no heat curls issues...

[EvelynMay]

a couple months ago I came hear inquiring about how I could style my waist length hair for a wedding without using a salon or damaging products. I went ahead and bought large foam rollers and intended to wear them one night for a test run. Well... I put them in my hair and there was NO way I was going to be able to sleep in them... I don't understand how people do? very uncomfortable :( Maybe the smaller ones are less annoying? I need to be able to sleep well at night... I have school, and not to mention I want to be well rested for my sister's wedding pictures as I am a bridesmaid! So, I took them out and was discouraged. Then I stumbled across a tutorial about headband curls... I'm betting many of you had have heard of them before, I hadn't! Where you wear a soft headband across your forehead and weave the hair around the headband and sleep in it for curls. So, really excited, I tried it. Bought cloth headbands and practiced a couple times weaving it. Last night was the test run, I even had done it once and felt it was too loose and falling out so I took it out and redid it tighter and used a couple tiny clips in the back to keep it from becoming too loose. I was really excited, it was really comfortable! Couldn't eve feel it was on. I woke up today and waited another hour to make sure my hair had been that way for a total of 9 hours. And, by the way, the hair stayed nicely all night long and had barely budged! That was my only worry, and since it hadn't been an issue I assumed that it had worked really well...

well... so I took it out and was at first was like "It didn't do AYNYTHING." And was really upset. But that was mainly because it wasn't what I expected at all. I knew it wouldn't be curled all the way up my head and I knew it probably wouldn't even ben curled all the way up to where the headband sat, but I thought for sure it would be curled at least from my chin down... and it wasn't. Basically, only the last like 3 inches of my hair has some curl... and it's not really what I would call a curl, but rather a wave. But, it if it had been this wavy all the way up to my chin I would have been fine with that instead of it being overly curly! But it's not. Wearing my hair down all on one side in front of me helps a little, and thankfully that was what I was planning to do with my hair anyway because I wanted the pretty sleeves on my dress to be able to be seen at least on one side. But... I don't know. I'm kind of disappointed. THe test of today will be to see how long it lasts at least. But whats the deal?! Would foam rollers really work all that better, or probably similar ? I don't want to have trouble sleeping and be uncomfortable for similiar results. Unfortunately the wedding is in the late morning , otherwise I'd consider wearing foam rollers all day before going to an evening wedding. But no time. Maybe the day after next shower I should try putting in foam rollers for just an hour or 2 and applying some brief gentle heat from a hair dryer periodically? Is that worth trying? I only have a few more showers left to experiment with this before the wedding... I really thought this would work so I've been lazy about trying things. So theres my saga! Help :(

see post 27 :D

[allierat]

Large foam rollers will only give you body and movement in your hair, not a proper curl. I've never had any problem sleeping in rollers so anything I can suggest with them probably won't work for you from what you have said. The headband thing only ever gave me waves and half my hair falls out anyway. If it's just for one day then personally I would just use heat. If you use heat on rollers then you need to make sure your hair is about 80-90% dry before you put the rollers in, then dry them with heat and leave them some time to cool before taking out but curling tongs might be quicker. Braid waves might be a no heat option for you? I get pretty results if I do several braids and air dry.

[MINAKO]

smaller roller and a hooded dryer wont cause any damage at all if you dont use them every day. I mean its one ocassion, so even if it was the case that you wanted the type of curls you get with a curling iron, i would personally save myself from thrying all that stuff and go for the look i like the most.
Maybe you would want to try sponge curls, its ok for me to sleep in them, but its actually more of a very defined wave instead of a curl.

[Chiaroscuro]

I had a little trouble understanding what type of curl you want, but I have thigh-length, thick, absorbent hair and I have had no problem getting a curl overnight with softspikecurlers. The large size gives a looser spiral, and longer hair also tends to lessen the spiral. http://www.softspikecurlers.com/

hope this helps, and that you enjoy the wedding.

[EvelynMay]

Large foam rollers will only give you body and movement in your hair, not a proper curl. I've never had any problem sleeping in rollers so anything I can suggest with them probably won't work for you from what you have said. The headband thing only ever gave me waves and half my hair falls out anyway. If it's just for one day then personally I would just use heat. If you use heat on rollers then you need to make sure your hair is about 80-90% dry before you put the rollers in, then dry them with heat and leave them some time to cool before taking out but curling tongs might be quicker. Braid waves might be a no heat option for you? I get pretty results if I do several braids and air dry.

the curlers in my hair themselves don't hurt, it's only when I lay on the pillow and I'm actually laying on the curlers instead that kind of hurt. I decided I couldn't wait and put in the foam curlers now and luckily was able to find my hair dryer packed away and applied some low heat on it. I think i'll let it set for an hour and just see where I'm at?


smaller roller and a hooded dryer wont cause any damage at all if you dont use them every day. I mean its one ocassion, so even if it was the case that you wanted the type of curls you get with a curling iron, i would personally save myself from thrying all that stuff and go for the look i like the most.
Maybe you would want to try sponge curls, its ok for me to sleep in them, but its actually more of a very defined wave instead of a curl.

Do you think smaller foam rollers would be better? I just remember being in middle school and using smaller rollers and my hair came out a big poofy mess and I had to wear it up... however, my hair was much shorter than at I'd say shoulder length, so maybe now with waist length it'd work great? The rollers I have now are considered "large."


I had a little trouble understanding what type of curl you want, but I have thigh-length, thick, absorbent hair and I have had no problem getting a curl overnight with softspikecurlers. The large size gives a looser spiral, and longer hair also tends to lessen the spiral. http://www.softspikecurlers.com/

hope this helps, and that you enjoy the wedding.

I didn't have a super specific idea in mind, I just wanted my hair to look nice and like I had "done" it. I just saw in all the youtube tutorials for the headband curl that their hair came out quit curly so I expected the same results. I'm thinking if maybe I put the curlers more on the sides of my head inside of in the back (if that makes sense...) it might be more comfortable to sleep on? Maybe I should try that. But first I want to see what applying hair dryer heat and letting them set for an hour does.

[MINAKO]

i would opt for something between 1-1 1/2inches, anything larger is likely to result in waves and fall out quickly. Also against the poufyness, make sure you use a setting product on damp hair before you start, or a leave in conditioner that has some protein in it but doesnt make hair sticky.
Have you heard about curlformers, i think at waistlength these would still work beautifully.

[EvelynMay]

i would opt for something between 1-1 1/2inches, anything larger is likely to result in waves and fall out quickly. Also against the poufyness, make sure you use a setting product on damp hair before you start, or a leave in conditioner that has some protein in it but doesnt make hair sticky.
Have you heard about curlformers, i think at waistlength these would still work beautifully.

i'll have to see what I can find in the stores, but i'll definitely check into it. I measured my current foam rollers and they are 2 inches. I'm starting to think at the very least I should go out and buy smaller foam rollers... yes? I don't know why but I guess I thought that I needed larger rollers since I have longer hair. I didn't really read that anywhere, I just kind of assumed. I'm thinking i'll have to end up trying sleeping in smaller foam rollers next. I'm so bummed the headband curls didn't work! Seemed so easy and comfortable. And the poofiness back then was more that the tighter curls made me hair much shorter and super curled up nearly horizontal... almost like a clown's wig. It wasn't so much frizz. Just crazy volume... but again, my hair was a lot shorter then at shoulder length. It might be prettier with longer/heavier hair?

[EvelynMay]

well, it's been an hour since I put the large foam rollers in and applied some heat with a hair dryer... and not much came from it. Similar to this morning from the headband curls it curled my ends a bit but nothing more. Would look nice for a normal day, but not for this wedding. Sigh. I will have to learn to sleep in them, I'm going to get smaller ones too. I mean, with longer hair, I can't get too small of rollers, right? Without using heat or styling products, the curl can't be too "small" on me, can it? Well, I guess i'll see. I hate that I procrastinated and now feel a little panicked about finding a way to make my hair look nice.

[allierat]

well, it's been an hour since I put the large foam rollers in and applied some heat with a hair dryer... and not much came from it. Similar to this morning from the headband curls it curled my ends a bit but nothing more.
That's what large rollers do, even if you sleep in them.
Try looking at vintage wet set tutorials on youtube. It sounds like you want something with a bit of wow factor and that might give you what you're after? I've not seen it done on waist length hair but I don't see any reason for it not to work. This method basically gives the tight "clown wig" curls you mentioned but you brush out and style them in a certain way.

[CurlyCap]

The only technique I've ever seen curl hair that doesn't like to curl is rag curls. damp the hair with a spray bottle, install using small sections, and sleep in them.

People say is okay/pretty comfortable, and the curls last all day.

[lapushka]

I honestly don't see how sleeping on "foam" rollers can be uncomfortable. :) Puzzles me.

I think in your case, you may have no other option but to apply heat. :shrug:

[MINAKO]

honestly, of course i see the point of not using heat to often, but once in a while is ok and doesnt hurt my hair at all. I still use flatirons and clipless wands from time to time at rather high heat and have absolutely no issues. Doesnt mean you have to turn up the device to the max. just get a good quality and give it some extra tlc during the next wash.

[rags]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1ZgOhopgL8

[lapushka]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1ZgOhopgL8

This is a good one as well, my favorite in fact!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0NMLSUICp4

[CurlyCap]

Sponge rollers with the plastic frame hurt like hell to sleep in.

The plain foam rollers are okay at best. They make your head lumpy, and don't result in a good curl even after sacrificing your quality of sleep.

[lapushka]

Sponge rollers with the plastic frame hurt like hell to sleep in.

The plain foam rollers are okay at best. They make your head lumpy, and don't result in a good curl even after sacrificing your quality of sleep.

Oh gosh, my mom has these metal ones with the stoppers inside (or whatever that bristle thing is called).
http://www.haarboetiek.be/nl/ksf-metalen-krullers-rollen-12-stuks-21mm-blauw.html
I don't know how she manages, but she sleeps on them. Lucky for her, she only needs to wash 3-weekly to monthly.

[lady mechanic]

Have you tried buns? Sometimes when I want heartless curls I wrap a bunch of tiny sections into ballerina buns (when wet) clip them over cm night so they dry and in the morning take them out and I have curls. I also have pretty short hair though. Anyway there's videos on YouTube on how to do it may be its worth looking into?

[EvelynMay]

the foam is of course comfy, but it's like sleeping on a lumpy pillow! Therefore uncomfortable. But I think if I put the rollers in more on the sides rather than the back then I can sleep on my back and possibly bee more comfortable. Maybe another thing that may help is trying any of these methods damp? I did the headband curls dry mainly because the tutorial said it worked well for her dry and reduced frizz . I think i'll dampen my hair and try smaller foam rollers tomorrow night. See, this is what I get for thinking such a style novice like me would be able to easily do something just because it looked easy in a tutorial... I mean, it WAS easy to do, just wasn't as easy as that to get a good outcome! I usually do nothing with my hair and let it air dry and keep it down and love it like that. I just want it to have a little style for a wedding. I thought for sure it would work and only did a test run to ease my mind completely, and boy I'm glad I did because I would not have been happy if I had waited until the day of! I'm honestly considering getting a curling iron for back up... ugh, lol. I just really want to look nice, but only if trying an overnight with damp hair doesn't work. Do curling irons come with different heat settings like hair dryers do? I haven't owned one since high school. Is there like a warm setting these days on fancy dancy curling irons? I just remember them getting SO hot. I wonder why headband curls seem to work so well for so many but not me? I just can't et get over it! lol. Another thing, was 9 hours maybe not enough? Do most people maybe put them in a few hours before bed rather than right before, and have any overnight type method in their hair for more like 12 hours or more?

[allierat]

the foam is of course comfy, but it's like sleeping on a lumpy pillow! Therefore uncomfortable. But I think if I put the rollers in more on the sides rather than the back then I can sleep on my back and possibly bee more comfortable.
I wouldn't suggest that, the curls will end up not sitting right.
Curling irons usually do come with different heat settings, maybe you could just borrow some?
I've never needed to put any kind of overnight method in for more than 9 hours, even if I'm doing it with dry hair, so I don't think that's the problem with the headband curls.
Further up the thread someone suggested rag rolling to get curls, that works well but if you found the foam rollers uncomfy then you might find that uncomfy too.

[Libbylou]

I could never get the hang of putting my hair in rags, always slipped out. I use these on my longer than waist, not quite hip hair. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMqekBNSEYA. I only use about 6 rollers and get awesome curls. I do have to pin the curlers and wear a sleep cap. I must turn a bit while I sleep. Or could be the fact that the rollers are several years old.

[Allie_snowflake]

This is a good one as well, my favorite in fact!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0NMLSUICp4


I tried this one overnight, with only four braids... And it didn't work too well for me. The curls at the bottom worked out great, but my length was a frizz ball. I used a foam bun form to curl the ends in one bunch. This was only finger combed. Maybe just two braids for me. My hair is a iii down to my shoulders but tapers bad below that.

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5614/15746762051_90d96311ed.jpg (https://www.flickr.com/photos/alliewinter/15746762051/)

[soapyeyes]

There's a few options still. First of all: decide on the diametre of the center of the curl. If you want exteremly tight curls you could definitely do a pin curl set (it can be done on long hair) for which you will need either Bobby pins with no ridges or the small metal clips they sell in Wal-Mart/drug stores. If you do this make sure you wrap your hair up in a silk scarf.
If you want like old Taylor Swift hair you can do rag rollers while coiling. Really tight curls: cut up nylons; Loose curls: long socks. For more Shirley Temple curls roll traditionally from bottom to top.

Neither of these will be as comfortable as a loose braid to sleep in. Also I'm with everyone else that heat damage once in a blue moon is ok.

Also if you wanna use those foam rollers in the future: they can be used to fake a blow out pretty easily. Just put them in when your hair is 90% dry and it won't take too long.

[TrapperCreekD]

I'm not exactly sure what kind of curls you're looking for... maybe something like this?

http://i.imgur.com/zXtYHQx.png

('scuze the wonky ends, that could easily be fixed with a roller). I just damped my hair with some leave conditioner and braided it in two dutch braids - if you wanted looser curls, a single braid work just as well.

[rags]

Trapper, those curls are AWESOME! I get good ones from Dutch braids too; I just put a curler in the ends.

Here is mine (my hair is shorter) from the tutorial I linked. I would definitely advise trying it on damp hair (not wet, but damp). My hair won't hold with some methods when it's dry. :shrug:

http://i665.photobucket.com/albums/vv18/raggsj38/hair%20photos/014500x375.jpg (http://s665.photobucket.com/user/raggsj38/media/hair%20photos/014500x375.jpg.html)

[lapushka]

I tried this one overnight, with only four braids... And it didn't work too well for me. The curls at the bottom worked out great, but my length was a frizz ball. I used a foam bun form to curl the ends in one bunch. This was only finger combed. Maybe just two braids for me. My hair is a iii down to my shoulders but tapers bad below that.

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5614/15746762051_90d96311ed.jpg (https://www.flickr.com/photos/alliewinter/15746762051/)

Maybe coat your fingers in a tiny bit of oil or serum when you take the braids out. You surely didn't comb your braids, did you?

[Allie_snowflake]

Nope. Just finger combed enough to separate the braid strands and that's it. I think the four braids were too thin. Maybe two or even one until my hair is thicker further down.

ETA: Today was wash day and I was a grease ball last night. That might be part of it.

[EvelynMay]

UPDATE: so, I bouhght and tried smaller sponge rollers last night... and holy cows alive, what a difference!! I'm in LOVE!!! I really wasn't expecting much since the headband curls did nothing, so this is awesome! I wasn't even super meticulous about putting them in so that bodes well that I still got great results. Super curly, and all I did was finger comb them a few times and they turned out so delicious. NOw I just hope they turn out similarly for the wedding!! Haha.

So, couple inquiries about this... one, I'm monitoring how long my hair stays this way today ( I used no product) and it's only been a couple hours so far since I woke up late today... but so far, so good. I should try to keep my hair the way I would have it for the wedding, right? Thrown down one side? Do you think it will last like 6 hours without me having used hairspray or ANYTHING? I'm worried about wind since the pictures will be outside BEFORE the wedding. How terrible will wind be to my hair? Maybe it'll be a calm day. Also, the curlers were still pretty uncomfortable to sleep in... sigh. Not just the lumpiness, but I could feel my hair being pulled from the pressure of my head pushing the curlers out against the pillow... if that makes sense. How damaging do you think that is, for my hair to kind of be pulled and stretched all night? I mean, it's one time... well, twice. So I'm still doing it because it's super pretty, but I'm not even a person who puts her hair in pony tails so my hair isn't used to such stress. That was the perk about the headband curls, no stress on my hair at all. Sponge rollers are a little stress. Anyways, highly recommended!!!

[eva888]

UPDATE: so, I bouhght and tried smaller sponge rollers last night... and holy cows alive, what a difference!! I'm in LOVE!!! I really wasn't expecting much since the headband curls did nothing, so this is awesome! I wasn't even super meticulous about putting them in so that bodes well that I still got great results. Super curly, and all I did was finger comb them a few times and they turned out so delicious. NOw I just hope they turn out similarly for the wedding!! Haha.

So, couple inquiries about this... one, I'm monitoring how long my hair stays this way today ( I used no product) and it's only been a couple hours so far since I woke up late today... but so far, so good. I should try to keep my hair the way I would have it for the wedding, right? Thrown down one side? Do you think it will last like 6 hours without me having used hairspray or ANYTHING? I'm worried about wind since the pictures will be outside BEFORE the wedding. How terrible will wind be to my hair? Maybe it'll be a calm day. Also, the curlers were still pretty uncomfortable to sleep in... sigh. Not just the lumpiness, but I could feel my hair being pulled from the pressure of my head pushing the curlers out against the pillow... if that makes sense. How damaging do you think that is, for my hair to kind of be pulled and stretched all night? I mean, it's one time... well, twice. So I'm still doing it because it's super pretty, but I'm not even a person who puts her hair in pony tails so my hair isn't used to such stress. That was the perk about the headband curls, no stress on my hair at all. Sponge rollers are a little stress. Anyways, highly recommended!!!

Glad it worked out!! :) Couldn't you cover your hair with a silk cap when you sleep? Would that be less uncomfortable?

[Brattina88]

I don't have any advice, because I'm learning from this thread as well :) But I wanted to share this tutorial http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsGuWokn47A that I really like, and is been easy for me to sleep on. For me, my issue is it'll turn out nice 4/5 times and then for some reason that 5th time it looks bad. I can't find any rhyme or reason to it lol. Might be all of my thrashing around at night or staying on one side and making that side flat.
What works best for me is dry hair and then dampening it with water and gel right before I do this and then I go to bed, wake up, and ta-da! :p lol

[allierat]

So, couple inquiries about this... one, I'm monitoring how long my hair stays this way today ( I used no product) and it's only been a couple hours so far since I woke up late today... but so far, so good. I should try to keep my hair the way I would have it for the wedding, right? Thrown down one side? Do you think it will last like 6 hours without me having used hairspray or ANYTHING? I'm worried about wind since the pictures will be outside BEFORE the wedding. How terrible will wind be to my hair? Maybe it'll be a calm day. Also, the curlers were still pretty uncomfortable to sleep in... sigh. Not just the lumpiness, but I could feel my hair being pulled from the pressure of my head pushing the curlers out against the pillow... if that makes sense. How damaging do you think that is, for my hair to kind of be pulled and stretched all night? I mean, it's one time... well, twice. So I'm still doing it because it's super pretty, but I'm not even a person who puts her hair in pony tails so my hair isn't used to such stress. That was the perk about the headband curls, no stress on my hair at all. Sponge rollers are a little stress. Anyways, highly recommended!!!

How long your hair will stay curly will depend on your hair type, I have hair that holds reasonably well all day with no product but my daughter has hair that will only hold a curl for about an hour before it returns straight unless a lot of stuff is used. To help hold the curl use a mousse before you put the curlers in and a little bit of hair spray after you have styled the curls if you need the extra hold. I wouldn't think wearing curlers a few times would do any damage to your hair, however it sounds like you might possibly be putting them in too tight, you don't need to have them too tight/close to your scalp. Wearing a silk scarf like someone else suggested might help with the comfort and also keep the curlers in place if you roll them a little looser.

[emilia1992]

Rag curls are the best - they stay all day too. I think there's a tutorial on it - yep, here www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7bjCSteybc
and that explains it well.

[emilia1992]

Oh yeah, and this is what they look like on a longhair. http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=12202&d=1406904336

I just did one giant rag curl for my whole ponytail. This was a good few hours into my day, and I have 'heavy' hair in that my hair likes being straight - so this style is long-lasting! :)

[Beezle]

AlexDig over in Fine, Thin recommends Wrap, Snap n Go curlers which look great on youtube reviews.

[elocin9911]

I've found that the rollers don't work that well for me. There's a method called cocoon curls that I think you should take a look at. Be warned, though-do these near the ends of your hair, unless you want to come out looking like Shirley Temple and loose 10 inches of length. The curls are pretty tight. Oh, and only do them on dry hair, for about an hour or so. It holds a curl really well, and with no hairspray! Good luck!

[FallingDarkness]

I found that putting slightly damp hair in a braided cinnabun works really well for loose curls. But that's just me, and I didn't even intend for it to happen lol

[jupiterinleo]

I used some soft bendy foam rollers I got at Sally Beauty Supply for a wedding and my hair came out extremely well. I used 4, 2 on each side, sprayed lightly with a water/conditioner mix to help them "set" a little and slept in them, keeping them in for a good 14 hours or so. The result was fairly loose, defined spiral waves. I found that every other method I tried made really weird-looking curls (where the top half of the hair is straight but the bottom half has tight ragdoll curls, I hated that one) or didn't stay all night.

[Laurenji]

Question about rag curls:

I've never been able to take the rags out of my hair without either severely tangling my hair or "unrolling" the curl so it's no longer curly. Any advice on what I may be doing wrong? Using too small of rags maybe?