6 Easy Ways to Curl Short Hair, According to Experts

Short hair is great—less length means less maintenance. Plus, there are so many cute ways to style short hair. Where it can get tricky, though, is when you decide you want to curl your hair. Since there is less length to work with, it can become difficult to use curling irons and wands with barrels of a certain size. That doesn't mean you have to toss your favorite hot tool, though. There are many ways to curl short hair, it's just about finding the right technique, following directions, and a little bit of practice. To best understand how to go about curling short hair, we tapped three celebrity hairstylists to get their insights and tips for curling short hair. Keep reading to learn six different expert-backed ways to curl short hair.

How Do I Curl Short Hair?

Spoiler alert: There's more than one way to curl short hair. "Don’t ever doubt the styling power of short hair," says Katz. "You’d be amazed by the power of what a proper-sized hot tool can provide." A proper-sized hot tool will make all the difference. If you've tried to curl your short hair in the past and haven't had the best luck, you were likely using the wrong styling tool. Whether you use a curling iron, a flat iron or silk rods for a heatless method, find expert tips for your longest lasting curls, below.

With a Curling Iron

"The smaller the barrel the tighter the wave or curl," says Vaccaro. "Use a .75-inch barrel if you want to curl and use a one-inch barrel if you want a looser wave." This barrel size and technique are great for someone whose curls tend to fall out easily (ahem, those with stick straight strands). Try T3's Singlepass Curl X Iron; it has a longer barrel that makes it great for hard to reach areas like the back of your head.

1. Start by misting your hair all over with a heat protectant.
2. Using an alligator clip or hair tie, section off the upper half of your hair up and out of the way.
3. If you have straight hair, blow dry a light mousse (like the Sachajuan Hair Mousse) into the hair to give it some grit (otherwise, it can be difficult to grab the hair and have it respond to the curling iron). 
4. Feed the section of hair through the barrel and begin curling.
5. Set each curl by catching it right as you release it from around the barrel, holding it in your hand for a few seconds, then releasing.
6. Continue curling the top section of hair, alternating between curling away from your face and toward your face for a more natural finish.
7. Let down the rest of your hair from the clip and repeat the curling.
8. Lock in your curls with a strong-hold hairspray like Virtue 6-in-1 Style Hair Guard Spray.

With a Blow Dry Brush

"For most blow-dry blushes, the styling depends on the size of the barrel of the brush. Larger blow-dry blushes like the Revlon Hot Round Brush will give smoothness and rounded ends for short hair, but you won’t usually achieve a full curl," says Lopez. To get that fuller look, they recommend using a tool like the T3 AireBrush Duo attachment with a smaller brush circumference.

1. Apply heat protectant.
2. Section your hair into four parts to give you more control of each area.
3. "Focus on styling the sections of hair that are the longest—typically pieces above the ears–smoothing your hair and rolling it up to the root, holding it there, then pressing the cool shot button to lock in the shape that you created," says Lopez, "then slowly release the hair." They add that this will give more of a bounce or loose curl.
4. Add a shine gloss, like Fekkai's Anti-Frizz Serum which works overtime to tame flyaways while providing hair with a healthy sheen.

Heatless Overnight Curls

If you're on BeautyTok, you likely saw heatless curls become a trend overnight. The technique involves wrapping your hair around silk rods (and even socks or bathrobe ties), going to bed, and waking up with supermodel curls. However, most of the people who tested this technique on TikTok had long hair. "Overnight curls for short hair can be a bit of a challenge," confirms Lopez. That's not to say it can't be done, it just requires the correct technique.

1. If you just washed your hair, blow dry it a bit until it's just slightly damp. If you're starting from dry hair, spritz it with a bit of water and apply a leave-in conditioner or hair mousse to help hold the curl pattern.
2. With your hair parted down the middle, grab one side of your hair and wrap it around your silk rod from tip to root, making sure to direct it away from your face. Lopez recommends trying the Kitsch Satin Heatless Curling Set "to wrap your hair around the ribbon overnight or the brand's Rosewood Satin Flexi Rods by creating a mohawk on the top of your head with sections of hair wrapped in the rods." 
3. Then, wrap your hair in a silk scarf and sleep on them. Alternatively, you can sleep on a silk pillowcase such as Slip's Pillowcase to keep things smooth and frizz-free.
4. When you wake up, remove the silk rods and brush your curls out to give it a more natural effect.

With a Curling Wand

"If you are someone who wants a beachy natural texture, a curling wand is great because it makes it easy to keep your ends straight," notes Vaccaro. For bob- and lob-length hair, a curling wand with a one-inch barrel works best—anything larger won't work for your short hair, and anything smaller will make the ringlets too tight.

1. Apply a heat protectant all over the hair.
2. Section off the top part of your hair with a hair tie or clip.
3. Hold your iron at a diagonal angle for a more effortless, modern pattern (or horizontally for more volume).
4. Wrap the hair around the iron (rather than feed it through), leaving about one inch to one and a half inches of hair out for a modern beauty texture.
5. Let down the rest of your hair from the clip and repeat the curling.
6. Gently glide a flat iron over the very tips of your hair for a more relaxed finish.
7. Finish with a texture spray. "My secret weapon that I use on all clients for volume and texture is the Glamsquad The Untamed Texturizing Finishing Spray."

With a Flat Iron

"If you have fine hair that doesn’t hold a curl and you just want a little texture, a flat iron wave is perfect for you," notes Vaccaro. "This is one of the most effortless and modern patterns."

1. Apply a heat protectant all over the head.
2. Section off the top part of your hair.
3. Starting at the root, create bends in your hair by rocking the flat iron and bending your wrist while working down the hair shaft. We recommend using one that has rounded edges that'll make the curl look more seamless and natural, like ghd's Platinum+ Styler.
4. For a less spiral-looking shape, wrap the hair around the flat iron and ribbon it as if you were creating a ribbon for gift wrapping.
5. Let the top part of your hair down and continue the process.
6. Rough up the ends by twisting through a hair pomade like Moroccanoil's Molding Cream.

With Rollers

While rollers work similarly to heatless curls, the technique behind them is different as you're working with more product and creating more curls. Heatless curls that are achieved with silk flexi rods usually aren't sectioned off to create a bouncy, voluminous, and uniform wave– instead, you're creating one big curl pattern and breaking it up to create the illusion of individual curls. With hair rollers, they come in widths between one to three inches and you use sections of hair between one to two-and-a-half inches wide for lots of different curl shapes, direction, and more volume. If you have lob- to pixie-length hair, opt for either small or medium rollers.

1. Begin with smooth hair. "If the hair is not smooth and the ends aren’t polished you’re going to end up with frizz and dryness—especially if your hair is color treated," explains Lopez.
2. Take a one to two-and-a-half-inch section of hair and wrap it around the roller. "The amount of hair that you section out for each roller should not be wider than the roller itself," Lopez says, adding to make sure you have a nice, even amount of tension. Most rollers will come with clasps that allows you to secure hair in place, but if yours don't, secure it with a Bobby pin.
3. Keep rollers in for a few hours—the longer you wait the more defined your curls will be.
4. Alternatively, use a hairdryer to blast your curls with heat to speed up the hairstyling process.
5. Remove the curlers, separate your curls for the most natural body and volume, and use a wide-tooth comb at the root to remove any separation lines.
6. Spritz a light-hold hairspray, like Nick Stenson's Light Hold Hair Spray, to keep curls soft and intact.