The first step is:

Making sure that you have a gel, preferably a mouse or styling gel that is designed to work with hair curling irons. It is important that before you apply this gel that your hair is already completely dry. Wet hair will add frizz and not allow you to get proper curls.

The second step is:

Make sure your hair is divided into different sections this means clipping your hair. Make sure that you untangle your hair prior to using the curling iron this is one of the key factors in the difference in the amount of time it will take you to curl your hair with a curling iron. Use a hairspray to hold the hair in place so it stays shaped.

The third step is to:

Take your hair in your hand and start with the bottom and work your way up, if you want spiral curls you can achieve this by twisting your hair into smaller curls. For larger curls it is simple just use the iron and curl larger sections of your hair.

The forth step is to:

Use the curling iron by opening it up and putting in the hair that you want to curl. It is important that you have proper contact between your hair and the curling iron in order for you to get nice curls

The fifth step is to:

Use the curling iron and move it up and down slowly holding it for about fifteen to twenty seconds on the section that you are curling

The sixth step is to:

After you have curled the hair open the iron and remove the section of hair that you have been curling, it is important to not over do this as over curling can lead to damaged hair.

The seventh and Final step is to:

Using your fingers gently style the hair into the shape that you want making sure that you shake it gently. And at this time you must use an aerosol spray to gently mist the curls and keep them in place

The  next thing you are going to want to keep in mind is what type of curls are you looking for? Every iron will curl your hair in a different way. In order to understand what types of curls you will get from your iron it is important to look at the length and thickness of the barrel of the hair curling iron. The size of the barrel will change the size of your curls so it is important to understand this and try out different models to get a feel for what you need.

As a general rule the larger the size of the barrel of the hair curling iron the larger the curl you will get when curling your hair with a curling iron. The same obviously applies for smaller curls or shorter hair you will need a shorter barrel on your iron.  Finally last but not least your going to want to look at the quality of the iron itself, what type of material is it made from. There are several different types of materials that hair curling irons are made from but mainly they are either ceramic or metal. The ceramic irons are the most popular they are said to be better at not damaging your hair with daily usage. They help to seal the moisture into your hair thus preventing damage to your hair. Metal irons use steam to achieve hair curling so these irons are better for people that have very thin hair and are not recommended to be used on a daily basis, every other day is fine. There is also a brush style of hair curling iron and these are good for women with less thick hair fand they are recommended for daily usage.