Do it Yourself Hair?

[Tybee]

Wow,

I am so inspired by Curlygirl''s beautiful tresses. I''ve been trying to figure out what to do with my own mane of dark hair.
My hair is long and dark, and I prefer it down (something about having a larger nose--don''t like it up so much.)
My hair is stick straight but I''d like to add some curl to the ends for my wedding day.

Does anyone out there curl their own hair? Do you use hot rollers, curling iron, what? Honestly, all my life, I''ve never curled my hair!

Tybee

 

[Lorelei]

Tybee, if you have long heavy hair it might be best to have a pro curl it for you as hair like yours can drop very quickly and be difficult for you to do. Hot rollers normally give the longest lasting results if you DIY. It is best to get the hair to hold a curl to shampoo it the night before and use very little conditioner as this helps the hair be easier to handle and the curls will last longer. Of course a pro could always do the old fashioned method which lasts best of all - a good old shampoo and set! Have a chat to your stylist and see what she thinks, she could add some long layers on the ends of your hair as this removes some weight and helps hair curl better.

If you want to have a go with tongs, make sure your hair is bone dry and not freshly washed. Heat the tongs well and give your hair a spritz of lacquer as this helps the hold. Section hair using clips and work from the nape of the neck upwards. Wrap hair around tongs, hold for a count of 10 then release without disturbing the curl. Continue all over your head, when finished allow the tonged curls to cool, then gently break them up with your fingers to get the look you want. Avoid brushing as you will loose the curl and make the hair drop. The same applies with hot rollers too. Of course you could consider a very light perm, but these can take ages to grow out and dry out the hair, big decision to have one of these and then it is a pain if you want your hair straight again.

Hope this helps a bit.

 

[Tybee]

Lorelei,

Thanks so much for the advice!
Since we''re having a destination wedding, I wasn''t sure about having a professional do it.
I''d hate to have a stranger do it for my wedding day!

My hair is long and straight because I have had it professionally straightened (my hair isn''t naturally curly, though, just naturally BIG and FRIZZY,) so perming is OUT for me, I just wanted curly ends for the wedding. (I''ve lived my whole life with frizzy hair--it''s funny to me that I actually want to put some curl in it after trying to get it straight for so long.) The straightening is the best thing that''s ever happened to me, but now I''m thinking that it might just be too straight!

I think that I''m most interested in trying out the hot rollers, thanks so much for the advice--- !

 

[Lorelei]

No problem! Hot rollers would probably be easiest. Section your hair as described in my last post and roll them right up to the roots which will help the curl. Let the rollers cool completely before carefully removing them and leave the curls to settle for a while before fingering them into place. Then some hairspray will help to hold them in.

 

[Tybee]

sweet!
I can''t wait to try!
Thanks again!!

 

[snow_happy]

Hi tybee

My hair is stubbornly straight and this is what I''ve tried:

With hair that is already dry and been washed many hours ago
Hair spray a section and wrap it in a hot roller
hair spray the hot roller again
Wrap each section in a different direction
Leave in for 40 minutes or so
Hair spray after taking out.

This and only this (the mad amounts of hairspray) has made curls stay in my hair for more than a few hours.

My hairstylist told me to try this too:
Wash hair and put mousse in it
Wrap sections in hot rollers in different directions
After taking out rollers, spray hair with hair spray

Not sure how this will apply to straight hair permed hair though because I know when I straight permed my hair it behaved differently that my normal straight hair.

Good luck!

 

[Lorelei]

Good point with the mousse. I don''t normally use it as it makes my hair too sticky, but that is exactly what you want for curls, give it a try!

 

[curlygirl]

Tybee, I''m so glad my wedding hair provided inspiration!! Trust me, I don''t look like that every day--I wish my hair could always perform so well!!!

So here''s my story. I have super curly/frizzy hair that I blow out and I generally only wash it once a week because it''s super thick and doesn''t really get greasy till about day 5! I know it sounds gross but my hair doesn''t look it''s best until I''ve slept on it for a few days!!!

My wedding was on a Saturday so I washed and blew out my hair that Thursday. My hair person worked wonders and I''m still trying to figure out exactly what she did but I will tell you that it''s a combination of Lorelei''s and Snow Happy''s suggestions! She sprayed small sections and wrapped them in rollers--not hot rollers, just regular ones. That was mostly for the hair on the top and around my face. For the bottom/back of my head, I think I mentioned that she used extensions because when my hair curls, it kind of shrinks up and I wanted a really long, dramatic, romantic look. So she sprayed sections of my real hair and the extensions and used either a curling iron or a flat iron to make the flowing wavy curls. I honestly don''t remember which one she used and looking back at my photos during the transformation process, I can''t really tell! I think it was a thin flat iron--like one of those 1" sticks. But the key to the whole thing was the hair spray. She used TONS of it. And it was nothing special, just some crappy aerosol kind like Aqua Net! It was raining that day so I needed a lot of help to make sure I didn''t frizz out and I think that spray did the trick!

Lorelei was spot on when she said not to use a brush, you''ll totally lose the curl. By using either the rollers or the iron, make a tight curl and after your hair cools, use only your fingers to kind of pull it out so it''s more of a loose flowing curl.

Try it on your own now to see if you get the results you want! If not, I know you''re having a destination wedding but will you be there early enough to maybe go for a hair trial with someone there? I know it''s hard to take the chance on the day of the wedding but if you can''t achieve the look on your own, perhaps you''ll be able to find someone there who can help out.

Keep us posted!

 

[BrightSpot]

Tybee, I''m having the same DW wedding hair stress that you are. (Not wanting to trust my hair to a stranger on my wedding day.) I''m planning to roll my hair like Lorelai & snow_happy suggested, then put it up. (I''ve done this for recitals & plays in the past so it should turn out ok as long as the heat & humidity don''t sabotage the look..

.)

I asked my hairstylist for a product recommendation for the tropics & she suggested that I spray hair spray on my hair before & after I curl it. Apparently, like curlygirl said, it''s all about the hair spray.

I just hope the hot rollers don''t take up too much space in my suitcase!

Maybe you can do a few hair trials before your wedding to get the hang of it. Fortunately, you should have some hot & humid weather at home before you head to St. John''s so you can see how your hair responds to the elements.

 

[monarch64]

I have long straight brunette hair as well, and I''ve used hot rollers forever. My hair is fine but there''s a lot of it (or so my hairdresser tells me), so what works best for me is hot rolling it immediately after blowing it out. I have some thermal spray stuff (heat activated) from Biolage that works really well if you spray it each section before you roll it. After I have my whole head done, I spray heavily with aerosol hairspray. (Aerosol covers more evenly and I don''t end up with the crunchy look a pump sometimes gives). If you want the curl to stay "curly" more than "wavey" after you''ve taken out the rollers you can follow up with a curling iron. I would say just skip the rollers and use the iron, but I find that the rollers give my hair the body it needs at the roots and it takes too long to do all my hair with a curling iron anyway.

Don''t forget the shine spray after your final coat of hairspray--I use Rusk shine spray (don''t get too crazy though) and it really brings out the highlights in my hair.