There's lots to love about the beach—the sun on your face, the fresh sea-salt smell, and the soothing white noise of crashing waves. And then there are the beauty benefits—a beach day nourishes your skin with vitamin D and inadvertently sets you up with a beach waves hairstyle: lived-in, textured, and just plain cool.
Alas, most of us can't spend every morning lounging on the beach for the sake of a good hair day, but you can create those beautiful beach waves at home. You'll probably need more product than you're used to and, in some cases, more than one product at a time. Read on to learn from our pros about the right tools, products, and techniques to create the beach-look hairstyle at home.
What Are Beach Waves?
Real beach hair is different from what most hashtag results show, according to Paul Cucinello, celebrity hairstylist and co-founder of Cucinello Beauty. "It's more of that surprise you get when you come out of the saltwater and run your fingers through your hair with leftover suntan lotion," he explains.
"If you have any kind of natural wave to your hair, you'll probably discover that it looks really good when you do less intentional styling to it for a change," Cucinello continues. "The heat from the sun coupled with salty beach air is like letting nature give you a beautiful blowout." It's a style that is the complete opposite of another popular trend—sleek, straight, liquid hair.
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Barely-there, Lived-in Beach Waves
These subtle waves make you look like you just came from the ocean.
What You Need:
- Volumizing hair spray
- Waving wand
Instructions
To create this look, generously mist damp hair with a thickening volume spray like Cucinello Beauty Arouse Thickening Volume Spray ($48, cucinellobeauty.com) or Oribe Volumista Mist for Volume ($44, amazon.com). "Flip your head over and blast hair about 80 percent dry, then flip your head back over and create a U-shaped section from the points of recession to the crown and clip away," says Cucinello.
"Using a large waving wand, take about eight random 1-inch sections and wrap them around the wand in a stretched-out coil," Cucinello explains. "Continue your way around the head alternating directions forward and back. Drop the top section down and create a short center part, about 2 inches."
Continue with your waving wand on about six 1-inch sections, making sure to leave the ends out and letting the top of the section fall straight back to give you some extra-beachy volume. "Finish with a light mist of thickening volume spray all over and gently scrunch hair to break up waves," Cucinello concludes.
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Flat-iron Beach Waves Using a Bending Technique
This technique creates a more subtle wave, and you can even use it to create just a slight bend.
What You Need:
- Flat-iron hair straightener
- Dry texturizer
Instructions
Using a flat iron, "Start on dry hair and drop down sections 1 inch at a time," says LA-based celebrity hairstylist Clariss Rubenstein. "Starting at the root, bend the hair in one direction, then the other, dramatically flipping your wrist under and up and moving your way down the hair shaft until you get to the end," Rubenstein explains. Finish by shaking out waves with your fingers and apply a dry texturizer, like Unite Hair Texturiza Spray ($35, amazon.com).
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Beach Waves on Curly or Textured Hair
Recreating believable, beachy waves requires lots of varying textures—some curls, some waves, and a few strategically placed braided pieces. Try using a combination of techniques on top of your natural hair pattern.
What You Need:
- Curl sculpting cream
- Waving wand
- Curling iron
- Deep waver
Instructions
"Prep dry hair with a quarter-sized amount of curl sculpting cream evenly distributed throughout, like Cucinello Beauty Money $hot Curl & Style Manipulator ($34, cucinellobeauty.com) or R+Co Turntable Curl Defining Créme ($34, randco.com)," says Cucinello. "Using a waving wand, a curling iron, and a deep waver, take chunks and alternate tools and placement—place some waves high and some curls only at the midshaft."
Add a few smaller braids around the hairline to replicate the tighter wave patterns that usually occur around the nape of the neck, temples, and sideburns. "Give hair a light mist of dry spray at the roots and then undo the braids," suggests Cucinello. "Finish with a dime-sized amount of the same curl sculpting cream scrunched into hair to combine textures."
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Beach Waves Using Twirling Technique
No curling iron? No hair dryer? No electricity? No problem. Achieve this natural-looking style with just spray and clips.
What You Need:
- Dry texturizing spray
- Small hairclips
- Misting spray bottle (for water)
- Diffuser and hair dryer (optional)
- Styling hairspray (optional)
Instructions
Starting with day-old, dry hair, spray your roots with a dry texturizing spray. "Beginning at and rotating around your part, lightly mist hair with water to slightly dampen, but not soak," says Cucinello. "Then, take 1-inch chunks and twist them until they look like loose ropes."
Next, use small clips to clip the ends of each twist up to its own base until the next section is revealed. "Continue lightly misting each new section with water, then repeat the twists using larger and smaller sections and clipping them up," Cucinello continues. "Once all your sections are done (and your arms feel like they're going to fall off), spray your entire head with a generous coat of dry spray." Let your hair set until each section feels dry to the touch.
If you prefer, speed things up with a diffuser and hairdryer set to low speed and high heat. "Remove all the clips, dropping sections from the nape of the neck moving up to the part," says Cucinello. "Flip your head over and shake twists out by massaging your scalp with your fingertips and shaking hands through hair stopping mid-shaft." To finish, flip your hair back over and lightly mist it with a workable hair spray like the DesignME Hold.Me Three Way Hair Spray ($19, amazon.com) or Sachajuan Moulding Spray ($30, amazon.com).
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Flat-iron Beach Waves Using an "S" Technique
Use this technique to create a flatter, less voluminous, imperfect wave.
What You Need:
- Flat-iron hair straightener
- Hair texturizer
Instructions
Starting with dry hair, place 1-inch sections in a flat iron like Dyson Corrale Hair Straightener ($499, sephora.com). "Instead of bending it in the way you would usually do a flat iron wave, keep it flat and create an 'S' pattern with the hair, opening and closing the iron on it consistently," suggests Rubenstein. "Continue this pattern down the hair shaft."
After your entire head is done, rake out waves with your hands and add texturizer. "R+Co Badlands Dry Shampoo Paste ($34, amazon.com) makes hair nice and beachy with a little grit—I love this product," says Rubenstein.
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Mermaid Beach Waves
Mermaid waves, one of the most requested versions of beach waves, are easier to create than you might think.
What You Need:
- Three-barrel curling iron
Instructions
"3-barrel curling irons are the pro's go-to secret weapon for making realistic ripples on longer hair—I use BondiBoost Wave Wand ($58, bondiboost.com)," says Cucinello.
"The key to using them is to make sure that each wave begins where the last wave ends…and most importantly, leave the ends out," Cucinello insists. The straighter ends keep it looking beachy instead of like you're going to prom.
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Beach Waves with Overnight Braids
If you can braid, you can intentionally achieve this unintentional, imperfect-looking style.
What You Need:
- Lightweight styling cream
- Two snag-free elastic bands
Instructions
To create this look, start with dry hair and divide it in half imperfectly, so it looks unintentional. "Rub a quarter-sized amount of lightweight styling cream between your hands and evenly rake it through both sides of your hair—I use Cucinello Beauty Re:Touch Smooth Texture Upgrade ($56, cucinellobeauty.com) or JVN Complete Hydrating Air Dry Hair Cream ($26, sephora.com)," says Cucinello.
"Roll each side back, starting at the hairline, and create two loose French braids, securing the ends with a snag-free elastic band like Blax Snag-Free Clear Elastic Bands ($7, amazon.com)," Cucinello explains. Allow hair to set until dry and then undo braids by raking fingers through your hair in a downward motion.
