How to reinvent the beach wave? An unrivalled perennial classic, it’s a hairstyle that looks good on everyone. But “Scandi” waves just entered the chat, and they’re here to shake the classic look up. “The Scandi wave is not too perfect or constructed,” explains hairstylist and BaByliss brand ambassador, Syd Hayes, of the trend. “It’s about creating gentle, flatter waves in areas around the face, and in random sections of the hair.”
A modern (and much cooler) evolution of the crimped hair we all loved so much in the ’90s, Scandi waves are a much looser iteration of the classic beach wave, and are more effortless, polished and bohemian in their aesthetic.
In fact, they aren’t far removed from the Botticelli (or pre-Raphaelite) waves that were all over the red carpet at the Met Gala 2022, where everyone from Kaia Gerber and Sophie Turner to Hoyeon Jung and Olivia Rodrigo sported their take on long, soft Venus-esque tendrils. “In general, hair trends have moved away from the polished look and now it’s all about a loose and undone texture,” says Hayes. “The easiest and quickest way to create Scandi waves are with the BaByliss Cordless Waver – it creates the perfect summer curl.”
The Waver is so easy to use that it requires zero expertise to nail the perfect wave. All you have to do is take hair in sections (around two inches wide by one inch deep) and squeeze the tool on the section, hold for a few seconds and move down the hair for defined kinks. Another route is to try plaiting your hair when it’s damp, sleep in it overnight, and then use some texturising spray to muss it up come morning – but admittedly the latter is a more labour intensive process.
Hayes has some tips on how to make the waves work for you: “It’s all about where you start the wave, and where the kinks and bends sit, but it works for any length of hair,” he says. “In longer hair, you can start nearer the top or crown of the hair and work your way down, creating larger kinks throughout. With shorter locks, I would recommend starting at the eye line or lower to create texture in the bottom lengths and layers of the hair, rather than creating too much body at the top.”
Another of his top tips is to avoid clamping the tool at the same height on each section of hair: “Ensure the bends start and finish at different points, so you don’t create one large bend in the hair,” he says. As with most undone waves, the less uniformity, the better. And to finish? Mist a texture spray through mid-lengths and ends to add body, definition and movement. And voila, a hairstyle fit for the beach – or wherever you find yourself this summer.
