives here (who is also a licensed cosmetologist) sat me down in her kitchen and 5 hours later, I finally had the hair cut (shoulder-length lob with dramatic a-line) and caramel balayage of my dreams. Who knew that the 4th time would be the charm?!
Anyway, now that you have a brief history of balayage and my hair, we can now chat about my favorite way to style my new haircut/color: messy beachy waves using texturizing sea salt spray. I’ve had a lot of my friends ask me recently how to use sea salt spray/texturizing spray (looking at you, Chandler!) so I knew it was time to share my tips and techniques to getting that messy, wavy, undone look! It has taken me a while to nail down exactly how to get this look, but now that I know what I’m doing, it couldn’t be easier. So, without further ado, I bring you my easy & effortless beachy waves hair tutorial!
The Prep:
I find that this hairstyle works great on either second-day hair or hair that was washed the night before and air dried throughout the night. Having a natural wave in your hair, or some grit from products allows you to build up volume and helps the waves last longer.
The Tools:
Straightener: That’s right, I use my trusty CHI straightener instead of a curling iron to get beachy waves. I know it sounds a little counterintuitive, but I promise it works and is really easy!
Heat Protectant: I’ve been using the Beyond the Zone Turn Up The Heat Flat Iron Protectant spray from Sally’s Beauty Supply and I am OBSESSED because it smells like Cotton Candy, and not in a gross way. Also, using a heat protectant is a super important step when using hot tools, it will smooth the sheath of the hair, allowing your tool to be used smoothly and it will create a defense barrier to protect your hair from heat damage.
Dry Shampoo: Using dry shampoo on your roots is a great way to get some added volume and texture to your roots without weighing it down with product. I’ve been using the Beyond the Zone Rock On Dry Shampoo for Medium/Dark hair and while I like it, I still think Batiste is my favorite.
Texturizing Spray: This is where the magic happens. You can put the waves in with your straightener, but you won’t unlock the full potential of your beach waves without using texturizing spray. I am currently OBSESSING over the Beyond the Zone Beach Head Tropical Texture Fast-Dry Salt Spray that Sally’s Beauty Supply sent to me a few weeks ago. The texture and volume I get from this spray is unreal; it’s literally like a sea-salt spray and texturizing spray had a baby. Be warned: this will add some grit to your hair, so if you can’t stand having your hair feel a little dirty, this spray probably isn’t for you. Me? I love some grittiness to my hair, so I love spraying this stuff, especially when I get such insane volume and wave definition!
Hair Spray: I always finish off with a tiny bit of hairspray just to help smooth down any flyaways at the top of my head (texture is great, but frizz on top? not cute.) I also use it to place my bangs and keep them out of my face for the day!
The Process:
Guys, I finally sat down and filmed my first official youtube video, showing you all the exact process of how I get my beachy waves with my hair straightener! I’m really excited (and a bit nervous) to share it with you, but I really felt like recording a video would be the easiest way for me to teach everyone how I achieve this hair style! So, don’t mind my rambling and the part where I spray myself in the face with the texturizing spray…I hope you like it! Also, if you want to subscribe to my channel over on youtube…that’d be cool, too!
Okay, I’d love to hear your thoughts below on this tutorial and also on this video! What other types of things would you want to see in video format?
