Top Tools and Products for Curling Hair + Helpful Styling Tips

Whether you’re looking to create a romantic, curly updo, or messy, tousled waves, a head full of curls can compliment just about any look. To help you up your curl game, we’ve paired three professional-quality hair-styling tools, with three high-performance styling products. By using them together, you can achieve a hairstyle with staying power, while still keeping your locks healthy and strong. (And if you’ve ever wondered how to curl your hair using a flat iron or how to curl your hair with a wand, read on for some helpful pointers, too!)

3 Styling Tools + Product Pairings:

HAIR PAIR 1: LumaBella Keratin Dual Touch Styler + LumaBella Macadamia Conditioning Treatment

The tool: Beachy waves are one of the hottest trends in hair this year and, surprisingly, a flat iron (also called a straightening iron) is the hair tool you need to achieve this look. The LumaBella Keratin Dual Touch Styler can be used either to straighten or curl hair, and thanks to a few fancy features—ceramic plates infused with keratin microconditioners, five temperature settings and a smart heat sensor that automatically adjusts when it detects excessive heat—it reduces the likelihood of heat damage.

The product: If your hair is prone to frizz when styling with heat, LumaBella Macadamia Conditioning Treatment has rich macadamia oil to moisturize and nourish. The treatment is also packed with keratin, a potent one-two-punch when paired with the LumaBella Keratin styler.

The tips: Hold your curling iron with the arms apart above the section of hair you’d like to curl. Take hold of the end of the hair section and wrap the hair around the front of both arms and around the back of the iron, threading the hair between the plates on the arms. Keeping hold of the end of the sectioned hair, close the iron loosely (don’t clamp down too hard!) Lastly, let go of the hair and slide the iron away from your head, letting the length of the sectioned hair pass between the plates all the way to the end. Practice a few times with the iron off so you don’t risk overexposing your hair to heat while you’re still getting the hang of it.

HAIR PAIR 2: L’Ange Hair Ondule 1.25” Titanium Curling Wand + L’Ange Hair Troi Chic Three Way Hairspray

The tool: The titanium barrel on this 1.25-inch curling wand is ideal for thick, hard-to-tame hair. What makes it different than a traditional curling iron is the lack of a clamp to hold the hair down, which allows for more free-form, natural-looking curls.

The product: This is like the Goldilocks of hairspray, with an adjustable nozzle that you can set to whichever one of three levels of hold feels “just right” for you. The formula is thermal-friendly and humidity-resistant, while also providing enough flexibility to brush out your curly style while still providing hold.

The tips: Start with a half-inch section of hair. Holding the iron handle in one hand and the end of the sectioned hair with the other, carefully wrap the hair around the wand from root to about 1 inch from the end. To avoid burns, the fingers holding the end of your hair should never touch the wand itself. For spirals, wrap the hair tightly against the iron; for a lighter wave, wrap more loosely.

HAIR PAIR 3: CHI AIR Spin n Curl Ceramic Rotating Curler + Alterna Caviar CC Cream 10-in-1 Complete Correction

The tool: If the maneuvers of curling with a flat iron or a curling wand seem too daunting for you, the CHI Air Spin n Curl Ceramic Rotating Curler could be your new best friend. With the push of a button, the spinning barrel of this curler does all the work for you, while infrared heat technology with adjustable temperature reduces damage to hair.

The product: The Caviar CC Cream by Alterna is a multitasking leave-in treatment for clean towel-dried hair that provides a whopping 10 benefits: shine, smoothness, softness, strength, moisture, manageability, UV protection, anti-breakage, heat protection and light hold. And if you could want anything more, you can also use it as a finisher for dried styles, too.

The tips: Take a ¾-inch to 1-inch section of hair and thread it over the notch on the curler’s barrel (called the “curl chamber”) at a 90-degree angle. Press and hold one of the two arrow buttons (left or right, depending on the direction you’d like the curl to go) and the curler will automatically draw your hair into the curl chamber. Listen for four beeps and then pull the curler down to release the hair. That’s literally it. Foolproof curls, here you come!

Want more? Learn three different ways to curl your hair in this Chi Spin n Curl video.