You want effortless beachy waves with a just-rolled-out-of-bed vibe. No prom curls. No stress. Just the Great Hair you’ve always wanted – in 5 minutes or less.

Think Gisele, Sienna Miller and Blake Lively: Here’s how to hack one of the questions we get asked most, with our top 5 tips to get the best beachy waves using a curling wand.

Get your prep right

“Achieving really effortless waves with that beautiful, piece-y texture is actually harder than it looks,” says Luke Hersheson. “The size of the tong is super important. Too big and you won’t see enough movement; too small and you’ll end up with the dreaded prom curls”. We used the Hershesons Tourmaline Professional Curling Tong in our video.

Use a brush to get rid of any knots before you start (new Hershesons brushes landing on site soon!). Apply just ¼ of a pump of Almost Everything Cream to get rid of any dry ends or beat frizz. Start at the tips of the hair and work your way up towards the roots.

Start at the front

“A great tip for really natural movement is to start at the front of your hair, creating a nice bend around the height of your cheekbones. Then tuck that section of hair behind your ear to let it set while you continue,” says Luke.

Keep things random

Lots of people start sectioning off the hair underneath; this takes a lot of time and effort for hair that you’re not really going to see. So, we work our way around the head, tonging the top section of the hair, to create the most impact in the least amount of time.

Make the size of your hair sections different  – and keep the hair around the tong for different amounts of time. This avoids your beachy waves looking too uniform, as we’re really aiming for that nonchalant, just-rolled-out-of-bed vibe.

Skip roots and tips

Leave a good two inches out of the tong at the root and tip. Again, this avoids the dreaded prom curls and keeps things really nonchalant. Don’t feel the need to tong every single piece of hair though, as this will make it feel contrived. 

Make it yours

“Everyone has their own little zhoosh to get their hair how they like it. So, once you’ve finished tonging, make your waves you own,” says Luke.

This might mean parting it in the centre or to one side; scrunching another ¼ pump of Almost Everything Cream through the mid-lengths and ends; or maybe using your thumb and index finger to “pincer” small sections and really amp up that beautiful, separated texture.

Want to watch it all step-by-step? Our beachy waves masterclass is right here.