Pin Curl Success! (Handy Trick)

[Beatrice]

I have a hard time getting polished curls without heat. My hair takes so long to dry around curlers or rags that the curls are invariably damp when I unwind them, even if I sleep in them all night.

At last, I've found the solution. Pin curls! With a twist. Instead of wrapping the hair around my finger, I used a guide, just like a roller, which I slipped out before pinning the curl. Glass perfume roll-ons are perfect for this. They're the right shape and size, with a smooth, slick surface.

For the pinning, I used the sculpture technique, in which the curl is left standing up from the head and the bobby pins go inside the curl to hold it in place. I'm dying to show you some pictures, but they're not uploading! I hope it's just a temporary issue with the boards. I'll keep trying, because I've got to share my beautiful results. I did only my hairline, by way of experiment, and I'm already wishing I'd done my whole head.

[spidermom]

Successes are good.

[Heavenly Locks]

Ooh good tip! I often struggle getting the curl to slip off my finger. I also prefer the standing curls, the flat ones seem to tangle more for me. Can't wait for pics! :D

[Yozhik]

Ooh! Good advice on alternate techniques!

I'm eager to see how your curls have turned out - I hope you get the photos up soon :)

(I've been having some trouble uploading photos lately, too)

[Loreley]

I'm glad you had success with it! :)

[Thinthondiel]

For the pinning, I used the sculpture technique, in which the curl is left standing up from the head and the bobby pins go inside the curl to hold it in place.

Sculpted pin curls can actually be either standing or flat pin curls. What makes them sculpted is the fact that you don't wrap them around your finger beginning near the scalp, but that you start with the ends and roll them up towards the scalp. I've never thought about using a "guide" like you did... I wish I'd thought of that back when I was struggling to learn how to twirl my hair up the way ilovegerardo on Youtube does it. I've got the hang of it now, though.

ETA: Okay, now I've found one website which claims that sculpted curls start at the base, but that rather than rolling the hair around the finger, you create one outer curl/loop which follows the natural curl or wave pattern, and then start looping the rest of the length, folding all the loops inside the first one as you go. So now I'm not sure if this is the 'correct' way to do it or if there are two different ways to do it. Either way, I think the hair gets curled in much the same way from these two methods.

[NorthernDancer]

I can't wait to see the pictures! My hair doesn't hold a curl very well, but on special occasions I like to be able to curl it if I want to.

[goodenough]

I do this, too! And I just mist the ends a little, because any wetter, and my hair NEVER dries. I also have to use three times as many curls as most diagrams because of thickness. I use a make-up brush handle to wind them around.

[laurathexplora]

This is a really good idea! I'm going to try it the next I curl my hair. I don't have a problem with wet rag curls because I wait until my hair is almost totally dry before wrapping it up. It's just barely humid in my length. And it curls just as good as wet hair. A bit hard to hang on to though. :)

[ButterCup02]

I can't wait to see the results! I've been wanting to try pin curls forever!

[plainjanegirl]

Lookin forward to seeing your pics .

[Beatrice]

Still trying to upload. :( It's evening now, and the curls aren't drooping a bit!

I love the idea of using a makeup brush! The only thing about the perfume roller is that it's a little heavy and slippery to hold. I'm surprised more people didn't use a guide back when pin curls were popular. I did find some diagrams in which a glass rod was used to keep the shape uniform, but apparently that wasn't common.

Thinthondiel, I watched that same tutorial--the one by Iris (ilovegerardo). I love her videos. And thanks for the heads-up on terminology. I was never able to find a source that clarified the difference. Seems like that business of starting at the base would be tricky, but then, so is rolling from the ends. My hair is layered and texturized, and it gets trimmed only a couple times a year, so it's very hard for me to grab all the ends in one curl. Curl papers would help, I imagine.

[x0h_bother]

Still trying to upload. :(
Beatrice, have you uploaded before and do you know that sometimes you need to resize the photo from the camera?
Also, I use tinypic.com when I get frustrated, I upload and then link the picture in the thread. GL!

[Beatrice]

Beatrice, have you uploaded before and do you know that sometimes you need to resize the photo from the camera?
Also, I use tinypic.com when I get frustrated, I upload and then link the picture in the thread. GL!

Thanks for the tip! I've uploaded directly to the board albums before, so I don't think it's a resize issue, but who knows? I went ahead and tried tinypic.

As I mentioned in the original post, only the front is curled: http://i49.tinypic.com/2cwx4l1.jpg

http://i47.tinypic.com/20rwtoy.jpg

http://i47.tinypic.com/2jtdlt.jpg

I'm sure I could eliminate the frizz if I set my whole head and used some mousse or other product, but I kind of like the softer look here.

[Synthemesc]

Wow, your curls are stunning Beatrice! I find sponge rollers just make a big poodle-fluff mess on my hair no matter how much I try to beat them into submission. Always been a bit hesitant to try pincurls as they seem quite fiddly, but after seeing your results I'll need to give it a shot :D

[Thinthondiel]

Thinthondiel, I watched that same tutorial--the one by Iris (ilovegerardo). I love her videos. And thanks for the heads-up on terminology. I was never able to find a source that clarified the difference. Seems like that business of starting at the base would be tricky, but then, so is rolling from the ends. My hair is layered and texturized, and it gets trimmed only a couple times a year, so it's very hard for me to grab all the ends in one curl. Curl papers would help, I imagine.

Yeah, me too, I think her videos are amazing. My hair is layered as well, and I used to have a really hard time getting all the ends inside the curl, but I'm a lot better at it now. I imagine it would actually be easier to get the ends inside by beginning at the base... I'll have to try that the next time I do pin curls.

Anyway, your curls look great! I have a couple of pin curl photos in my album if you want to have a look. :)

[Thinthondiel]

Edit: deleted this because I accidentally posted two of the same post.