From Straight to Spiral Curls Without Heat

[Morticia]

I went in to get my hair cut last week and my stylist had spiral curls in her waistlength hair. She's a 1aCiii like I am, so I was surprised to see her hair curled so beautifully. Of course, I immediately asked her how she managed it, and she said, "It's a new version of pincurls. I knot my hair, put it in an updo, and let it airdry overnight. In the morning, I take out the pins, and it looks like this. I can do it for your hair today to show you how".

I was skeptical because it takes a lot to get my hair to curl. And, usually the curls is gone in less than an hour. But, the results of this technique were amazing! My stylist did warn me that it would only work if the weather was dry outside. If it's humid where you live, it won't stay. And, I'm not trying to hawk Aveda. These were just the ones she happened to use on me.

Anyway, this is what my hair looks like in its natural state. Can't get much straighter than this:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v693/natchen13/004-5.jpg

She started with almost dry hair, and smoothed some Aveda Flax Seed Aloe Strong Hold Sculpting Gel (http://www.aveda.com/templates/products2/spp.tmpl?CATEGORY_ID=CATEGORY14955&PRODUCT_ID=PROD6055) through it. In the first step, you section strands of your hair and tie small knots in each strand. On the longer pieces, she managed to tie 4 knots. However, I could only manage 3 for this picture.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v693/natchen13/Knots-2.jpg

Take the knotted strand and wind it into a small bun. Pin the bun. Repeat with strands all over your head. Make sure that you pull the strand towards the back of your head and pin them in a larger bun formation. This is what it looked like when she was finished. It only took her about 15 minutes to put up all my hair. It would take me longer, but I would probably be able to do it while I watched tv.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v693/natchen13/Knots-1.jpg

Then, she sprayed Aveda Firmata Firm Hold Spray (http://www.aveda.com/templates/products2/spp.tmpl?CATEGORY_ID=CATEGORY14956&PRODUCT_ID=PROD5829) in my hair. I slept in the knots overnight.

In the morning, I carefully unpinned and unknotted each strand, starting with the bottom of the updo. I did not brush or manipulate each strand. Instead, when it was all undone, I carefully ran my fingers through my hair to break up the curl. It took about 10 minutes to undo the updo. Right after I finished, my hair looked like this.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v693/natchen13/006-8.jpg

And it stayed all day. Of course, the curl loosened up, but after 12 hours (going to work, hanging out with the kids, making dinner, and hanging out on the couch reading) it looked like this.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v693/natchen13/12hourslater-1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v693/natchen13/12hours-1.jpg

Let me know if you have any questions about the technique. I'm not talented when it comes to working with my hair, but I am going to see my stylist in another 2 weeks, so I can pass along any questions that I can't answer. Also, if you try it, post some pics to share with us.

[Elphie]

Wow, that really looks great on you!

[AprilElf]

Fabulous Morticia! :thumbsup: The curls look wonderful on you, and the little knots all pinned up are really cute!

[froglet]

Wow, that is amazing! Look at all that curl in your hair...
This is a must try for me, well once I have enough hair again. I doubt I could get more than one knot into it with it only being shoulder length. I'm tempted to try it anyway...
Thanks for the cool info!

[Aicha]

Wow, beautiful curls! Thank you for sharing this with us. I'm definitely going to try this technique soon. Did it hurt to sleep in the bobby pins all night?

Also, I was confused by this sentence:

Make sure that you pull the strand towards the back of your head and pin them in a larger bun formation.
What did you mean by pulling the strands toward the back and pinning in a larger bun formation? Do you mean that it was one large bun and not lots of little individual buns all over your head?

Thanks for sharing, it looks great! :D

[darkwaves]

This is a great idea!

I like Aveda, but those two products are new to me... I'm going to try this with the mixture of odd products I have.

But WOW! Your hair is so smooth and shiny, Morticia! I guarantee when I knot my hair it will be surrounded by weird snarly flyaways!

[darkwaves]

What did you mean by pulling the strands toward the back and pinning in a larger bun formation? I wondered this, too. Is it so that the hair falls properly? (I've done odd things with my hair, and as a result, it wanted to spit backwards and kink into my face.)

[Flynn]

This is incredible. I've never been able to get the hang of pincurls, and I can't do rags or hotrods in my hair myself when it's at this length. This could be jus perfect. I can't wait to give it a go!

[spidermom]

Oh wow; nice result!

[Curlsgirl]

Wow! I can't imagine my hair not tangling badly after doing the knots. Mine tangles when I do ONE knot in the back or even a topsy tail :mad:

[susiemw]

Wow! Beautiful. Your hair is beautiful both straight and curly.

I really appreciate your posting this.
I permed for 20 years and I sure miss my curls!

Susan

[MissBiss]

Wow! I can't imagine my hair not tangling badly after doing the knots. Mine tangles when I do ONE knot in the back or even a topsy tail :mad:It could be that the technique would not work properly on unstraightened type 3A hair.

[Seraphina]

Wow,that looks amazing.Thanks for posting this !

[dcmo]

Wow, that's beautiful. It's nice you have an option to go with a whole other style relatively easily and without the heat damage. Now, personally I'm in love with your straight hair (being a wavy myself)..always want what we don't have, huh? You have gorgeous hair in both styles!

[janeytilllie]

Wow what a cool way to get curls :D Your hair looks lovely straight and curly :)

[embee]

Wow, does that look good or what!!! I'd not want to use all that much product on my hair as a regular thing, but it sure is a great idea for special events. Thanks for posting this, it's a useful technique to have in mind! :)

[marajade]

Wow pretty!

[darkwaves]

I wouldn't want to do this if my hair was already curly -- but I have butterfly curls... they float away after a day or two.

Because I've been trying scalp washes, I haven't washed the length for about 10 days, and so my hair is pretty straight right now. I tried this last night, and to keep the knots from become impossible, wore a hair wrap to bed.

And it works! (I'll try to post a pic in my blog later.)

I didn't put anything other than water on my hair, though. A gentle mist. I found that the knots loosened a lot -- on some strands, the ones near the ends in the morning were the first ones done, i.e., close to the scalp, that had folded down...

Easy to figure out and untangle, though, so I don't think this was at all hard on my hair.


Wow! I can't imagine my hair not tangling badly after doing the knots. Mine tangles when I do ONE knot in the back or even a topsy tail :mad:

[eresh]

Oh wow, this looks really good!

[SimplyLonghair]

Very lovely, Morticia! :thumbsup::cheese:

[Fillette]

Woahhh!!! That is a great idea! Thank you so much for sharing.
My hair is naturally curly but sometimes I like to wear bigger curls, more like waves. This might just work!
Thanks again for sharing :happydance:

[wackyredtangles]

I'm trying this tonight. Some of the pieces, mostly in the back, absolutely did not want to stay in knots. I haven't pinned it into the bun thing yet, forgot about that, but I will now. It looks kind of cool in just a bunch of knots. =)

[Queen Mab]

This is great! My hair is a lot like yours, very straight and heavy, so this is a wonderful technique to know! Thanks I'll probably try it next week sometime!

[mugglemomof3]

Thank you so much for sharing this with us! I tried it last night - I took sections and tied two knots in each and then curled the ends around some old plastic curlers of mine and slept that way. Instead of making the "pin curls". I had the prettiest, bounciest curls (but not really spirals). It was pretty comfy too - way better than sleeping on those sponge rollers I did when growing up!

I can't wait to try this again. Your stylist rocks!!!!! :cheese:

[MermaidGirl]

Just lovely. Your hair looks so pretty straight AND curly!

[Laurenji]

Ooooo....I want to try this, but I'm not sure how much my hair would like being knotted.

[Tangles]

My hair takes curl pretty well, but I'm always looking for techniques that will really "cement" the curl in my hair. I will give this a try for a special occasion I have coming up soon. :)

[Aicha]

I took sections and tied two knots in each and then curled the ends around some old plastic curlers of mine and slept that way. Instead of making the "pin curls".
I tried this a couple of nights ago and it worked really well. I washed my hair, then combed it. I took a small section and knotted it 3 or 4 times, then put a plastic curler on the end. When I was done it looked really goofy, but the curls turned out nicely in the morning. The only thing I'll do differently next time is wait for my hair to be a little drier before knotting it because in the morning some of the sections were still a bit damp. The curls in those sections fell out pretty quickly, but the rest lasted all day.

Thank you for a great new technique!:D

[camirra555]

Wow! Looks beautiful.

[lapushka]

Maybe it would work with regular aloe gel as well?

Nice curls!!!

[mellie]

Wow, that's amazing!!! So pretty, Morticia!

[Rosepatrice]

How did you get the knots to stay? As soon as I tied the first knot on the strand and started the second, the first one got all loose and I had to redo the first one. On and on it went....it un knots right away.....:(

[plainjanegirl]

I tried this a couple of nights ago and it worked really well. I washed my hair, then combed it. I took a small section and knotted it 3 or 4 times, then put a plastic curler on the end. When I was done it looked really goofy, but the curls turned out nicely in the morning. The only thing I'll do differently next time is wait for my hair to be a little drier before knotting it because in the morning some of the sections were still a bit damp. The curls in those sections fell out pretty quickly, but the rest lasted all day.

Thank you for a great new technique!:D



So you just let the knotted strands hang loose instead of pinning them up in a bun?

[AnneAdeline]

Oh, I must try this! I've done rag curls in the past, but they're getting more difficult as my hair gets longer.
Your hair is gorgeous, by the way!

[Rini]

It looks lovely :inlove: and I also REALLY like the look of it up with the knots....it's a really cute upstyle! You could wear that during the day and then take it down at night if you were going out somewhere and wanted the curls.

Thanks for sharing :flowers:

[Aicha]

So you just let the knotted strands hang loose instead of pinning them up in a bun?

Yes, I just knotted each section about 3 or 4 times, then put the curler on the ends, and let it hang down. It looked really silly, but my DH didn't even say a word. I think he's so used to me doing funny hair experiments, so my new bedtime look didn't phase him one bit. :p It was quite comfy to sleep on, more comfortable than when I put rollers in all the way up to the scalp.

[pdy2kn6]

wow, three completely different styles, it doesnt look like the same persons hair... 1) straight 2) updo 3) curls. the curls look like its been layered. well thought up :)

[Flynn]

How did you get the knots to stay? As soon as I tied the first knot on the strand and started the second, the first one got all loose and I had to redo the first one. On and on it went....it un knots right away.....:(

*n* I found the same thing... /sad. They just slipped straight out...

[Laurenji]

Knots slip out of my hair too. I think the key is smaller sections of hair, and making sure your hair is damp (the more stubborn your hair, the more wet it will have to be)

[dearladydisdain]

Thanks for sharing the technique! I really want to try it. My hair does not like to hold curls :p

[KajiKodomo]

That's beautiful! :D

[Maelyssa]

OMG that's gorgeous! I LOVE it!
Now my only question is no so much technique but aside from Aveda are there any other styling product recommendations? I don't even own any styling products but that's some killer curl that I might bend the rules for.

[plainjanegirl]

Ok so now I may have to do this one evening before bed. I will probably do the hanging loose way and then use a sock or rag curl on the ends.

But my concern is when I take a strrand of hair I can normally get about 3 knots in the strand but they are never right next to each other (there is space between each knot), so is that how everybody else's has been too? I don;t wanna go to all the trouble if it won't turn out decent.

[JKRBeloved]

This is so pretty! What a fun way to get a whole new look. Thanks for sharing.

[Aicha]

Ok so now I may have to do this one evening before bed. I will probably do the hanging loose way and then use a sock or rag curl on the ends.

But my concern is when I take a strrand of hair I can normally get about 3 knots in the strand but they are never right next to each other (there is space between each knot), so is that how everybody else's has been too? I don;t wanna go to all the trouble if it won't turn out decent.
I know what you mean, plainjanegirl. I tried my best to get each knot as close to the last one, but it was difficult. There was an inch or two of space between some of the knots, but the curls still turned out pretty. I'll try it again this week and post pics if I can.

[plainjanegirl]

I know what you mean, plainjanegirl. I tried my best to get each knot as close to the last one, but it was difficult. There was an inch or two of space between some of the knots, but the curls still turned out pretty. I'll try it again this week and post pics if I can.


Ok I'll be watching for pics.