How I Create "Old Hollywood" Hair with Pin Curls

I know all the tricks ... use a large, round brush, section off hair, use a high-wattage blow dryer with a nozzle, yada, yada, yada. Still, all of my efforts to create high-volume hair always fall flat. Sound familiar? Well, I finally found a solution. My latest go-to styling method obsession for creating a DIY professional-looking blow out: pin curls. That's right, the technique Hollywood starlets used in the '40s and '50s.

Not only do I love pin curls because you get soft, tousled waves and volume, but they're also 3, 2, 1 simple. Here's how I do it:

Step 1: Start from the top of your head and create two-inch sections (the smaller the section, the tighter the curl). Then use a big, round brush to dry hair as normal. While your hair is still hot, wrap it tightly around your pointer and middle finger.

Step 2: Use large duckbill clips to hold the coil in place. These long, metal clips are like the Louboutins of hair clips -- they really keep your pin curls in place.

Step 3: Continue until your entire head is dried and pin curled. Lightly spritz hairspray over your whole head.

Step 4: If you do this in the a.m., finish by blow drying your pin curls on a cool setting or allow them to cool while you're doing your makeup. But, for extra oomph, I like to do this at night and sleep with my hair in the pin curls. When you take them out come morning, lightly fingercomb or brush your hair to gently loosen and soften your waves.

The bonus with pin curls? Less damage to your hair compared to using hot tools, like a curling iron -- and less damage to my bank account. Just think of all the money I'm saving on salon blow outs. More moolah for shoes!