Getting Creative With Your Hair Tools: 8 Top Tips

If you’re an avid user of hair tools, you might be the type to give each one you own a job. Usually, it’s something that they’re meant to do. The flat iron is for straightening frizzy hair, and the curling wand is for adding luscious curls and waves to your hair. Meanwhile, the blow dryer is to get your hair from damp to dry in minutes.

However, there’s more to these hair tools than meets the eye. Sure, they’re designed for one specific thing. But if you use your imagination and creativity, your hair tools can be multifunctional and create textures in your hair that you’d never expect.

If you’ve only used your hair tools for the purpose you’ve been taught all these years, it’s understandable. But today, Nubi Hair wants to teach you how you can switch it up and get a little more creative with them. Here are our top eight tips for when you experiment with your hair using Nubi’s bestselling hair tools.

1. Use a Hair Dryer to Create Voluminous 70s Waves

One of the most popular hair tools you’ll find in any woman’s vanity is the ever-reliable hair dryer. But did you know that hair dryers do more than just dry your hair after a shower? You can also style your locks with a trusty hair dryer to make big, voluminous waves, just like superstars wear on the red carpet.

The Nubi Blow Me Away is an excellent blow dryer for this trick. It’s designed to dry your locks without stripping them of moisture so that you can flaunt glossy, healthy-looking strands. To make gorgeous, Hollywood-worthy waves in your tresses, you’ll also need a round brush alongside this blow dryer.

When getting these huge waves a la Farrah Fawcett, remember that your goal isn’t to make your hair curly. You want to achieve volume with a blown-out look, not poofy texture from ringlets. So, you want big, loose waves.

Place your round brush at your roots and brush down until you reach an inch or so before your ends. Twirl your round brush back to wrap that lock of hair around it. Direct your blow dryer to the brush and put it in the highest temperature setting.

As the heat sets your waves, move your brush down your hair and twirl it back up as you go. This gives it a softer, less structured finish. This can be tricky if you have extra thick hair, but you’ll get the hang of it with enough practice!

2. Set Your Pin Curls in a Safer, Less Damaging Way

Another way to use the Nubi blow dryer creatively is to use it to set pin curls. Some people think that using a curling wand is the only way to create defined curls, but you can also do it with a few bobby pins and your trusty hair dryer.

It’s no secret that direct contact with hot hair tools can damage your locks, especially when you use them while your hair is wet. If you’re trying to avoid using a curling wand but still want to achieve curls quickly, a hair dryer is your best friend.

While your hair is damp, grab a section and twirl it around two fingers. Pull your fingers out carefully and keep the circular shape in place with a bobby pin. Do this for the rest of your hair too, until you have a full head of bobby pin-secured circles.

Then, simply dry your hair with the blow dryer. When your locks are dry, carefully remove the bobby pins in each section. Your hair will fall in gorgeous, defined waves — and you didn’t need to bring hair tools any closer than several inches away from your locks!

By doing this technique, you’re essentially locking in the curls with heat. However, your tresses aren’t in direct contact with a scorching hot iron, so it’s a lot gentler and less damaging.

3. Create Pretty Curls and Beachy Waves with a Straightener

There are many uses for straighteners (like straightening your hair, obviously). But curling your hair with a straightener is probably one of our favorites.

Beginners get a bit intimidated by the thought of curling their hair with a flat iron. But as long as you have the right one, it will be easy peasy. For hair curling, we love to use the Nubi Soft N’ Straight 1.25″ Flat Iron. It has rounded edges that make curling smooth and free of random bends and kinks. It’s one of the best flat irons to use for both curling and straightening because of that key feature!

To make curls or waves in your hair with a flat iron, clamp the straightener down on a section of hair by the roots. Instead of gliding it straight down your hair, lift the straightener at a 90-degree angle. Keep the iron at this angle as you run it down the length of your hair. When you let go, you’ll find a gorgeous curl.

If you want to get beachy waves, do the same thing but only at a slight angle that isn’t as deep. Make sure you pass your hair through the iron a lot faster, too. This will give you loose, relaxed waves perfect for your beach trip. It would also look good in any season, be it spring, summer, or even this autumn.

Don’t forget to lock in your perfect curls and fabulous waves with the Nubi Styling Spray when you’re done!

4. Use Your Flat Iron to Make Soft, Wispy Curtain Bangs

Use the same, rounded-edge flat iron to flick your bangs at an angle to make them look soft, romantic, and wispy. This would look super cute on any type of fringe, but especially so on curtain bangs.

Curtain bangs are face-framing middle-part bangs that are all the rage today. In fact, “how to style curtain bangs” was the fifth most searched beauty term on Google in 2020.

Some people are lucky enough to wake up every day with perfect curtain bangs. But for the unlucky few that need extra help framing their face perfectly with a soft, wispy look, a flat iron will be your lifesaver.

When your hair is naturally pin-straight, your curtain bangs will fall flat. What you need to do is pick up a flat iron with rounded edges (like the Nubi Soft N’ Straight 1.25″ Flat Iron) and give your bangs a soft twist on each side away from your face to frame it beautifully.

Not a fan of curtain bangs? You can also make your full fringe look softer and more feathery with a flat iron. Simply flick the ends of your bangs inward towards your forehead for that effortlessly romantic touch.

5. Channel Your Inner 20s Flapper Girl with Vintage S Waves

Every girl loves soft, feminine curls. It’s perfect for romantic hairstyles for dates or weddings. But if you’re a fan of vintage curled hairstyles, you might prefer curls that are a bit stronger and more structured instead of loose and flowy, like the classic 20s S-shaped waves. What’s amazing is that you can achieve these unique curls with the most basic hair tools.

Creating S waves with a flat iron won’t require you to twist and turn your iron that much to make the curl, so you don’t have to go for one with rounded edges. One that is sleek and structured (just like the hairstyle you’re going for) is the tourmaline-plated Nubi Sleek Control.

To make an S wave, take a one-inch-wide section of hair and slightly bend it to one side to create the shape of an S. When you’re happy with the curve, clamp the hot iron down over it to set it and lock it in place. Then, bend that lock of hair in the opposite direction and lock it in again with heat.

Do this repeatedly until you have a gorgeous S-shaped curl from top to bottom.

6. Embrace the Y2K Resurgence with Crimped Hair

Gen Z and Millennials love anything that will make them feel nostalgic. We guess that’s why the 90s and Y2K trends are seeing a resurgence now, especially in hair and fashion. Want to give your hair a more playful look with a classic Y2K hairstyle? Use your flat iron to crimp your locks!

Crimped hair looks like it would be tricky to achieve. But in reality, it’s one of the easiest hairstyles to create with your Nubi flat iron. It’s a no-brainer technique that even newbies won’t be intimidated by.

First, put the hair you want to crimp in tight, thin braids. The tighter the braid and the thinner the sections of hair you plait, the more crimped your hair will look.

When you’re happy with your braids, run your flat iron over them. Make sure to pause at each area of your braids for at least a few seconds. This essentially locks your hair in that plaited texture.

Leave your hair to cool for 10 minutes or so before gently unraveling it from the braids. This should give you grungy, edgy crimped hair reminiscent of Christina Aguilera in the early 2000s. Absolutely stunning!

7. Get Bouncy Shirley Temple Spirals by Taking Your Time with a Curling Wand

Curling wands are known for soft curls, especially when the barrels are thicker. But what if you wanted to rock something that was super springy and playful?

If you want springy, bouncy ringlets a la Shirley Temple, you’ll love the Nubi Sleek Curl. This clipless, one-inch barrel can be found in the Nubi Set Up — a styling set that includes a hot brush. What’s great about clipless barrels is that your locks don’t snag while you curl them!

Now, to create the bounciest curls possible, wrap the thinnest sections you can around the curling wand. Wait an extra 5-10 seconds longer than you usually would before letting the curl down. This will give your curls a more structured, defined, and incredibly springy finish for a fun, bold look!

To make sure the shape and bounciness of your curls stay all day, don’t forget to spritz some of the Nubi Styling Spray on them.

8. Curl Bigger Sections of Your Hair to Fake a Blown-Out Hair Look

Blown-out hair is the epitome of glitz and glam. But as we mentioned earlier, working a round brush can be scary for a first-timer. The great news is that you can fake that blown-out look with your regular curling iron, much like the Nubi Sleek Curl.

Most people recommend using a curling wand with a big barrel for that blown-out, red carpet finish. But that makes beginners prone to burns since it’s so huge. Luckily, you can achieve soft, big, blown-out curls too with a one-inch iron.

All you have to do is wrap thicker sections of hair around the wand than you normally would when curling your hair. Using thicker sections each time gives your curls a softer finish — as if you used a blow dryer to curl them instead of a curling wand. Basically, what you’re doing is the opposite of Shirley Temple curls.

The finished look is a super glamorous style that will be sure to turn heads. You can style your hair like this for an evening ball or even fancy holiday parties this upcoming winter!

Conclusion

Basic hair tools, like a blow dryer, flat iron, and curling wand, may seem straightforward. But if you’re bold and creative with how you use them, you can be rewarded with unique hair textures and styles you never expected. Remember — you might not realize it, but most hair tools are multi-functional.

Hopefully, these eight tips for using hair tools in an out-of-the-box way inspire you to come up with innovative hairstyles using the heat stylers you have at home.

Whether you love soft, wispy tresses with curtain bangs or a more glammed-up hairdo with voluptuous curls, Nubi’s top-quality hair tools will help you achieve your favorite hair looks. Be adventurous with your hairstyling and show us what you’ve got!

Click here to browse more of Nubi’s bestselling heated styling tools.