How To Finger Wave: Get Inspired By Our Tutorial

Finger Wave How-To

Part One: The Three-Step, Basic Pin-Curl Technique

This is the essential technique used to create pin curls, which will give you a full head of finger waves. Learn this core set of steps, and then continue to part two to set your whole 'do.
1: Grab a 1-inch section of hair and spray lightly with hairspray.

 

2: Wrap the strand around your curling iron starting from the root all the way to the tip. Hold for about 7 seconds (a little longer for coarse hair, a little shorter for finer hair).

 

3: Release hair from the curling iron. Starting from the tip, wrap the strand around two fingers until the curl is near the scalp. Secure with a clip or pin. Place the clip at the base of the curl, right against the scalp, rather than on the outer edge of the pin curl. This helps prevent creases where you don't want them. Leave pin curls to set.

Once you've mastered this core set of moves, you have all the technique necessary to make a gorgeous finger wave 'do! Now let's get started!

Part Two: Sectioning and Setting the Full Head

1: Start with dry hair. If your hair is fine, prep with dry shampoo or mousse, especially around the roots.
2: Section hair horizontally, starting at the bottom and working your way to the top and moving from back to front. How many sections you ultimately use depends on the thickness of the hair. Leave one semi-circular section at the crown of the head—you can clip it out of the way until later.

 

3: Starting with the bottom section, take a strand of hair and curl using the techniques above (spray, curl, pin). Work across the head until all the hair in that section is in curls. Once complete, move to the next section of hair, working your way across, creating curls as you go. Move toward the front of the head until all hair is pinned. For the pieces that frame the face, wrap hair outward, away from the face when curling.

 

4: Once you reach the top section that you clipped out of the way earlier, divide horizontally into pieces that are roughly 1-inch thick. Pin-curl each piece from front to back, to help create volume at the crown. Continue until you've curled and clipped the entire section.

 

5: Once all of your hair is up in pin curls, hit the entire head with hairspray.
6: Then, starting at the back of the head, take curls down section by section. At this point, you can apply a few dabs of shine spray or serum to add polish. As you work, rake through curls lightly with your fingers, spritz with hairspray, and go over gently with a flat paddle brush. For volume, back-comb each section at the roots.

 

7: When all of your hair is out, back-comb the crown, and finish with a final pass of hairspray.