...who had a little curl...
November 16, 2010 11:17 AM Subscribe
I've got naturally curly (bordering on frizzy) shoulder-length hair that I generally don't style at all...I just wash and go. But now I'm thinking about getting some hot rollers.
I've had some pinup-style pictures taken over the past few years where the stylist used hot rollers to give me a different look. I know pretty much nothing about styling my own hair, but it seems to take it pretty well. I'm looking for specific product recommendations for hot rollers and/or specific styling tips. I've seen some videos out there, but none of them make sense to me. I love that I can be lazy with my hair, but I'm ready for a change!
I've had some pinup-style pictures taken over the past few years where the stylist used hot rollers to give me a different look. I know pretty much nothing about styling my own hair, but it seems to take it pretty well. I'm looking for specific product recommendations for hot rollers and/or specific styling tips. I've seen some videos out there, but none of them make sense to me. I love that I can be lazy with my hair, but I'm ready for a change!
I'm going to recommend a livejournal community. I realize that it's kind of strange recommendation, but I really think you'll benefit from the site.
In case you don't want to look through the posts [though they're tagged pretty well] What you're looking for is called a setting pattern, so you can google that better. [here's the link for all posts in the community with that tag] It's a guide to where you're supposed to put the curlers, and which direction you need to roll them in order to achieve the desired results. You might also want to look into getting some setting lotion. It allows for you to set your hair without washing it first. It normally shaves an hour or two off your set time.
Sorry, I don't have any specific recommendations for hot rollers, but I hope that helped.
posted by shesaysgo at 2:05 PM on November 16, 2010
In case you don't want to look through the posts [though they're tagged pretty well] What you're looking for is called a setting pattern, so you can google that better. [here's the link for all posts in the community with that tag] It's a guide to where you're supposed to put the curlers, and which direction you need to roll them in order to achieve the desired results. You might also want to look into getting some setting lotion. It allows for you to set your hair without washing it first. It normally shaves an hour or two off your set time.
Sorry, I don't have any specific recommendations for hot rollers, but I hope that helped.
posted by shesaysgo at 2:05 PM on November 16, 2010
My hair is very similar to yours - similar color right now, actually - and I use two products and one device:
#1 is Paul Mitchell Round Trip. It is a miracle worker.
#2 is a defrizzer. Mix 'em right together in your han.
Then blow dry with a diffuser. My diffuser was $5 at one of those strip-mall beauty shops, and it has some spring mechanism that lets it fit over the pointy end of my 10 year-old drugstore hairdryer. It still barely takes any time. (Also, I'm a once a week washer - my hair gets way too dry and frizzy otherwise. Major time-saver.)
posted by cobaltnine at 4:15 PM on November 16, 2010
#1 is Paul Mitchell Round Trip. It is a miracle worker.
#2 is a defrizzer. Mix 'em right together in your han.
Then blow dry with a diffuser. My diffuser was $5 at one of those strip-mall beauty shops, and it has some spring mechanism that lets it fit over the pointy end of my 10 year-old drugstore hairdryer. It still barely takes any time. (Also, I'm a once a week washer - my hair gets way too dry and frizzy otherwise. Major time-saver.)
posted by cobaltnine at 4:15 PM on November 16, 2010
I don't want to derail your thread too much since I know nothing about hot rollers, but I wanted to recommend the "CG" method for your curly hair, if you haven't heard of it before! You might even be able to get the vintage look without rollers.
Here's a good overview:
http://dormroomcurly.blogspot.com/2008/12/style-definitions-table.html
And here is a thread with before and after pictures:
http://www.naturallycurly.com/curltalk/showthread.php?t=47609
posted by astrid at 4:58 PM on November 16, 2010
Here's a good overview:
http://dormroomcurly.blogspot.com/2008/12/style-definitions-table.html
And here is a thread with before and after pictures:
http://www.naturallycurly.com/curltalk/showthread.php?t=47609
posted by astrid at 4:58 PM on November 16, 2010
i have very thick, curly and frizzy hair. it's my experience that hot rollers (or any other hot styling process) tend to break my hair with regular use, causing it to frizz further. i don't personally recommend using heat at all to style or dry curly hair.
i don't put any product on my hair. really! i used to use some silicone-based products, but then i switched to a salon-type shampoo and conditioner rather than the cheap drugstore kind i'd always used. it made a world of difference.
to style my hair, i twist and/or twirl it tightly while it's wet and leave it hanging in rope-like curls. once it dries, i separate the curls a little and i'm done, with a head full of perfect curls. ymmv, of course, depending on the texture and thickness of your hair.
posted by woodvine at 6:47 PM on November 16, 2010
i don't put any product on my hair. really! i used to use some silicone-based products, but then i switched to a salon-type shampoo and conditioner rather than the cheap drugstore kind i'd always used. it made a world of difference.
to style my hair, i twist and/or twirl it tightly while it's wet and leave it hanging in rope-like curls. once it dries, i separate the curls a little and i'm done, with a head full of perfect curls. ymmv, of course, depending on the texture and thickness of your hair.
posted by woodvine at 6:47 PM on November 16, 2010
Curly hair here.
I've spent the past 20 years trying to perfect the art of creating the perfect curl and I'd be more than happy to share my discoveries.
Looking at your first photo, I'm willing to bet that you can achieve the look you want without curlers (and less work!). All curlers are really doing is bunching your strands of curly hair together so they all curl uniformly into just a few select curls. You can do this without hair curlers.
Here are some tips:
1) Do *not* comb your hair when it's dry, that will just separates all the curls into individual strands. Your hair will naturally curl into beautiful locks as it dries, so do all the combing when it's wet. You'll get best results if you use a wide-tooth comb (or even use your fingers to comb) because you'll less likely be breaking up the curls.
2) Do not blow dry your hair on high setting! You'll just blast your curls apart. Blow dry on low setting and high heat. Use a diffuser attachment on your blow dryer as someone else suggested above.
3) When your hair is still wet, after combing, use an anti-frizz serum or stay-in conditioner to 1)control the frizz, 2)weigh down your hair, and 3) promote locks. Some people above have listed some good suggestions for products, and I personally use Redkin's 07 Formula. Work the product *all* throughout your hair, in all the layers, and especially at the tips. Curls will always unravel at the tips first, so make sure the tips get enough product by pinching the tips with your fingers.
Those are the basics, and they will get you some nice curly locks in your hair. However, if you want to go the extra mile here are some additional tips.
- If your hair is still extra frizzy even with product, use additional rinse-out conditioner in the shower. Since curly hair tends to be dryer than straight hair, stick to shampoos and conditioners with moisturizing components. Virtually all cheap shampoos and conditioners contain alcohol, which will naturally dry out your hair, making it frizzy. If you don't mind spending a little extra money, you can avoid all this by getting more expensive, salon shampoos, which are usually water-based, and not alcohol-based. If you prefer not to spend the extra cash, then just stick with moisturizing shampoos.
- Do not use hair gels or hair spray. Yes, they will make your curls stick together, but it will make your hair hard and stiff. Your goal is to get a natural, touchable, soft curly hair look, but this can only be achieved with a loose sticky agent, like conditioner or conditioner gel mix.
- Hair dye will damage your hair, but hey, sometimes we just need to dye our hair. To reduce the frizz caused by hair dying, use shampoo made for dyed hair, and avoid blow drying your hair on high heat. High heat will not only frizz dyed hair more, it will actually lighten the color of your hair dye. And shampoo made for dyed hair will not only prevent frizz, but it will also make your hair color last A LOT longer.
Good luck, and may the curl be with you.
posted by nikkorizz at 7:21 PM on November 16, 2010 [1 favorite]
I've spent the past 20 years trying to perfect the art of creating the perfect curl and I'd be more than happy to share my discoveries.
Looking at your first photo, I'm willing to bet that you can achieve the look you want without curlers (and less work!). All curlers are really doing is bunching your strands of curly hair together so they all curl uniformly into just a few select curls. You can do this without hair curlers.
Here are some tips:
1) Do *not* comb your hair when it's dry, that will just separates all the curls into individual strands. Your hair will naturally curl into beautiful locks as it dries, so do all the combing when it's wet. You'll get best results if you use a wide-tooth comb (or even use your fingers to comb) because you'll less likely be breaking up the curls.
2) Do not blow dry your hair on high setting! You'll just blast your curls apart. Blow dry on low setting and high heat. Use a diffuser attachment on your blow dryer as someone else suggested above.
3) When your hair is still wet, after combing, use an anti-frizz serum or stay-in conditioner to 1)control the frizz, 2)weigh down your hair, and 3) promote locks. Some people above have listed some good suggestions for products, and I personally use Redkin's 07 Formula. Work the product *all* throughout your hair, in all the layers, and especially at the tips. Curls will always unravel at the tips first, so make sure the tips get enough product by pinching the tips with your fingers.
Those are the basics, and they will get you some nice curly locks in your hair. However, if you want to go the extra mile here are some additional tips.
- If your hair is still extra frizzy even with product, use additional rinse-out conditioner in the shower. Since curly hair tends to be dryer than straight hair, stick to shampoos and conditioners with moisturizing components. Virtually all cheap shampoos and conditioners contain alcohol, which will naturally dry out your hair, making it frizzy. If you don't mind spending a little extra money, you can avoid all this by getting more expensive, salon shampoos, which are usually water-based, and not alcohol-based. If you prefer not to spend the extra cash, then just stick with moisturizing shampoos.
- Do not use hair gels or hair spray. Yes, they will make your curls stick together, but it will make your hair hard and stiff. Your goal is to get a natural, touchable, soft curly hair look, but this can only be achieved with a loose sticky agent, like conditioner or conditioner gel mix.
- Hair dye will damage your hair, but hey, sometimes we just need to dye our hair. To reduce the frizz caused by hair dying, use shampoo made for dyed hair, and avoid blow drying your hair on high heat. High heat will not only frizz dyed hair more, it will actually lighten the color of your hair dye. And shampoo made for dyed hair will not only prevent frizz, but it will also make your hair color last A LOT longer.
Good luck, and may the curl be with you.
posted by nikkorizz at 7:21 PM on November 16, 2010 [1 favorite]
Yes yes yes to checking out Naturally Curly. Have a peek at Live Curly, Live Free, too.
I just wanted to add a note about alcohols in case you're looking to avoid them in your products. There are a couple of different kinds commonly used in hair products. Short-chain alcohols are the ones that dry out your hair, and include:
Alcohol denat
Ethanol
Isopropanol
Isopropyl alcohol
Propanol
Propyl alcohol
SD alcohol
SD alcohol 40
Fatty alcohols act as emollients, and help to moisturize your hair:
Behenyl alcohol
C30-50 alcohols
Cetearyl alcohol
Cetyl alcohol
Isocetyl alcohol
Isostearyl alcohol
Lanolin alcohol
Lauryl alcohol
Myristyl alcohol
Stearyl alcohol
(Info from Tiffany Anderson, owner of the Live Curly, Live Free site.)
posted by moira at 9:03 PM on November 16, 2010
I just wanted to add a note about alcohols in case you're looking to avoid them in your products. There are a couple of different kinds commonly used in hair products. Short-chain alcohols are the ones that dry out your hair, and include:
Alcohol denat
Ethanol
Isopropanol
Isopropyl alcohol
Propanol
Propyl alcohol
SD alcohol
SD alcohol 40
Fatty alcohols act as emollients, and help to moisturize your hair:
Behenyl alcohol
C30-50 alcohols
Cetearyl alcohol
Cetyl alcohol
Isocetyl alcohol
Isostearyl alcohol
Lanolin alcohol
Lauryl alcohol
Myristyl alcohol
Stearyl alcohol
(Info from Tiffany Anderson, owner of the Live Curly, Live Free site.)
posted by moira at 9:03 PM on November 16, 2010
Response by poster: Thanks, all! Some good links here. I'm not looking for an "everyday" sort of thing, and I generally never blow dry or heat style my hair. The only product I ever use is a little natural leave-in conditioner, and maybe some Anti-Frizz Serum if I want corkscrew curls. I'm just getting a little bored, and looking to do something different and vintage-inspired for a night out or every now-and-then.
posted by JoanArkham at 7:01 AM on November 17, 2010
posted by JoanArkham at 7:01 AM on November 17, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by wwartorff at 11:48 AM on November 16, 2010