wrapping turned out to be a REALLY BAD IDEA

[mariika]

on several threads here I read about this new to me no heat straightening technique called wrapping - you wrap your hair around you head. so it tried doing this.
result looks ugly:
http://youhavebeenchosen.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/dscn3629_1.png

[MicheleClaire]

Oh, dear. What kind of scarf did you use?

[pepperminttea]

I'm told it gets easier with practice?

[eezepeeze]

I think your hair may be too curly for this technique. The texture reminds me of my hair when I was in my teens. I couldn't do a thing with it. Even today, if I try a technique that requires a lot of combing, like wrapping, I get major major frizz without the pretty curls. If you want to straighten without heat, I recommend BIG velcro rollers. put your hair up when soaking wet and sleep on them. You'll get used to the rollers and sleeping with them. i did this on my hair for years without seeing any damaging effects from the rollers.

[mariika]

thanks, eezepeeze, I'll think about trying rollers. I used rollers before but never slept on them - my hair dries REALLY slowly on rollers. also I tried braiding my wet hair when going to bed (to avoid tangling) and it never dried - I woke up with wet hair:( so I'll have to try rollers on a day when I don't have to wake up with dry hair

MicheleClaire, I didn't use a scarf, why would I need it if everything holds up so nicely.

the parts that got curly were ones underneath, the ones that were on top did get a bit curly too but those underneath got curly as they dried out and there wasn't enough pressure but I didn't want to pull my hair to much, I just combed it in place while wrapping and even so after I unwrapped it it felt like I just took off a headband that kept my hair in a really tight ponytail

yeah, my hair is quite curly but hairdressers often say to me that my hair is easy to handle. RIGHT, that's because they don't see what happens five minutes after I leave the salon... the hair is soft (not harsh as you might think) but straight is probably not an option for me

[angelthadiva]

The scarf keeps things smooth/tight w/o slippage and there will be less friction from the sleeping. Your hair didn't look smooth to begin with. It needs to be completely slick straight, wrapped tight w/o lumps/bumps/kinks. Then top with a tight fitting scarf.

My hair is far too long to attempt this...I'd probably look like a (used) Q-Tip ;)

[MicheleClaire]

mariika- A silk scarf wrapped around the head firmly helps to smooth the cuticles of the hair and keeps wind and movement from mussing up the wrap. I find it quite essential to the success of my wraps! =)

[mariika]

I wasn't sleeping in this, it took actually about four hours and I just hang around at home for that time
well, I agree though that my hair didn't look that smooth in the beginning but I didn't notice that, not before I looked at these pix. on the other hand, I would hate to pull my hair anymore. well, anyway, hope this could be a good lesson how not to do a wrap for everyone:)

[lillylonghair]

First of all,since your hair is so curly it needs to be quite damp in order to smoothly wrap it around your head. Also,some type of product or aloe vera would help to keep the hair smooth.

[Jasperine]

Thanks for posting your (bad) experience! I hope your find a way to make it work :)

[chelseamichelle]

Wow, wrapping does wonders for my hair, I guess your hair is too curly.

[UltraBella]

Even though your hair is curly I think you could have success with this. I think you would need to mist your hair lightly, so it is just slightly damp. You would have to smooth it flat around your head, it is still quite frizzy in your pictures. Then cover it with a scarf, or some people have great results with Saran wrap. The reason is the Saran wrap traps in your body heat and it gently heats the hair just enough to release the curl. Or a blow dryer on low will speed the process up so you do not have to wear it for hours. Sometimes the first try is disastrous, but maybe try again ?

[julliams]

I couldn't even get my hair to the stage you did so that it was actually wrapped. I ended up tangling my hair so bad I had to spend a tonne of time trying to get them all out. I gave up. My hair is only 2b anyway and these days it's more 2a so by day 2 it's pretty much straight anyway.

[Athena's Owl]

the problem is that type 3 hair needs to be *wet* in order to comb down straight for this wrap. which means that you are going to spend a long time waiting for it to dry.

my hair is just too long to wrap successfully.

[HikerTrash]

I must be really dumb because I keep looking at the pictures and can see nothing ugly about them.

[spidermom]

For rollers, I suggest you make it easier on yourself. Make a very smooth top-of-head ponytail, then roll the ends. They don't have to be soaking wet; damp will do (probably). Oh, and use a scrunchie to make the ponytail as a pony-band will leave a crease whereas the scrunchi probably won't.

[christine1989]

Kudos to you for being brave enough to try! You could give damp bunning a try- many people define their waves/curls better that way. I have good results with drying my hair by twisting it up in a claw clip.

Good luck finding what works for you!

[Hotrox]

My advice - embrace the curl :D

I can see your hair is quite curly and you may be fighting a loosing battle trying to straighten it, once I gave up the fight to have straight hair and started working with my natural texture my hair and me are so much happier!!

[virgo75]

Did you use any kind of styling aide?
Most people I know who wrap their hair use some sort of setting lotion.
It's actually a watery type of spray and it helps to hold and smooth the hair.
I don't think they usually have cones or alcohol.
I've used them a few times and didn't find it drying to my hair at all.

And I think it does take quite a bit of practice to get it smooth.
I've seen one lady do this to her (3b/3c)hair and she would comb/brush it section by section as she slowly wrapped it around her head. It would be really smooth all the way around. Then she'd put a scarf on it and the next day you wouldn't know her hair was naturally very curly. It wasn't stick straight unless she sat under a dryer. But when she let it air dry it had very minimal wave and looked shiney and pretty. Oh, and she was adament about not taking it down unless it was absolutely 100% dry. Any dampness at all and it would fluff up and try to curl and look kinda crazy.

I think your hair looks cute even though it didn't turn out as planned. :)

[RedheadMistress]

- I haven't read about this technique yet but it seems logical . .
Maybe you should try, like people said, do it again but with very wet hair that is wrapped very tight and use a silk scarf . I don't think this would work for my hair, mine is like yours in the way that it takes ages to dry if it's in a braid etc.

That's why I use the sock bun method to calm down my curls.

[Joliebaby]

Well, I have no help to offer but I just wanted to say that you are very cute and your curls are adorable ;)
That was quite a collage you made!!

[babybabycat]

I found a way to keep my hair straight(er). After a shower, I lightly oil my ends and then put on several (3) silky scrunchies on my pony-tail hair length. Basically, the whole pony is wrapped with scrunchies. The srunchies absorb the remaining water and keep the hair straight as it dries. I end up with straighter hair. Otherwise, I will have curly hair. I tend to like my hair straighter than curly.

[Heidi_234]

My advice - embrace the curl :D

First of all, I second this. I've fought with my curls for too long, and only with I embraced them my hair stopped being annoying, ugly, voluminous and horrible-looking. Your hair has a very strong tendency to from in curly locks - better work with those. They cut down on the volume and take away the frizz. Don't believe me? See this thread over the NC: http://www.naturallycurly.com/curltalk/showthread.php?t=47609

Now - as for the wrapping. It seems like your hair was already curling back and frizzing when wrapped. This shouldn't have happen. It was supposed to be smoothed with a BBB or a tangle teezer and remained that way. Over Youtube I saw some women using cling film over the wrapped hair to keep it smoothed. Did you apply any products? Perhaps a leave-in, gel or oil could help your hair keep the moisture better and frizz less.

But all in all - I tried wrapping too. My results were slightly better, but not fabulous. Wrapping won't give you flat-ironed looking hair, or blown-out stick straight looking hair. My hair was frizzy looking too, and felt dried out for the most part.

[alwayssmiling]

Looking at different techniques for this on youtube, someone suggested using a light misting of oil spray. I found this which I'm going to buy and will let you know how I got on

http://www.boots.com/en/Organic-Root-Stimulator-Olive-Oil-Sheen-Spray-455ml_870749/


I'm also going to try the saran wrap tonight to see if the results are better. This method works wonders for me, making my hair look sleek and tames the frizzies. But mines isn't as curly as yours. At least you gave it a go. Your curls are lovely.

[Heidi_234]

Looking at different techniques for this on youtube, someone suggested using a light misting of oil spray. I found this which I'm going to buy and will let you know how I got on

http://www.boots.com/en/Organic-Root-Stimulator-Olive-Oil-Sheen-Spray-455ml_870749/

I've read that those sheen sprays usually contain cones and mineral oil (petroleum). I'd avoid them. Using actual oils such as coconut oil is much more appealing to me!

[Gypsy]

Well, since the wrapping technique is more common with black women, curly hair is not the problem.
It seriously takes a lot of practice, precision is very important.
It really has to be wet and KEPT wet while wrapping and even better to use a wrapping lotion.
Slow, calculated and firm combing and very "unforgiving" with forcing the curl pattern to lay down.
Then you must wrap a scarf around it to let it dry- even if you sit under a hair dryer, you still have to wrap it to ensure the strands are totally immovable and the hair must be completely dry when it's unwrapped.
It is a very good technique but it is never done correctly the first few times and usually not done very well without assistance.
Find a video done by a Black woman and you will see they are working with curls, kinks multiple hair types on one head and it get nice and silky straight.
Of look for a Dominic Blow Out (minimum heat time) or Dominican Doobie video.


ETA to show what I mean by "wrapping lotion"-
http://www.motionshair.com/product/product-details.aspx?id=85