The Best Straightener for Curling Hair

It might seem strange to use a straightener to curl your hair. With all the curling wands out there, why would you even consider a straightener if coiled strands are what you crave? Well, it’s not as far-fetched as it sounds. It’s easy to create glam, gorgeous, glossy, cascading curls with a straightener -- as long as it’s thin and has rounded edges like the NuMe Megastar Hair Straightener.

In fact, beginners and those who are all thumbs when it comes to styling their hair find it easier and safer to curl with a straightener because fingers don’t touch the heated surface, just the outer coating. But when coiling strands of hair around a curling wand, the hot barrel is exposed, increasing the burn potential.

With a width of one inch and beveled-edge design, the NuMe Megastar Hair Straightener leads a double life. It transforms not only unruly manes into sleek, straight strands but also creates full, bouncy, natural-looking curls with no dents or lines of demarcation.

The multitasking Megastar offers more than just straightening and curl power. This superior-quality miracle worker produces amazing results -- on coarse, medium and fine hair and even on hair that’s over-processed and damaged.The Megastar is gentle enough to use every day and, like all NuMe heat styling tools, this cutting-edge straightener actually improves hair’s health, makes your finished look last longer and provides important additional benefits that distinguish it from others on the market:

1. Negative ion conditioning technology - The Megastar Hair Straightener releases negative ions that trap hair’s essential moisture and seal its protective cuticle to reduce frizz and boost shine.
2. Far infrared heat - Far infrared rays penetrate deep into the hair shaft, also preserving hair’s moisture. Heat is distributed more evenly and efficiently across the tool’s surface, preventing damaging “hot spots” and leaving hair softer and shinier.
3. 100 percent tourmaline composition - Premium tourmaline is the safest and most effective material for distributing heat evenly. It’s a natural mineral that, when crushed, blended into melted ceramic and heated, conditions and revitalizes hair.
4. Floating plates - Because the Megastar’s plates “give” a little, they have the flexibility to align to the exact thickness of the hair section you’re working on.This enables optimum contact and heat distribution so you get a soft, smooth curl with each pass.

Now that the technical details are out of the way, let’s give the Megastar a whirl and start to curl! Just follow these easy, step-by-step directions and you’ll have a head full of tumbling spirals in no time.

1. Make sure your hair is clean -- washed within the past 24 hours. Dirty hair won’t hold a curl well. It should also be completely dry and free of tangles.
2. Mist hair lightly with NuMe Watch Me Werk Thermal Heat Protectant. In addition to guarding against heat damage, it contains nutrient-packed sunflower seed oil to strengthen and hydrate hair and stimulate growth.
3. Clip all your hair on top of your head and out of the way except the back section, which you’ll be curling first.
4. Take a one-to-two-inch lock of hair from the back section -- larger if you want to create looser curls -- and comb through gently to smooth (The smaller the strand, the tighter the curl.) Sections wider than two inches produce looser, bouncier, more natural-looking curls. Or you can mix things up and create varying curl sizes for added interest.
5. Glide your heated Megastar halfway down the lock of hair, then wrap hair around straightener, except for a bit at the very end.
6. Hold for five to10 seconds (a few seconds longer for tighter curls) and release. For optimum results, clip each curl against your head until all hair is curled. Don’t shake out curls while they’re still warm or they will loosen and fall flat.
7. Continue this curling process until you’ve completed the entire back section. Clip it out of the way and move on to the side sections, then the top and front, until all hair is curled.
8. Only got a few minutes? For a quick and easy beach-babe look, simply twist or braid your hair into two sections on either side of your head (or, for tighter curls, into multiple sections all over). Run your Megastar s-l-o-w-l-y  over each section, let cool and undo, then rake your fingers through your hair to create laid-back, perfectly imperfect waves.
9. When hair is completely cool, unfurl your curls with your fingers to break them up and achieve a relaxed, lived-in look. If you prefer a bit more height at the crown, a little teasing does the trick.
10. Control frizz and add shine by warming a small amount of NuMe Gloss Boss Serum between your palms and smoothing on hair, concentrating on the ends.
11. Or, if your hair doesn’t have much body, spritz on a light mist of NuMe Freeze Please Finishing Spray for flexible hold and increased shine, holding the can eight to 10 inches away from your head.

Check out the LIVEGLAM IG video here.

If you have very short hair, the curling process is much the same except:

• Instead of wrapping locks of hair around the straightener, grasp hair between the plates and turn straightener in different directions to form comma-like curls.
• Don’t curl every single strand or you’ll end up with dreaded “helmet head” (wherein your hair looks like a layerless puffball -- not unlike Sophia’s dowdy do on Golden Girls -- instead of the cool, piecey crops favored by Michelle Williams, Robin Wright, Kate Mara and Scarlett Johansson).
• Another must for heading off that middle-aged-matron motif is a dab of pomade or wax to achieve definition and a messed-up, slightly spiky texture.

If you don’t want a head full of curls, you can also use the Megastar to flip your ends up or under:  Simply glide the straightener slowly down the length of a strand, and at the very end, flip it in the direction you prefer.

And that’s the straight story on curling with the Megastar!

If you want to learn how to use more of our heat styling tools, follow us on Instagram @NuMeStyle, or sign up for our newsletter at NuMehair.com.