How to Get Beachy Waves Even If You Have Short Hair (and, Like, No Beach) (2024)

Sooo until v recently (like as in a few months ago), I thought beach waves were for everyone BUT me. The number of tutorials I watched, the energy I exerted, and the products I used to attempt this "effortless" and "natural" hair somehow always ended up looking more like a tangled mess and less like that touseled, just-off-the-beach look. And BTW, this is coming from a gal with long hair—with less length to work with, so how the heck do you even attempt beach waves on short hair?!

But, wait! Don't lose all hope. I've recently become the (self-proclaimed) beach wave expert, and once I got the hang of my long hair, you best believe I figured out how to style short hair, too. Those gorge waves come down to a few things: The correct tool (i.e., curling iron, wand, straightener), some patience, and the RIGHT hair tutorials. And to eliminate the hard work for you, I narrowed down everything you need for this beachy style. Below, how to do beach waves on short hair, regardless of your hair type or hair tool.

How to get beach waves with a silk curl ribbon

Unless you're completely sheltered from #BeautyTok, you've undoubtedly seen 2020 and 2021's TikTok-viral hair hack of creating beachy waves using the belt of a bathrobe. But a new year means new hacks, and the bathrobe just got an upgrade. Enter: The silk curl ribbon that gives you the same gorge curls without having to borrow a piece from everybody's daily lounge necessity these days.

In this tutorial, hair vlogger Kristy Joan shows you how to recreate the look at home on her short hair, proving that the curls are long-lasting and legit. For that extra long hold, Joan uses some blow dry volumizing gel.

How to get beach waves with a hair waver

You've probably seen hair wavers (or deep wavers) floating around your social feeds recently—they're those giant, double-pronged, weapon-looking irons that clamp down on a section of hair and leave it wavy, like a modern-day crimper. Here, vlogger Jillian Lansky gets beachy waves on her short hair by first flat-ironing her hair (the waves will look more polished when you're working with straight hair), then clamping section by section, holding the iron horizontally on the lower sections and vertically on the top sections.

If it's your first time using a hair waver, just be warned: The wider the iron, the more tricky it'll be to navigate around your short hair (as you can see in the tutorial). But, you'll also only need to clamp down on each section once with a large iron, rather than multiple times with a small iron, making the whole process a bit faster. Pick your ~poison~ below:

How to do beach waves with a flat iron

Vlogger Sadora Paris not only has natural, tightly coiled hair but also a magical skill that allows her to create insanely gorgeous beach waves using only a straightener. After fully flat-ironing her short hair, she works section by section, rolling her flat iron forward and backward down her hair to create a crimped-like wave. It sounds confusing, but trust: It’s surprisingly easy. Mist your hair with a texturizing spray for added volume to finish.

How to do beach waves with a curling iron

Vlogger Chloe Brown has a choppy little bob haircut, so for anyone who says they can’t do beach waves on short hair, may I direct you to this curling-iron tutorial? The curls in this video may look a little sausage-y at first, but that’s actually the key: Tight, long curls (blasted with some sea-salt spray or texturizing spray, first, to give you a bunch of grip and hold) leave you with hella voluminous beach waves once you rake through them with your fingers at the end.

How to do beach waves on natural hair

Whaaa?! Soft, beachy waves on short, 4c hair without heat? Hell yeah, it’s possible, and vlogger Jessica Pettway is showin’ the world how. After smoothing a curl cream through your dry, brushed-out hair, twist small sections of hair around your finger and bobby-pin in place until your head is covered in pin curls. Sleep on them overnight, unravel them, and shake them out for beachy-looking waves.

How to do beach waves with a wand

Okay, so technically, these waves look more ~romantic~ than they do just-stepped-off-the-beach messy, but, hey, not everyone wants to look like an episode of Love Island. This tutorial is crazy easy—just curl your hair with a one-inch wand and rake through it with your fingers for soft waves. If your short hair can’t hold a curl to save its life, spritz your damp hair with a sea-salt spray before drying it, then blast your roots and ends with texturizing spray before and after curling it.

How to do heatless beach waves

This is pretty much the same hairstyle you accidentally created as a kid after a day on the beach, but now, it’s a short-hair lewk. This vlogger has naturally curly hair—which means a ton of built-in texture already—but if you don’t, try coating your damp hair with an even layer of sea-salt spray before making your French braids to help keep your waves from falling. Sleep on the braids, gently unravel them in the morning, give them another spritz of salt spray to curb frizz, and boom: overnight beach waves with absolutely no heat.

How to do beach waves with a flat iron + curling iron

The biggest short-hair struggle? Trying to wrap your short layers around a curling iron without them slipping off the barrel. But vlogger Brianna Fox has a trick: After blasting the section with texturizing spray, clamp each section at the middle, rather than at the ends, to get an even curl. Her second trick? Flat-iron just the ends of your waves to get a natural, bedhead-y finish.