It’s safe to say the messy bed head look is one of the most coveted amongst the fashionably fabulous.  While we envy those born with natural wavy hair (ahem..the Olsen twins), those of us with naturally straight hair have more of a battle.  Thanks to Byrdie Beauty and Jen Atkin, we have the how to, to get all you smooth strand girl’s that fresh from the beach look.

Before

Start with damp hair. Freshly washed is fine, but if you just lightly dampen second-day dirty hair, you’ll have a little more natural texture to work with.

Step One: Part

Part your hair down the middle. Use the tail of a comb to get the most precise, straight part.

Step Two: Sea Salt Spray

Spritz sea salt spray all over, getting the roots through the ends. Atkin is a fan of Sachajuan’s Ocean Mist ($28).

Step Three: Dry and Scrunch

Use a blow-dryer to rough-dry your hair, scrunching the ends as you go.

Step Four: Smooth Dry

When your hair is almost completely dry, finish blow-drying with a boar-bristle hairbrush to evenly distribute the product.

Step Five: Add Bends

In small one- to two-inch sections, add horizontal bends down the length of your hair with a flat iron. Take one piece of hair and roll it under (towards your scalp) with the flat iron. Release the iron. Then, pick up where you left off, this time bending the iron in the opposite direction—up, away from your head. Continue this process, alternating directions down to your ends. Finish the ends by smoothing them straight down.

Step Six: Spiral Curl the Front

Wrap a few face-framing pieces of hair in the front around a one-inch curling iron. Hold the iron vertically to get the downward spiral. Leave the ends out, and don’t clamp down on the curling iron to get the most natural curl.

Step Seven: Fix and Finish

Lightly finger through the ends, pulling apart any sections that are stuck together or look too finished. Atkin says you can scrunch in dry texture spray for more texture, or add a small amount of pomade to the ends for even more piece-y separation.

Done!

These steps work on any hair type and hair length. If you have long hair, the only difference is you’ll need to add a few more bends as you go down the length of your hair.

 

Photographer: Justin Coit // Hairstylist: Jen Atkin
 // Makeup Artist: Roxy // Producer: Jenna Peffley // Model: Corrie