So today I decided to try recreating Emily Kaplan’s signature hair look at home. Saw it online, loved the vibe, figured it couldn’t be that hard, right? Spoiler: it requires patience! But totally worth it. Grabbed my tools: a curling wand (not an iron, gotta be the wand!), heat protectant spray, some small hair elastics, a comb, and hairspray.
Starting Simple & Getting Tangled
First step? Watched a bunch of short videos showing her hair. Observed how the waves start kinda high up and look soft, not super-defined ringlets. Cleaned my hair yesterday, so it was slightly dirty today – apparently that’s better for holding curls, so bonus point for laziness! Sectioned my hair into four big chunks using my fingers. Clipped the top ones away. Spritzed heat protectant like crazy on a bottom section. My wand heats up fast.
Then came the actual curling. This is where I messed up initially. Took a section, wrapped it around the wand like I normally curl hair – held it for 8 seconds, let it cool in my hand… boom, tight spiral curl. Nope! Emily Kaplan’s hair looks more like beach waves. Realized I needed to wrap larger sections. Grabbed way more hair, maybe a 2-inch wide chunk? Held the ends only for a second, then wrapped the mid-lengths down towards the scalp loosely, leaving the ends out. Held it vertically for about 10 seconds. Much better! Got a softer bend instead of a coil. My right arm got tired fast – switched hands awkwardly a few times.
The Crucial Part Everyone Skips
Pulled the curl off the wand gently and did not brush it or touch it! Seriously, just let it cool completely in my palm before letting it drop. This part is KEY. If I messed with it while hot, it went limp. Repeated this painstaking process for the whole bottom layer: take section, spritz protectant, wrap loosely (mostly mids), hold, cool fully, drop. Took forever! Unclipped the next layer, repeated. The top sections, especially the crown, I wrapped even less hair around the wand, focusing just on the very top to get height.
All curled? Looked ridiculous! Like a poodle explosion. But I remembered: don’t panic! Waited a solid 10 minutes, just pottered around making coffee, letting everything cool rock solid. Then, and only then, I very gently ran my fingers through my hair, starting from the ends, going upwards to break up the curls. No brush! Just fingers. Scrunched the roots a bit for volume. Once the tight curls broke into softer waves, I lightly sprayed medium-hold hairspray all over, keeping my hair scrunched as I sprayed to hold the wave pattern.
Final Result? Honestly shocked! Took way longer than expected (like an hour total with prep and cooling), and my arm is still complaining, but the waves looked super lived-in and effortless. Got that “just left the salon” bounce without the salon price tag. Snapped about a million selfies. Definitely trying this again for my next night out!
