I have a long history of being rubbish with my hair. I’m obsessed with my eyebrows and will spend forever perfecting a bright pink pout, but my hair is done within three minutes and never commands much attention.
Sadly, that’s not because it’s naturally wonderful and looks effortlessly perfect – quite the opposite. My hair is fine and flat and poker straight, has never held a curl and reacts to any kind of ‘teasing’ with a crap-ton of static. Back in the day I had waist-length hair that drove me insane with its inability to do ANYTHING (see evidence here) and my frustration led to a dramatic makeover in 2009 – I went for the chop.
I’ve had short hair for more than three years now and although I love the simplicity of it, for the past few months I’ve been yearning for long, luscious waves. Queue some serious growing and an amazing new tool – the Remington Pearl Curling Wand.
The photo on the left was taken after my first go at curling my hair in about four years. I uploaded it to Instagram and lots of people asked me how I did it, so I thought a quick post might be useful!
I bought my curling wand from Amazon for £20. At first I was skeptical – there’s no clamp, so you have to wind the hair around the burning hot wand by hand. WEAR THE HEATPROOF GLOVE! And watch your neck – I have a nice burn to prove just how hot this thing is. It takes a bit of hand/eye coordination to get used to the technique but once you’ve got it, it’s really quick and easy.
I started by blowdrying my hair as I’ve been doing for years – I use John Frieda Brilliant Brunette Volumising Mousse and Bumble and Bumble Thickening Creme and rough dry upside down. Then I just went at it in a random fashion and curled whatever I could get my hands on – I’m not the sectioning type. For my first style (left) I used the thicker end of the wand for looser, less structured curls. For today’s look (right), I used the narrower part of the wand which made the curls tighter and a bit more uniform. To finish both looks, I separated the curls with my fingers, scrunched with some wax and then set with Bastise Dry Shampoo (much nicer than hairspray and still gives great hold).
Topshop dress via eBay (thanks Lily!), Michael Kors leather jacket via TK Maxx, Cos flatforms via eBay, Miss Selfridge ring
The most impressive thing about the Remington Pearl wand is the staying power of the curls – my hair has never been able to sustain a curl for more than an hour but these guys stuck around all day yesterday, despite numerous trips out in the rain, and even remained wavy after brushing out that evening. Today’s are holding even better because they were tighter to start with.
If you have straight, short hair and you’re looking for a way to inject a little body and bounce, I’d really recommend this wand. Easy to use, great results and cheap to boot – what’s not to love?
Are you high maintenance with your hair or do you let it fly free?
Great review and your hair looks lovely. I’ve been eyeing the Remington Curling Wand for a while now, I too have dead straight slightly limp hair which does not want to do anything that remotely involves volume or curls. But this sounds great if it does hold the curl, I might have to give in and try it! x
I have that wand too, and love it! My hair never kept curls from other tongs and they just left my hair with big ‘dents’ where the clamp shut. I got this wand for Christmas and it’s the best thing I’ve ever owned, hair-wise! The curls stay in all day long. I use my wand upside down so the curls go wide- narrow like a ringlet 🙂 x
Yes, clamp dents are the worst! Thanks for the tip about using it upside down – will definitely try that 🙂
the curled hair looks so pretty!xx
I am just at that stage too of growing my hair, as I also went for the chop. I thought my hair was too short to curl it but after seeing this post I am now ready to give it a go! However, how would you do the back of the hair as this seems tricky?! Please let me know!
I love your blog – I always find your posts fascinating and insightful! If you have a spare 5 minutes, please check my blog out too!
Love, Jess xxx http://jessicamillward.blogspot.co.uk/
Confession – I don’t really do much with the back. I kinda think if I can’t see it, it doesn’t matter! Warped logic I know. I do curl the top layer at the back though – just hold your hair vertically up from your head and curl downwards. Then really mess it up to give the illusion of curls! 😀
Thanks for this tip! Cannot wait to try it xx
My hairs just past my shoulders, and if I curl it it just doesnt stay put.. or I have the problem that one side will go better than the other?! I think it’s just down to me being pretty rubbish when handed a pair of straighteners/curling irons!
Love that dress, I placed an order for one on eBay this morning after seeing Lily’s post the other day and realising I can’t live without it. After seeing this post I’m certainly glad I decided to purchase! xx
I ALWAYS get the ‘one side better than the other’ thing! They never look the same!
Your hair looks gorgeous curly! My hair never manages to hold a curl, so it’s never been worth the effort to try curling it – but maybe I just need the right tools!
I have a similar wand to this but haven’t used it since my hair’s been short (been using mini straighteners instead) but I think I’ll give it a go now, yours looks really good!
Laila x
Your hair looks lovely. I have the same curling wand and I’ve found that its the only thing that holds a curl on hair too. I learnt the hard way that the glove is essential even if it does look a little silly…x
The last year and a half I’ve been growing my hair hoping to do more with it, but I really just don’t. So yes I let it fly free! However it is long enough to put up into a donut bun which I love 😀
Your hair colour dip dye has really settled in well now xo
Thanks for the review! It depends what kind of mood I’m in; sometimes I just towel dry and let it free, and other days I’ll spend hours in front of the mirror taming it.
I love the dress, it looks fab 🙂
R xx
So hard to curl short hair! Thanks for the tips, short-haired girls like to mix it up too!
Great review, thank you! I’ve been in the market for a curling tool for a while now but have been overwhlemed with the choice and “stickability” of the tools. Now, I’m going to give this little treasure a go! Em x
I have this wand too, it’s amazing! My hair is long but it NEVER EVER keeps curls in but it works with this! I nearly bought a yogi wand but they are like nearly £100 so thought I would just test out a cheaper version and I will never bother getting an expensive yogi wand.
It is amazing value but I have a yogi wand and it was only around £60 when I bought mine at hairtrade.com which sounds a bit cheaper than what you’ve seen!
Here they are: yogi wands
Kate 🙂 x
i lovee the dress 🙂 x
This is such a pretty look on you, I love curls. My hair is neither one thing nor the other – but tends towards waves and Monica Gellar bigness. Sadly I’m crap at doing anything with it, although I do have a curling tong, it takes an age to get it all curly as it’s long. I also have an eyebrow obsession – that and my nails! But I’m otherwise v low maintenance.
I’ve always had the dilemma of loving short hair but also loving curly hair, and never managed to successfully put together the two. Love what you’ve done with your hair. However, I do find you can almost achieve the same results when you French plait your hair when it’s wet, but I’ve found this takes time and careful planning.
The colour of your hair is amazing! My hair is wavy so I can have it straight or curly. Lucky me!
I think I might have to give the Remmington Wand a try! Looks like it works really well 🙂
Wonderful blog, I am now following 🙂
http://laurasallmadeup.blogspot.co.uk/
xx
I’ve just had my hair chopped off and I’m struggling to do anything with it. It’s about an inch long at the nape so it kind of sticks out horizontally 🙁 it’s super straight and a pita! I’ll have to wait until it grows until I attempt curling but I’ll check out the Remington 🙂
Lovely Jen! I have that dress too but find it super short – do you? I’m only a shorty too…
http://pearlsandpurls.wordpress.com/
Yep, reeeeeally short! Not sure I can wear it without tights, unfortunately. Still love it though!
Gorgeous Jen, looks fab. I love shorter hair curled gives it a bit of a boost and changes things up.
xx
Thanks for the tips, Jen. I have shorter hair at the minute and it’s fine like yours so a wand might be the way forward. I always get in a tangle when I use curlers with clamps and end up with funny-shaped curls or else I end up twisting it straight again.
Bumble and bumble stuff could be worth a shot too.
Amy
http://everytimeatillrings.blogspot.com/
The Bumble and Bumble Creme is amazing – I’d recommend it to anyone with fine hair! I also use it when I wear my hair straight as it adds great texture and stops it looking too flat and straight. It is expensive – about £22 from Space NK – but lasts ages. Buy some! 🙂
Your hair looks wonderful, sort of a nice ‘beachy waves’ style.
Thank you Katie! 🙂
Have you dyed the roots of your hair dark?
Hi Heather,
Yes, I have indeed! It’s a technique called ombré or dip dye – the roots and mid-lengths are dark brown while the ends are blonde. Very popular with bloggers at the moment 🙂
I got this last September and love it. Although I did stick my hand to it the other day, not nice!
joanne from jimmilou.com
I want to try one of these because my hair just seems to refuse to curl with anything else, I think partly because other curlers/hot rollers have too wide a barrel. The way the wand on this gets smaller at the bottom should hopefully prevent that weird flicky bottom bit…
Yep, the narrow end of the wand is perfect for short hair. Just be very, very careful – this thing is HOT and because you’re working so close to your scalp/face/neck/ears, it can be painful!
I really enjoyed your blog – Don’t forget to visit us at Boutique 73 for Women’s Clothing. We stock gorgeous tea dresses, vintage Levis shorts, and a variety of jewellery! We add new stock every day.
Boutique 73 xxx
I have a similar curling wand, must give it another go now my hair has grown a bit. I can’t believe that photo of you, I wouldn’t have recognised you at all! I love your dress too!
Lucy Loves To Blog
Thanks for sharing your hair. It looks great, especially like the curly hair pics.
I went to toni & guy to discuss what i want with my hair. I said i’d like a dip-dye, the girl said it’s too short to dip dye (It’s nearly touching my shoulders) So i then said, ok i’d like to go back to blonde….she said i don’t think blonde will suit your skin tone (i’ve spent most of my 35 years blonde, i just dyed it brown last november) She suggested more brown with blonde highlights!?!?! i said i’d go for brown but can’t i have mixtures of browns light and dark in it rather than blonde highlights as i don’t wanna be stripey…at this she got in a huff, told me i kept changing my mind and clearly didn’t know what i wanted and if i dont have blonde highlights on brown hair it would be a waste of time as i wont see anything (God forbid….you mean it’ll look something like natural!) Anybody out there know a good hairdresser in Gloucestershire?
Thank you for sharing such informative post…
Hey, l agree with you here.To curl any hair especially shot hair like your own required a bit of hand/eye coordination to get used to the technique but once you’ve got it, it’s really quick and easy.