Article: If your hair is only a bit past your shoulders or shorter, you should use a thinner 1 in (2.5 cm) iron for your hair. A thicker one may not give you the amount of curls that you want.  Shop for curling irons online or at beauty supply or department stores. A larger 1.25 in (3.2 cm) thick iron is best to use on hair that’s past shoulder-length. Using a thinner iron may not curl all of your strand each time you roll it up. Your hair doesn’t need to be freshly washed to begin curling it, but it should free of tangles and dry. Use volumizing mousse or hairspray to coat most of your hair with a thin layer. Be sure to cover the ends of your hair covered with mousse or spray, since those areas are usually the first to lose curl. If you have a curling iron that allows you to change the temperature, you should set your iron at a lower temperature if you have fine hair. Putting too high of heat on fine hair can cause damage to it. For thick hair, set your iron at a higher temperature so the heat gets all of your hair with each time you roll it.  If your hair is fine to medium thickness, or is color-treated, set your iron to 200 °F (93 °C) or below. For thick hair, you can set the temperature to 200–300 °F (93–149 °C). Grab a section of hair between your fingers and wrap the entire strand vertically around your iron once it’s finished heating.  If you have an iron with a clip, you’ll probably want to wrap your hair from the bottom, making sure to clip the very end of your strand in the same direction as you are wrapping the strand up. If you have a wand iron, you can start either at the top or bottom of your hair. For looser waves, start toward the top wherever you want the waves to start and wrap your hair around the wand, leaving a bit of hair out at the ends. For tighter curls with a wand iron, start winding at the bottom and use the upper parts of your hair to cover the ends and keep them close to the iron. The way that you wrap and hold your hair on your iron effects the type of volume you get with each curl. For tighter curls with more volume, wrap your hair horizontally around the iron and hold it in a horizontal position. For looser curls with less volume, wrap each strand of hair in your iron vertically, and hold the iron in a vertical position. People are often tempted to keep their hair wrapped in the iron for a longer time, thinking that it will get curlier. Unfortunately, this does not make your hair curlier, but it does damage it. 8-10 seconds is plenty of time to heat each curl around your iron. You can always go back and redo a curl if you find that it’s not holding well. Try applying more mousse or hairspray to that strand before re-curling it. To help keep each curl locked in, allow it to cool curled up and close to your head. Take a bobby pin (or a single prong clip or duckbill clip) and gently insert it into the curl close to your head to keep the curl up while it cools. You can leave your curls pinned up as you finish curling the rest of your hair with your iron to save time and keep those finished curls out of your way. When you’re finished curling your hair, release each pin from your curls and coat your hair with a layer of hair spray to get them to hold. High-strength or “fortifying” spray will help hold your curls in place longer.  If you have very fine hair, be sure to get just a thin layer of spray on your curls. Your hair won’t need much spray to hold it, and too much spray can actually weigh fine curls down and make them come out. Try an anti-humidity hairspray if you live in a warm, humid climate to keep your curls in when you go outside. You can gently tousle your hair with your fingers or with a hair pick to spread them out and style them, especially if they are staying too tightly in the shape of the iron for your liking. But unless you want to remove your curls or create volume, don’t brush or comb them. Brushing your curls may also create frizz.

What is a summary?
Buy a 1 in (2.5 cm) iron for short or medium length hair. Apply volumizing mousse or hairspray to your dry, brushed hair. Set the iron temperature according to your hair’s thickness. Take a 1 in (2.5 cm) thick section of hair and wrap it around your hot iron. Wrap and hold your hair in the iron horizontally for more volume. Keep your hair wrapped in the iron for 8-10 seconds. Pin each curl up gently to let it cool. Release each cooled curl and spray it with strong or fortifying hair spray. Avoid brushing freshly curled hair.