foam curlers tips for success?

[EvelynMay]

I'm going to be in a wedding coming up here soon, and thankfully the bride is very open about hairstyles and we get to do our own hair! I'm going to be experimenting to see if I can get my hair curled and pretty with the use of foam rollers. I used foam rollers wayyyyyyyy back in the day and would put them in before bed and wake up and had tight curls that held throughout the day without any product. I want to achieve looser curls for this, so I've bought larger foam curls. I've procrastinated in experimenting to see how this works with my hair of being an adult now. What is the best way to go out about it? Is sleeping in them the only way to ensure a curl that will hold? It just seems that sleeping on them could cause one side to be uneven as I am a side sleeper... I used smaller curlers when I was younger and it seems they would hold it better when sleeping since it'd be a tighter curl... I know that both sides can't and don't need to be completely the same, but I don't want one side culrly and the other side not because I slept on that side and had it all falling out or mussed up! I'd totally do it the day of the wedding to avoid sleeping on it it if I was a later evening wedding... but alas, it is actually early afternoon, I have to be there before in the late morning for pictures... so at best I could get up 3 hours before and have them in for that long. Think if I did that and applied heat using a hair dryer periodically throughout those 3 hours that I could create nice loose curls ? Or does it have to be overnight? I'm wanting to try something the next 3 weekends, so I have a little bit of time for tweaking... but not a lot! I'm mostly a newb at this, i usually just let my hair dry and be straight. Haven't really "done" my hair since high school! I don't use product and want to try to avoid it. Willing to use heat from a hair dryer for like a minute or so at a time on dry hair in curlers. Hair is not thick or thin, but medium. Down to waist. Layered. With that information, what do you think I should try doing this weekend that will likely be most successful? I probably shouldn't have waited this close to the wedding to start trying... oops :(

[Madora]

It has been a while since I did the foam roller thing. Yes, larger diameter rollers will yield looser curls.

However, it would be best to curl the hair the day before the event by spritzing the hair with a little water, then rolling them up a little.

As far as keeping the sides somewhat alike with curls. What I did was this:

1) detangle all hair gently
2) Make center part
3) Braid each section half way down
4) Take remaining tassel and divide it into how ever many sections you want to roll
5) Roll up the hair in the curler 3 or 4 times. The hair in the curler should not be thick! You want the air to get to it so it will dry properly
6) Use a scrunchie to hold the roller in place so it doesn't come off when you're sleeping.

Next morning, gently unroll each curler...slowly. Take a wide tooth comb, and starting at the bottom, gently comb out the curl.
If you just want to let the curl be, fine!

Curl hold: when I did this, no matter how thinly I rolled the curlers, the curls never lasted more than 2 days. I always combed out the curls.

If it is hold you wish, then you're going to have to use some sort of liquid hold on the hair in the curler

heat: I'd avoid it...completely. Good luck!