How to make waves/banana curls in straight hair?

[China Doll]

Hi, I'm new to the forums, and wanted to know, how do you curl straight hair into s waves or banana curls? I know that you can make ripples in the hair with braids, but I really love banana curls, and I don't know how to do it without a curling iron and I'm not willing to damage my hair that way. Do any of you put your hair in special buns or curlers to make waves? Thanks!!

[Bucatini]

Hi China Doll and WELCOME!

When I think of banana curls I think of basically use the curling iron and leave the curl whole/tight without fluffing it at all. Is that right? I don't know of any way to do that without the curling iron, but I know that waves are possible.

If you sleep on a regular bun ("cinnamon bun") your hair will have big soft waves in the morning. Or it doesn't have to be overnight, you could wear it bunned all day at work then take it down for dinner.

I have tried making several smaller buns (two, three, four) and I don't see any difference but this could just be my texture. You say your hair is straight so maybe you could get a tighter wave by making more smaller buns. I'm not sure. Once upon a time on the old forum there was something about pin curls- how to set them, variations, and so on. I'll come back and edit if I can find that thread, or maybe someone who was involved in that old thread will come here and re-post those old photos?

Try this link too: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=5059&highlight=pincurls

And this link: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=4916&highlight=pincurls has a link to a video of pincurls made by this woman named Iris who has a few videos on youtube.

[WaimeaWahine]

Okay, I'll take a stab at this since we appear to have similiar hair. Always start with wet or damp hair and air dry for best results. :)

http://archive.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=52987

That sounds like what you're looking for. You may also want to search the articles
section.

Other options include good old-fashioned plastic curlers, rag curling, and as
you mentioned, a bun. The bun works best for me. I twirl it around like a rope
braid strand and then secure it (damp) in a bun overnight or several hours.

[China Doll]

Thanks, guys! Wow, that nocturne vintage site has come a long way. It was so wonky for such a long time. I never did figure out how to make genuine pincurl pins stay in the hair, but I'm inspired to try again. I can't wait to try the skip-rope method, too.