I received a sweet email from a reader asking how I style my hair in a wavy long bob, a la here and here. Well bless her heart because it actually took several attempts to figure out how to style my short hair after chopping nearly a foot off this past summer. Thank goodness for my amazing hair stylist who told me the secret to styling shorter locks, which I included in this post and now use all the time. I hope you find this helpful in your next hair styling endeavor!

I’ve come to the realization lately that time and perhaps even skills have less to do with a successful blow-out than the tools. I used to spend way too much time on my hair, which I attributed to the massive amounts of it I possessed. After gradually acquiring the right tools I began to notice quicker and better results. Now I swear by this BaByliss PRO hair dryer and this brush for a smooth finish.

To begin, blow dry your hair. My tricks for doing this include drying in sections and positioning the brush as if I were curling my hair out. Then I slowly pull the brush down while pointing the dryer down at my hair. Go over each section several times to get a smoother finish.

Y’all know I love my Oribe hair spray. Now’s the time to douse your hair in it.

Next, grab your curling iron. (Again, tools are very important; I like this T3 1.25″ curling iron.) The key to using a curling iron to achieve non ringlet curls is to start at the root and curl towards the end with the curling iron as perpendicular to the floor as possible. Then gradually pull the curling iron out while maintaining the perpendicular orientation.

After all of your hair is curled, mess it up a bit. Shake it, girl.

The next step, which I never had to do with long hair, is the secret to life my hair stylist encouraged me to try. Use a straightener just on the ends. I used it only on the bottom inch or so of hair and couldn’t believe how it took the style from sweet and wavy to (almost) edgy and wavy. I baulked at first (a whole extra step!) yet it only takes an extra minute and truly kept the style from looking too precious. Then spray with hair spray again or some other holding agent (pomade, wax, whatever strikes your fancy).

Since I cut my hair several months ago, this has been my go-to style. I thought chopping off my hair was such a cliché thing to do as a new mom yet I actually feel more hip than I did with waist-length hair. (Are you cringing because I just said “hip”?) As much as having long hair was a part of my identity, I am embracing the shorter look and am not as eager to grow it out as I originally thought.