ooo my stylist did this for me for my birthday party!
she kinda talked me through it, but I agree...it is hard to get the hang of!

I'm not entirely sure how you're doing it, but I know youtube has great tutorials! You don't actually wrap the hair around the curling iron.

The action is more like clamping down at the top, turn the iron about a 1/4 to 1/2 a turn and then run it down the length of your hair. It should work!

Yeah, I've done this before, with great (and long-lasting) results. But it depends in large part on the flatiron. Some are made to be able to do this--they're more narrow, rounded at the edges so they don't pull your hair, and might have floating plates to make it easier.

For some reason, though, I felt that using a flatiron to curl my hair damaged it worse than a regular old curling iron or blow-drying with a round brush would.

the bachelorette--whatshername--did it in the finale of the show. i thought it looked like a good idea so i tried it then. i didn't think it was any more annoying than using a curling iron, and it makes less clutter in the bathroom!

She probably wouldn't want to share her real secrets.

my hairstylist did this on me before... when he picked it up i thought he spaced out and forgot i had just done a big curl perm. He worked his magic and voila! Beautiful bouncing waves/curls. I tried to recreate it at home but no luck... maybe with years of experience...

there are a lot of good tutorials on youtube, as someone else mentioned.

It works best if you straighten your hair first then curl it with the flat iron. I have a Solia 1", which is great, I must say. And it is meant for curls as well as straightening. I got it last Christmas on sale for $80 at folica.com

I need to go watch another tutorial though becuase i keep forgetting how to do it.

yeah i've had it done for me and it looks great, but i've tried to do it on myself to no avail. sad, cuz it is pretty but i just can't get the hang of the twist and glide motion.

....*sigh* I have trouble with a curling iron as it is...I tried the flate iron...well not too good results

i do this everyday, it actually looks better this way than w/ an actual curling iron!

I use my Chi all the time to curl my hair. I have naturally curly hair, so I use it to straighten it and then to make bigger curls and it works every time!

Ooo! I've done this! I do this! My hair dresser showed me! It's a great tip!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ca3k1syt2G4

This vid quickly shows how it's done, though it def takes some practice. It's definitely possible though.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ca3k1syt2G4

This vid shows pretty simply how it's done. It def takes some practice, and at first my hair would always feel kind of singed afterwards. Yet when it's done great it's fab, esp since you can adjust the tightness of the curl depending on how fast you pull the iron down.

My stylist sister does this too! Personally, I can only curl my ends under, but it looks a lot more subtle and natural than doing it with a curling iron.

Yup, I had a stylist do this to me once. It looked great.
Now I wish I could do it by myself. Hah! You're not alone bella, it IS harder to do by your lonesome.. that's how it is in my case

I used to do this all the time when I had longer hair, but alas I chopped it all off one hot day this summer. It's difficult to do at first, but once you get the hang of it, it's a breeze!

I actually do this all the time.
I don't want to spend extra money on a curling iron so I use my straightner. The downside is, that if you mess up it's a pain straighting it back out (at least for me)

My hairdresser did this on me, it looked horrendous. Curling irons work much better for my hair, because I want locks not curls, so I need a thick curling iron...

What a fantastic tip. And thank you kathili for the link.

I have tried this quickly on my hair and it worked even with the barrel curling iron.

I found that the wormer the iron is the better.

Thank you gals and thank you Nicole for sharing your tips with us.

yes. I do this. It takes a little practice to get it down to avoid getting lines in your hair that make it obvious you used a flat iron.

It definitely works, just like curling a ribbon, although the right hand motions take some getting used to. Like someone else said, I found it was more damaging to my hair than just wrapping my hair around a curling iron and somewhat more time consuming.

I haven't given it a whirl myself but remember Deanna, the Bachelorette, doing it in the finale and thinking I oughta try it!

The GHD IV styler is made specifically with a rounder barrel so as to create the most amazing curls I have ever had. Everyone's right about the technique, but it's really essential to have a flat iron that isn't too boxy.

I definately curled my hair with my CHI iron for work today! It's just like curling a ribbon with scissors, but it does take some practice.

yea i've been doing this for years now and its the best. I never use curling irons. Once you get the hang of it..its a breeze from there. I believe the FHI heat site has a whole bunch of tutorials on all types of curls. from waves,crimps,zig zaggy curls, etc. Check it out!

It's a little tricky at first, but that's the only way I curl my hair now!

WHOAAAA Lady's! I would not recommend doing this. I have been curling my hair with my chi for 2 years. I only do it with my extensions in. It alway turns out great. I would never do that to my real hair because it's too much heat. YOU HAVE TO REMEMBER- Nicole has extension!

yes...if you know how to handle hair tools, this is by far the BEST way to curl hair, especially if your hair doesn't hold curls for very long like mine. Whenever I used to use a curling iron, my loose curls would last for 30 minutes, and then after that the rest of my hair would turn a straight/wavy and the ends would flip out.

When I curl my hair with a really small flat iron, my loose curls last ALL night. I highly recommend it.

You can't do this with every flat iron. Mine doesn't even get very warm on the outside. My friend always does this with her CHI. I think it is meant for you to use it for that, the outside does get warm like a curling iron.

It is possible, but it's too difficult. If you want those big loose curl-slash-waves, better get a curling iron with a big diameter. That'll be a lot easier and the effect is a bit more natural looking.

you can get 1 fr ghd. it's called mini iv styler. Even ghd iv styler which has bigger barrel will still give u a nice curl. I find that the mini iv styler give me a tighter curl. here's the link www.ghdhair.com. It's a bit pricy tho.

awesome tips, can't wait to try this!!

curls last longer this way!!
great tip

I do this all the time. It takes practice but once you get the hang of it, it looks great!

I tried it too after watching demos on you tube it looked so easy, it turned out to be a disaster when I tried it on my own. I will continue practice or just stick to the curling iron

I do this a lot, especially when I am traveling so that I don't have to pack both tools. I didn't realize that other people had a difficult time with it, especially considering I am usually the uncoordinated one.

I had a friend who straightened her hair with a curling iron. . . . thought it was hilarious.

It is all about the first flip of the curling iron after the original clamp. Grab the flat iron with the back of your hand facing you and flip your wrist down/away from you. clamp the hair and then flip your wrist back up. make sure the hair flips around when you flip the flat iron back around. Then slowly pull the flat iron straight down and have the hair wrap around the top of the flat iron and through the flat plates. It takes a long time if you have a lot of hair no matter how good you are.

Jude C said it first, and I think she's right: beware the heat damage that can occur from trying to make curls with the straightening iron. Better to hit it and quit it.

Sounds great for a special occasion, but yeah, how damaging that must be!

i work at a salon and spa as a receptionist so i see this all the time. in fact most of the stylists do not even work with a curling iron or own one. they just curl it with the flat. and bella you were right comparing it to curling a ribbon. same idea. I do it all the time and the curls come out really perfect so you comb them out with your fingers and they're fab.

my sister and i went to a hair salon and while the hair stylist was doing her hair i was watching her as she was curling her hair with a flat iron these days flat irons are coming more versatile u can even make ur hair have more volume with a flat iron

I curl my hair with my flat iron. It works fabulously. I get long loopy curls that for me last anywhere from a week to two weeks without any maintenance.

BTW I only wash my hair once a week but I had to go two weeks w/o washing prior to this week. I had luscious curls for the entire time. I actually tried to brush them out but they wouldn't go.

OMG YES! I would never ever buy a curling iron.. if anything I think its harder using a curling iron more.. I had grown out my hair very long and would loosely curl my hair with my straightener I would get non stop compliments on it even from random people! Its fast and easy once you get the hang of and it is a bit tricky.. but always curl away towards the the back and hold it loose and go a bit faster.. dont clamp it tight and hold it there forever unless you want really tight curls! And after bend over and shake your hair and then come back up and it will look even better with your loose curls falling naturally into place!

I've done this before a few times but it can be difficult. I hate my having my hair straight but I don't like to use an iron all the time.

So what I do is I wash my hair at night and I twist my hair on both sides of my head (starting from the top), put a clip on each side, and braid the rest of my hair. Then in the morning my hair is perfectly wavy. I've told my friends this but they say it never works for them. I think it's important to have a lot of layers and to sleep on it for quite a while.

it definately is hard to get the hang of this, but it does work well! My stylist had to walk me through this a few times

i think the coolest thing about nicole richie is that her awesome bangs are actually extentions...i always wanted her bangs but there's no way i'm getting hair extensions

I do this every day. I love my gHD because I can do curls, beach waves or straighten with it. The beach waves are the most difficult thing to get used to but once you do it a time or two it's pretty easy. Curling irons are not for me. All of my friends ask me to do their hair like that. I do the Vickie's hair with my gHD and it stays a few days like that. Love it.

ohhhh, i LOVEEEE curling my hair with a flat iron! it works so well, and i've actually done them with really wide ones too.... you just gotta get the "feel" of the iron and twist as you pull down on the hair, usually away from your face. it works wonderfully, and it takes waaaay less time than a curling iron, and stays longer. You just have to be careful not to hold the iron in your hair no longer than 3 seconds at each section.... it will damage your hair! yikes. but otherwise, GREAT, fast, hair trick.