Serious question, what's your take on using a 1.5 inch curling iron for a pixie cut?

A regular came in yesterday wanting more shape in her short hair, so I grabbed my usual 1 inch iron. It was in the sink, so I tried a bigger one I keep for longer styles. The curl was way too loose and fell flat in twenty minutes. I ended up redoing the whole side with the smaller tool. Has anyone else had a style totally fail from using the wrong size iron?

4 comments

4 Comments

abbyp611mo agoMost Upvoted

Honestly the shape of the pixie itself matters more than people talk about. If the cut is super stacked or has a lot of short layers in back, a bigger iron just won't grab enough hair to make a bend that lasts. It's like trying to put a wave in a two inch section, the hair's too short to wrap around the barrel right. You need that tighter iron to get in there and actually grip the short pieces.

the_pat1mo ago

Yeah I used to think any curling iron would work if you just knew how to use it. But you're totally right about the shape of the cut being the real thing. I tried using my regular iron on a short stacked cut and it just slid right off, didn't do anything. Switched to a smaller barrel and it was like night and day, actually held the bend. Makes sense when you think about it, the tool has to match the material you're working with.

colescott8d agoMost Upvoted

Yeah that "tool has to match the material" thing is so true... it's like using the wrong drill bit.

joel_chen311mo ago

Ever try a 3/4 inch iron on a super short pixie? I had to switch to one for a client with a really cropped cut, and the smaller barrel gave way better hold and definition on those tiny sections. Anything bigger just didn't have enough surface to grab onto.