do tongs cause damage if used once a month? if so how can waves be made without heat?

[templeofvenus]

now that the blow dryer is history I wondered if using tongs just say once a month is really going to do damage if so maybe I will forget the idea and try rollers for making waves? any suggestions welcome? my hair is just past collar length and fine

[Anje]

I'd say that heat in general is damaging, and more heat is more damaging. So yes, using them once a month is damaging, but it certainly isn't the same as using them every day.

There are lots of ways to create waves without heat. Curlers, as you mentioned, are one. (I have it on good authority that you want to avoid the "velcro" ones, though -- as hair gets longer, they tend to eat it and create crazy tangles.) Braids, especially when done in damp hair that's then allowed to dry, create waves with a specific Z shape (more braids for smaller ones, and two french or dutch braids are useful for getting most of the head, including near the roots), while letting damp hair dry in a bun or in rope braids gives rounder waves or loose curls. Finally, here's an article (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=82) with a method to get some nice, deep waves.

[spidermom]

Beebutt buns in damp hair, allowed to dry, will make waves, even curls.

[IcarusBride]

I do bobby-pin curls on damp coconut-oiled hair with good success. What I like about them is that I can achieve a somewhat un-natural look that is my personal ideal: strait hair that has ringlet curls in only the last few inches.

[suffer-cait]

a method that hasn't been mentioned yet is a half pony-tail at the top/front of your head. it makes a well placed wave and can be done with dry hair in 20 mins. for more waves you could turn it into a multi-half pony tail thing.

[julliams]

The OP has collarbone length hair so with that in mind I would suggest this method. Now I haven't tried it yet myself, but the results look good on the video. I would think you would be able to do this with collarbone length fine hair
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crQtB285riU

I would think that curling once a month with tongs would be ok, it just depends on how long you leave them in your hair and how heat affects your hair in general. Having thick hair myself, I can't really compare mine to yours. I'm relaxed about using heat once in a while (like every few months) and I really haven't noticed it causing any damage, but then I haven't got any heat free hair to compare it to.

Let us know how you go.

[templeofvenus]

The OP has collarbone length hair so with that in mind I would suggest this method. Now I haven't tried it yet myself, but the results look good on the video. I would think you would be able to do this with collarbone length fine hair
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crQtB285riU

I would think that curling once a month with tongs would be ok, it just depends on how long you leave them in your hair and how heat affects your hair in general. Having thick hair myself, I can't really compare mine to yours. I'm relaxed about using heat once in a while (like every few months) and I really haven't noticed it causing any damage, but then I haven't got any heat free hair to compare it to.

Let us know how you go.

this metghod looks good! I will try it! and also just tipping head forward adding mousse when damp and not even combing it through seems good as it makes a tousled look, its just hard getting used to not blow drying and straightening I was so used to a sleek look however my natural hair without the heat is wavy so these methods may help bring out mu own wave and less damage than tongs


thanks all of you for the help! :)

[torrilin]

Since you've got some natural wave... you'll probably find that pin curls, braids and buns give a much more controlled looking wave. (and unlike me, you should be able to pin curl without a desperate search for the One True Bobby Pin that won't fall out of your hair)

Pin curls just involve sectioning your hair while wet, twisting the sections into mini-buns, and letting it dry. Small sections give a tighter curl, big sections give a looser one. Eventually your hair will be long enough to put up in a plain bun, and it'll give you one giant wave. On some women with wavy or curly hair, this can end up making their hair look relatively straight.

The more you can avoid heat, the better. As you get used to your hair with no heat damage, you'll really be able to feel the difference between the new roots with no damage and the sections where you used heat. If your hair tends towards fragile, the heat damaged sections will feel really lousy and tangle prone.

[CrisDee]

I saw this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDrdMlw6OSE) video posted on a thread I now can't find - apparently I bookmarked the vid and not the thread. Anyway, her method is the one that most intrigues me. She uses something she calls the "Wonder Bun," but it looks like a regular scarf to me, and even she says in the video that a regular scarf can be used. And with this method, you can actually be seen in public with the "curler" in your hair! I can't wait til my hair is long enough to try this :)