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View Full Version : Curling irons. and a few questions



kschr2004
November 20th, 2010, 08:05 AM
So, I understand the whole 'no heat' thing helps to prevent damage. But every now and then, when I have a special occasion, I use a curling iron to curl my hair (for example, last night I had a first date and used an iron). Because I just used the curling iron last night, it triggered a few questions for me:

1) How damaging is the use of a curling iron if I limit the use of it to about once a month?

2) In the past, when I have used no heat methods to curl my hair (soft rollers, wrap snap and go) the style doesn't hold very long at all. So I was wondering, is there something about the use of heat that 'sets' the hair better than no heat rollers?

3) I was trying to get good bun waves yesterday and for some reason they came out uneven, which sent me to the curling iron. Is there any way to ensure nice bun waves after a long day at work?

Thanks in advance for answers to these questions! :cheese:

misstwist
November 20th, 2010, 08:10 AM
I have a large barrel iron I use a couple times a year. ALWAYS have to trim splits the next day.

You just need to look at your own hair and see how the curling iron is affecting it.

manderly
November 20th, 2010, 08:17 AM
Wet setting hair sets curls (or any other style) much better than even heat. It can be time consuming, but it is also less damaging.

You can search LHC for wetset tutorial to find how-tos.

FrannyG
November 20th, 2010, 08:17 AM
1. Well, I am a person who used to use a curling iron regularly. I tended to get a lot of splits, even at shoulder length.

In more recent years, I only heat-styled about once a week, but I still got splits. However, I often did use a blow dryer to dry my hair.

Since going with no heat, I don't have any splits at all. However, I've never gone only once a month or so with heat styling. To me, that sounds like a very moderate amount of curling iron usage.

Just make sure that your hair is completely dry when you use the iron. If you have any water in your hair, it will boil under the curling iron, and believe me, that's damaging.

I still could never bring myself to actually say that any curling iron usage is safe though.

2. My hair never used to curl well with wet sets or damp sets. However, this year I discovered Morrocco Method Blood of the Dragon Styling Gel. It's fairly expensive, but I use so little that it will last me ages. It's extremely hair friendly and it allows me to do a 90 minute damp set with rollers that lasts into the next day. I don't use hair spray.

That's really saying something, because my 1a hair doesn't like to stay curled.

Another alternative are Caruso Molecular Steam curlers. While they use steam to curl your hair, they are not hot enough to cause damage, and they do create lovely, voluminous, lasting curls, once you learn how to use them properly. If you get them, practice with them on days when you're not going out. It takes a bit of time to figure out just how long to steam the rollers for your particular hair thickness and type.

3. I would suggest applying a good styling gel to your hair before making the bun, such as the one I mentioned above, and do your best to make sure that you are bunning your hair evenly. Perhaps you might try double buns for days when you want good bun waves.

I hope something in there is of help. Best of luck. :blossom:

ETA: here is a link to how my hair turned out with spiral curlers (http://frannyslonghair.blogspot.com/2010/06/curling-hair-without-heat-spiral.html). The curls held all day.

This is a link to how my hair turned out with jumbo foam rollers for loose, wavy curls (http://frannyslonghair.blogspot.com/2010/11/hairstyle-photo-loose-wavy-curls.html). Again, it lasted all day. Both sets were about 90 minutes from start to finish.

Angeletti
November 20th, 2010, 08:21 AM
When you have used the non heat curlers in the past, how long did you leave them in your hair and did you put them on slightly damp hair? When I used to use curling irons my curls would be straight again in seriously like minutes compared to the results I get when leaving sponge rollers on damp hair over night, they last hours or more so maybe it could just be that your not leaving them in long enough?

kschr2004
November 20th, 2010, 08:25 AM
When you have used the non heat curlers in the past, how long did you leave them in your hair and did you put them on slightly damp hair? When I used to use curling irons my curls would be straight again in seriously like minutes compared to the results I get when leaving sponge rollers on damp hair over night, they last hours or more so maybe it could just be that your not leaving them in long enough?

My hair was damp, and I left them in overnight. I got the best results with wrap snap and go. My hair would be really big and wavy in the morning, but after a couple of hours it was almost straight again. I have a lot of hair, so there must be something about the rollers that doesn't work well for me, at least the way that I have used them in the past.

I was getting pretty good at getting the bun waves that I wanted. I would use a Ficcare with damp hair in the morning, then drop the bottom half of my hair and do a half up for the rest of the day. By the end of the day, I would have just the right amount of wave. But for some reason that isn't working as well since I got my latest trim. Maybe it's the length being different or something. Had that worked well for me yesterday, I wouldn't have broken out the iron at all!

kschr2004
November 20th, 2010, 08:28 AM
However, this year I discovered Morrocco Method Blood of the Dragon Styling Gel.

Another alternative are Caruso Molecular Steam curlers.

Thanks! I will look into both of those suggestions!

Artsy
November 20th, 2010, 10:05 AM
Most of wet set methods give too much frizz so I am stuck with my curling iron. I've foud that using it on mid-low heat(I can touch the metal without immediately burning myself) is sufficient for the curl to hold, and I generally don't like small or tight curls on me. Unlike the flatiron, I don't see any damage after curling. Naturally my hair is straightish, but not a lot of hairs so bun waves also come out uneven if I only bun with my own hair. I have tried a scarf method to add bulk to my bun and it turns out much nicer and thicker.
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misstwist
November 20th, 2010, 02:19 PM
Artsy, you have to brush the frizz out.

http://beautyisathingofthepast.blogspot.com/2009/07/frame-waves-new-trend-for-52.html

Start at picture four to get instructions on blouse brushing.

kschr2004
November 20th, 2010, 02:57 PM
So I was looking for Caruso rollers while I was out today, and couldn't find them at any stores. I decided to order them off Amazon, and see how they work for me. :)

maus
November 20th, 2010, 03:00 PM
1) How damaging is the use of a curling iron if I limit the use of it to about once a month?
- I don't think once a month is too bad. I use mine on the lowest heat possible about twice or three times a month now, and don't see any major damage. I have heard that cones act like some sort of a heat-shield (although I am not sure if that's correct), and I think that's what in those protective heat-sprays.

2) In the past, when I have used no heat methods to curl my hair (soft rollers, wrap snap and go) the style doesn't hold very long at all. So I was wondering, is there something about the use of heat that 'sets' the hair better than no heat rollers?
- My hair doesn't hold the curl very long with no heat, either. So I just bite the bullet and hot-curl every once in a while. I also do "plopping" (at least I think that's what it's called) on damp hair every once in a while, with mixed results.

HairFaerie
November 20th, 2010, 04:08 PM
So I was looking for Caruso rollers while I was out today, and couldn't find them at any stores. I decided to order them off Amazon, and see how they work for me. :)

Cool! I have these and I absolutely ADORE them!
Let us know what you think after you have received them and tried them out a few times!

pepperminttea
November 20th, 2010, 04:42 PM
I do get quite a bit of damage from using heat tools (or rather, having them used on me... I'm all thumbs). It would be sort of okay if it was all at the ends, since that's one micro-trim away from being fixed, but it was always throughout the length for me. Your mileage may vary, though.

Have you tried twin French braids? If you're going for waves rather than full curls, that works really well, especially with a bit of hair-friendly mousse or your weapon of choice put through it first, or just on ever-so-slightly damp hair. :)

kschr2004
November 20th, 2010, 07:35 PM
Have you tried twin French braids? If you're going for waves rather than full curls, that works really well, especially with a bit of hair-friendly mousse or your weapon of choice put through it first, or just on ever-so-slightly damp hair. :)

So weirdly enough, I can do a single french braid on myself, but haven't gotten the hang of double ones. I guess I will have to practice that though! Thanks!

kschr2004
November 23rd, 2010, 04:37 PM
Let us know what you think after you have received them and tried them out a few times!

So I received the Caruso rollers today! I will need to try them out over the next couple of days. I will post pictures once I have used them!

shockinglength
November 23rd, 2010, 04:58 PM
Try pin curls I set my damp hair with them, and that was 3 days ago and I STILL have curls.

AnnaJamila
November 23rd, 2010, 05:06 PM
I'd advise not using it at all, even little itty bits of damage add up after time, so save it for REALLY important events, ie weddings. I miss curling my hair. :( But my hair texture is beautimus!

Artsy
November 23rd, 2010, 06:35 PM
Artsy, you have to brush the frizz out.

http://beautyisathingofthepast.blogspot.com/2009/07/frame-waves-new-trend-for-52.html

Start at picture four to get instructions on blouse brushing.
I have heard of this brushing out technique before, but it probably takes a lot of practice. I see how this would be easy on fine hair, but not on my coarse:confused: If I use BBB on my curls the result is a big puffball. I think the picture in the article shows a BBB with a fine toothed comb. I am usually using a wide toothed comb on my culs after curling iron or even fingercomb.
Any suggestions?

misstwist
November 24th, 2010, 08:53 AM
Use a nylon pin or bristle brush not a bbb.

Sally's Beauty Supply does operate in Canada. I don't know where you are in Alberta but I see there are a few in Calgary and in some other cities in the province.

What I use, and what you will often see in videos of the period, is a Denman nylon pin brush (http://www.sallybeauty.com/cushion-brushes/DENMAN03,default,pd.html?cgid=Hair10-03). That can be had at Sally's.

I have also used nylon (http://www.sallybeauty.com/hair-brush/SBS-217516,default,pd.html?cgid=Hair10-03) bristle (http://www.sallybeauty.com/ergonomic-Brush/SBS-217520,default,pd.html?cgid=Hair10-03) brushes successfully, and one lives in my car, but I prefer the Denman.

I need to run now, I'll pm you with my standard vintage pm. Then I might be able to pm you some more specific info, but it might be Friday. We are re-formatting my computer today. :D

kschr2004
November 29th, 2010, 07:34 PM
So I don't have action shots because the curls didn't last very long today, but I used my Caruso rollers for the first time this morning. They did make my hair bouncy and very shiny. However, I used the large and the jumbo rollers, so the curls fell out after about an hour or two, and only stayed as volume/waves after that.

Next time I will try the smaller rollers and see if the curls will last a bit longer!