A-Line Bob | Curly Hairstyles

It’s time for another short hairdo!

Portrait of young girl modeling 3-barrel curl hairstyle on her a-line bobback view of young girl modeling 3-barrel curl hairstyle on her a-line bob

First I need to introduce you to one of my favorite hair tools…the 3-barrel curling iron. It looks like this…

3-barrel curling iron

On short hair it creates the look above. It can be purchased online, ebay, or hair supply stores like Sally’s. I’m pretty sure I haven’t ever seen them at Target or Walmart. But it has been awhile since I looked.

This tool ranks right up there (for me) with a flat iron and blow dryer. I really use this more than any curling irons. On long hair it creates this look.

Portrait of young girl modeling 3-barrel curl hairstyle

Items Needed: brush, comb, hairspray, 3-barrel curling iron, and any accessories.
Time Requirement: 10 minutes

back view of young girl's hair being styled into 3-barrel curl hairstyle on her a-line bob

back view of young girl's hair being styled into 3-barrel curl hairstyle on her a-line bob

side view of young girl's hair being styled into 3-barrel curl hairstyle on her a-line bob

side view of young girl's hair being styled into 3-barrel curl hairstyle on her a-line bob

close up view of young girl's hair being styled into 3-barrel curl hairstyle on her a-line bobside view of young girl's hair being styled into 3-barrel curl hairstyle on her a-line bob

back view of young girl's hair being styled into 3-barrel curl hairstyle on her a-line bob

back view of young girl's hair being styled into 3-barrel curl hairstyle on her a-line bob

back view of young girl's hair being styled into 3-barrel curl hairstyle on her a-line bob

Portrait of young girl's hair being styled into 3-barrel curl hairstyle on her a-line bob

close up view of young girl's hair being styled into 3-barrel curl hairstyle on her a-line bob

back view of young girl modeling 3-barrel curl hairstyle on her a-line bobPortrait of young girl modeling 3-barrel curl hairstyle on her a-line bob

Portrait of young girl modeling 3-barrel curl hairstyle on her a-line bob

side view of young girl modeling 3-barrel curl hairstyle on her a-line bobside view of young girl modeling 3-barrel curl hairstyle on her a-line bobStep-By-Step Instructions:

1.  You start with DRY hair!

2.  Section off the top hair (you will have about three layers total) leaving the bottom hair out. Clip the rest of hair out of the way.

3.  Then beginning on one side gather up a small section of hair and put it into the 3 barrel.

4.  On short hair (as in this shot) you can really only get the curling iron on the hair once before you are out of hair.

***KEY TIP*** While the hair is in 3 barrel add hair spray. If your 3 barrel is good and hot–the hairspray will hiss. This does two things. 1) you know your iron is hot and ready and 2)it helps the curl stay in hair WAY better. I have done it with and without the hairspray and by then end of the day the curls look DRASTICALLY different. So don’t be afraid to use the hairspray. (obviously I do since my iron is caked with years of hairspray–gross, but true).

5.  Continue to curl hair in small sections going around the head from ear to ear.

6.  Because my daughter’s hair is A-lined and very short and stacked in the back, I just do what I can. Some hair is too short to even get into the 3 barrel.

7.  Now take down top hair and part again leaving about 1/2 down. Pin the top 1/2 up again.

8.  Begin to curl hair in small sections. Your hair will now look like this.

**TIP**I promise that when you get to point you will think it looks like your daughter stuck her finger in a light socket. EVERY time I do this short hair style I think that. DO NOT freak out! It is normal, and by the end will look much calmer. Trust me!

9.  Now take down the very top layer. Break into small sections and curl. You can see in this picture that my daughters hair (because it is cut into an A-line style) is much longer on top. On longer hair you will apply the 3 barrel near the root of hair, apply hairspray, leave till hot, then move 3 barrel down the hair strand and apply again. Get it? Basically use a 3 barrel like a crimper. You have to curl then move down the hair, curl, move down the hair etc…

10.  Continue to curl till all hair is done.

11.  Now comes the magic…add some cute accessory in hair. I love the flowers personally, but bows or clips would work too.

**ADDED BONUS** This works so well I often can keep this hair style for 2-3 days by only re-curling the top layer!

If you would like to see your own photo recreations of this hairstyle featured in our app, feel free to tag your photos on IG with: #CGHAlineBobCurly

Happy Hairdoing!

Mindy McKnight's digital signature

* Note from Mindy: Don’t forget to follow us on BlogLovin, a new easy-to-use blog reader!

Share this post

Comments

  1. Can you do a tutorial on how to do tight curls with rollers for (medium length ) hair because I’m in the Nutcracker Ballet and my part is a Party Girl and I had hair to my bottom and my mom chopped it to an inch under my shoulders she wouldn’t have to roll so much hair:( Please Help!

  2. Does anyone have any tips on keeping curls in? I have curled my daughters hair with a curling iron and done day after do’s, even left them in for a couple days and by mid-day her hair is flat! Does anyone have any tips? I have tried hairspray and curl enhancing spray but nothing seems to work for holding a curl in this girls hair. My other daughter is completely opposite, holds a curl almost all day. It’s really strange. Incidentally, the one who’s hair wont stay curled is the one who always wants it curled. 🙁

  3. haha… she looks really happy. I love the way it looks on long hair it look really cute! where do i can get one of those? i really want one…

  4. Hi mindy what brand 3 barrell iron do u have? I have a conair which doesnt seem to work very well…can you suggest a good brand name? Thanks! P.s. your a hair goddess!!!!!

  5. I love your website and all of the cute ideas. I was wondering if in this hairstyle you can use either a normal curling iron (and if so, what size?) or a 3-barrel crimmper? Thanks for all you do!

  6. Here are a few differant ways to clean a curling iron I have only used the frist two but I think the others will work

    Unplug the curling iron and allow it to completely cool before attempting to clean the hairspray from the curling iron.

    Get a rag slightly damp and gently wipe the curling iron with the rag. This will remove any new hairspray residue that has become stuck to the curling iron.

    Apply a small amount of rubbing alcohol onto your rag and wipe the curling iron with it to get rid of more stubborn hairspray residue.

    Gently rub the curling iron with your rag that has a small amount of ammonia on it, if none of the other attempts has gotten rid of the hairspray.

    Use a cotton ball with nail polish remover containing acetone on it to try another attempt to remove the stubborn hairspray residue.

    Spray a small amount of oven cleaner onto your rag. Apply the oven cleaner to the curling iron, rubbing the cleaner into the hairspray residue if none of the previous methods has worked in removing the hairspray.

  7. Is there a specific size of 3 prong iron you used on her hair? I would love to see more posts for short straight hair. I’m definitely going to try a couple of these this weekend!

  8. A good technique to take that stuff of the iron is alcohol/ nail polish remover. It works, just make the sure the iron is totally cool and alcohol is totally tried before turning the iron on again

  9. Her hair is really nice, but I really think that she´s to young to used a iron. You dont need a iron to get the wavy look in her hair, but its your choice and I respect that. It would be better for her hair, if you used a heat-protection product, because the iron could cost her hair heat damage!

    Btw your the most creative mam, with your daughters hair on Youtube.

  10. Im a cosmetologist and at work to clean our hot tools, like curling irons, 3 prong irons, marcels, ect… we make a paste out of the baking soda and water, to a tooth paste consistency and coat the tool with it. Let it sit for a while and rinse off with water. Also to keep from getting to that point again use a steel wool, a very fine grit, while to tool is still cooling down and it will clean it right off!

  11. I bought a three barrel at Walmart for $15 because of this post and did my daughter’s hair similarly with a cute orange (her fav color) in her hair for beach pictures! Turned out fabulous! I will keep on watching for short hair posts, thanks for adding more!

  12. I use the same hot iron cleaner that I use on my clothes iron. It’s a tiny tube I buy at Bed Bath & Beyond to get gunk off. Works like a charm, and it’s very simple.

  13. New to your website and love it. My hairstylist advised me to turn my hot tools curling iron on and use hair conditioner and a toothbrush to clean it. This works great!

  14. I found your site several years ago and I LOVE it! Your styles are cute, easy and don’t take hours to do. As for cleaning you iron I use an S.O.S. pad. They work great and have never scratched or damaged my irons in any way.

  15. I'm just discovering this blog and love it.

    Also, I got something at Jo-Ann called hot iron cleaner. And it worked awesome on my iron… thought I'd have to buy a new one because it was ruining my clothes. And now, the plate looks like new! Bet it would work on a hair iron also.

  16. Hi! I'm new to your blog, but I LOVE IT!! I've had a couple of others that I've looked at, but these are cute and don't take hours to do! My 2 and 4 year olds don't sit that long. 🙂 So thanks! Adding baking soda to warm water works pretty well to remove the hairspray gunk, too. Baking soda is pretty easy on things, so it wouldn't ruin your triple barrel! Thanks for all your work on this blog! Amazing!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *