How to make curls stick in straight hair?

[Laululintu]

My hair will takes braid and bun waves quite well, but more often than not, the waves will "slide out" in a matter of hours. My dream is to wear my hair down in curls or waves when I (eventually) get married, with a lovely Elvish style tiara, so I'm trying to figure out how I could get the curls to stay.

Any ideas?

[Phalaenopsis]

You can buy something as a 'fortifier'. I don't know how you say it in English. But I have a Haarfestiger of Neobio. It's a German brand. So, it is a fortifier, you apply it before you make curls. Protects the hair and stiffens up so the curls will stay. Funny, I'm actually going to try it just right now. In 10 minutes or so my hair will have dried enough to braid it.

[Druid of Alba]

Well, a curling iron would certainly do it, finished with a spritz of hairspray, but if you want something more natural and much less damaging, then try and use those hair rollers that are for long hair. They create beautiful, big spirals, and don't damage the hair.

[Morticia]

Mousse and lots of hairspray! I had so much hairspray in my hair at my wedding that even after I removed all the pics from my updo, it still stayed up in one solid mass. I had to soak my head for awhile to get my hair loose.

(It's just for one day, so there shouldn't be too many lasting effects).

[spidermom]

My niece with the stick-straight hair used to long for curls, and only way we could get them to last most of a day was to apply setting gel and roll her wet hair on rags. It is easy to make these yourself - cut something old into strips, lay one strip along a new pencil, place pencil near scalp, wind a small section of hair around and around the pencil, tie rag snugly in a bow, and allow to dry. Give it a good 24 hours if you can - wear a scarf over it.

A curling iron curl didn't last even 2 hours.

[Laululintu]

My friend is a hairdresser and she asked if she could do my hair for my wedding. I'm just doing some research. Poor thing won't know what hit her when she has the pleasure of trying to get my at least hip length hair to behave :p

Thanks for the tips everyone :D

[FrannyG]

I have stick straight hair, and a I know from days gone by that a curling iron won't give you curls that last at all, even with hairspray.

I suggest what Spidermom did--rag curls. They'd need to be worn overnight, and you'd have to set them with damp hair and gel, but those curls will last. You'll still need hairspray though. Stick straight hair doesn't like to hold curls too well.

Give it a try beforehand, just to see how it goes. :)

[Ohio Sky]

I use aloe vera gel a lot to get my layers to stay in my updos, and if I put my hair up damp with a little bit of aloe, the waves stay until I wash.
My hair may hold waves easier than yours and is way shorter so its not weighed down as much, but try braiding your hair barely damp with some aloe gel overnight if you dont like the idea of using hairspray or something like that. I know I dont, even for a day! Just make sure it dries all the way before you take the braids out and dont comb or brush it or you will have the most beautiful afro youve ever seen.

[AquaViolet1973]

You could get a spiral perm especially if you want curly hair for more than just the one day.
There are a lot of people here that will disagree with me on the perm advice, but all I can tell you is for me (I wanted lasting curls/waves) a perm was a good solution. I know this isn't the answer for everyone, but I've managed to grow long hair while perming my hair every year or two. I am still growing my hair, and I baby it (no heat styling, no blowdrying, and I use a leave in conditioner, etc.)
I hope you make the right decision for you and your hair, whatever you choose to do. :blossom: :)

[Riot Crrl]

I also vote for gel. There are ones out there with pretty natural ingredients that shouldn't be drying.

Whatever you do, don't comb or brush it after taking out the set. If hair is still a little damp when you take down the set, try not to let anything touch it until it's 100% dry. Then you can gently "scrunch" the curls or waves to remove the "wet look" of the gel. It should continue holding, just not be crunchy/wet looking.

[AnimaSola3o4]

My niece with the stick-straight hair used to long for curls, and only way we could get them to last most of a day was to apply setting gel and roll her wet hair on rags. It is easy to make these yourself - cut something old into strips, lay one strip along a new pencil, place pencil near scalp, wind a small section of hair around and around the pencil, tie rag snugly in a bow, and allow to dry. Give it a good 24 hours if you can - wear a scarf over it.

A curling iron curl didn't last even 2 hours.


Holy cow! I never understood how to do rag curls before, like how to get the hair around the rag well enough!! This is awesome thanks!! :D

[manderly]

Try a wet set. From what I understand of the way a curl is created on the molecular level, the staying power goes as such, from the best to the worst:

Wet set
hot rollers
curling iron
velcro rollers & spray

Something about the hair being completely wet, then formed as you please, then dried completely has the greatest staying power.

If you do a search of the board for wet set tutorial you can find my thread about it, I'm at work and can't post pics right now.

[Flying Betty]

From past experience (dance recitals) hot rollers and a TON of hairspray stay pretty well. Curling iron curls are gone within minutes. I would think that rag curls might hold decently well with some encouraging, but haven't ever tried it myself.

[Alethia]

I have fine hair with a lot of slip, though it's not slinky straight. It takes a curl really well but doesn't hold it. This is how I curl my hair to make it last for up to 4 hours:

Wash hair and dry it until almost dry (if I curl my hair when damp it never dries even over night, even under a hood)

Spritz small sections of hair with fixing spray, and wind onto rags or Grafix keys, tie or fix.

Once your whole head is curled, spritz the whole lot again generously with spray. Blast with a blow drier, then find somewhere cool to sit/stand/relax to chill the curls into place. Put a headscarf over your head and spend the rest of the day in curlers until about an hour before going out. I put my makeup on and get dressed before dealing with my hair.

Unwind each curler starting at the bottom of your scalp. I carefully untwist, then hold the section straight as a run a very wide-toothed comb through it from scalp to ends. This separates the curls but doesn't pull too much out. I do this for each section, because it's much easier to deal with each in turn than try to manage the mass if you uncurl them all first. I tip my head upside down and use a gentle scrubbing motion at my scalp to loosen everything off. The I move the hair into the position I want - loose updo, over to one side, whatever. My curls last very well this way.

[AnimaSola3o4]

Try a wet set. From what I understand of the way a curl is created on the molecular level, the staying power goes as such, from the best to the worst:

Wet set
hot rollers
curling iron
velcro rollers & spray

Something about the hair being completely wet, then formed as you please, then dried completely has the greatest staying power.

If you do a search of the board for wet set tutorial you can find my thread about it, I'm at work and can't post pics right now.

cuz the hair shrinks as it dries. ;) So it increases the tension as it dries. I really would also have to recommend using a wet set over using hot rollers. It helps that the hair is starting from a wet stage, and in turn is more pliable and is more likely to bend to our will :insert evil look: hehe.