My Experiment with Snake Waves

[shawty]

I recently hit APL and though I had resolved to ignore my hair for 2012, the thought kept occurring to me that it's a pretty good length now, where if I could get it into very tight curls, I would have giant hair kinda like the beautiful Alisha from Misfits. ^_^ (I like cosplay.) I could achieve this easily with a skinny curling iron, but I wanted to try heat-free first. I lurked round LHC for a while then decided to start with snake waves.

Attempt 1 - Sanke waves - FAIL
http://i1167.photobucket.com/albums/q623/isislamb/shoelace1.jpg
http://i1167.photobucket.com/albums/q623/isislamb/shoelace2.jpg
http://i1167.photobucket.com/albums/q623/isislamb/shoelace3.jpg

ETA:
Attempt 2- Rag curls - SUCCESS!
http://i1167.photobucket.com/albums/q623/isislamb/ragcurl1.jpg (wrapped)
http://i1167.photobucket.com/albums/q623/isislamb/ragcurl2.jpg (uncombed)
http://i1167.photobucket.com/albums/q623/isislamb/ragcurl3.jpg (combed with wide-tooth)
I did 23 sections, using the edges of t-shirts, on damp hair, and slept with them in.

Thanks to everyone who gave me suggestions after my snake waves experiment! I would highly suggest rag curls to anyone looking for tight poofy curls on a budget, like I was.

[shawty]

bump? *puppy eyes*

[Miss Catrina]

Maybe some small-diameter sponge rollers? Those are pretty cheap.

[shawty]

Maybe some small-diameter sponge rollers? Those are pretty cheap.

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll keep it in mind.

[vendethiel]

I would recommend rags curls. They are cute and not terribly difficult. This video should help: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_EM1AGxYSI

My hair is really long, so I like to use old cotton t-shirts or cotton sheets that are about 1/2 to 3/4 the length of my hair and wrap the hair vertically around the rag. You'll need to hold some of the rag at the top of your head so that you have another end to tie a knot with after you've wrapped the hair around the rest of the rag. When wrapping vertically, just make sure you wrap some of the length around the ends to keep them in place. (Using a little gel can help hold them together and keep them neat when the rags are removed.)

I hope this makes sense and helps you create beautiful curls!

[Honestwitness]

What is a snake wave, anyway? We have several tutorials on this forum about bandana waves. It looks like your technique, only uses bandanas instead of shoelaces.

[PurplePenguin]

I usually just scrunch my hair to get curls :shrug: but I have heard of doing head band wraps to get curls, you might look into that. I just wanted to say I really love the way you look with your hair done up with the shoe laces and tee-shirt ends, it looks so awesome! You should definitely go out like that, if I had long enough hair I would.

[mzBANGBANG]

I'm going to second foam curlers. My hair isn't long enough to do the headband thing but it appears to work pretty well, too (except for the ends, in my experiences). The foam curlers won't give you snake waves but definitely ringlets (expect to lose a lot of length the smaller you go).

I am closer to snake waves whenever I sleep with my hair in several braids about the width of two fingers. It takes about 6-7 of them and I do it with my hair 80% dry, leave in conditioner. After I take them out in the morning I scrunch with hair spray and get a nice beachy look all day.

[SoulOfTheSea]

When I was little, my mom used to like putting these solid plastic skinny rods that had an attached elastic string to it. You wrap the hair around the rod, and then pull the elastic string over the hair and it attached to the other side of the rod. Does anyone have any idea what I'm talking about? Those things last much longer than foam rollers do, and they gave the TIGHTEST curls ever. :D

[spidermom]

Small bee-butt buns. When you take down, separate with fingers. Don't comb or brush, or you will get POOF! like you did with the snake waves.

[Lipbalmbabe]

I'm going to sound extremely unoriginal but rope braid waves

[zombi]

Why don't you think you're capable of pincurls? It can seem daunting but really isn't that bad, especially if you pincurl large sections of hair! So I recommend possibly trying that. Or just put your hair in a couple of small buns and see how you get on.

Other suggestions are sponge rollers, pillow rollers, or those wiggly rollers that looks like water noodles. The "water noodle" type roller I think it's a "spiral" roller? It's just a bendy thing, basically, and you can get pretty decent snaky spirally waves or curls out of those. Not fun to sleep on, though.

The suggestion of NOT brushing the curls/waves when you take them down but just using your fingers... is also very good

[shawty]

I would recommend rags curls. They are cute and not terribly difficult. This video should help: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_EM1AGxYSI

My hair is really long, so I like to use old cotton t-shirts or cotton sheets that are about 1/2 to 3/4 the length of my hair and wrap the hair vertically around the rag. You'll need to hold some of the rag at the top of your head so that you have another end to tie a knot with after you've wrapped the hair around the rest of the rag. When wrapping vertically, just make sure you wrap some of the length around the ends to keep them in place. (Using a little gel can help hold them together and keep them neat when the rags are removed.)

I hope this makes sense and helps you create beautiful curls!

Thanks! ^_^ I think I'll probably try this next.

[shawty]

What is a snake wave, anyway? We have several tutorials on this forum about bandana waves. It looks like your technique, only uses bandanas instead of shoelaces.

This is a snake wave: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=82
I thought if I used lots of smaller sections it would turn out curly. Silly me! Still I like the snake waves and might use them for real when my hair gets longer.

[shawty]

I usually just scrunch my hair to get curls :shrug: but I have heard of doing head band wraps to get curls, you might look into that. I just wanted to say I really love the way you look with your hair done up with the shoe laces and tee-shirt ends, it looks so awesome! You should definitely go out like that, if I had long enough hair I would.

I think I will! ^_^

[shawty]

I'm going to second foam curlers. My hair isn't long enough to do the headband thing but it appears to work pretty well, too (except for the ends, in my experiences). The foam curlers won't give you snake waves but definitely ringlets (expect to lose a lot of length the smaller you go).

I am closer to snake waves whenever I sleep with my hair in several braids about the width of two fingers. It takes about 6-7 of them and I do it with my hair 80% dry, leave in conditioner. After I take them out in the morning I scrunch with hair spray and get a nice beachy look all day.

Yeah, I'm aiming to lose all my length in the curls, if I can. I had hoped to manipulate the snake wave technique to get curls.

[shawty]

When I was little, my mom used to like putting these solid plastic skinny rods that had an attached elastic string to it. You wrap the hair around the rod, and then pull the elastic string over the hair and it attached to the other side of the rod. Does anyone have any idea what I'm talking about? Those things last much longer than foam rollers do, and they gave the TIGHTEST curls ever. :D

OMG that sounds so promising! *hopes someone else happens across this thread and can identify them*

[shawty]

Small bee-butt buns. When you take down, separate with fingers. Don't comb or brush, or you will get POOF! like you did with the snake waves.

I'll try that! Sounds promising. Thanks!

[shawty]

Why don't you think you're capable of pincurls? It can seem daunting but really isn't that bad, especially if you pincurl large sections of hair! So I recommend possibly trying that.

Well, I'd like to try it, but since I've never been able to get a single bobby pin to stay in my hair at all, even for half a minute, even without holding much weight... it just seems impossible. Do you think pincurls can be done with those little snap barrettes instead?


The suggestion of NOT brushing the curls/waves when you take them down but just using your fingers... is also very good

I know this will be hard to believe, but in those pictures I had not brushed, not even finger-combed. I didn't touch my hair at all except to remove the fabric. It *still* poofed.:rolleyes:

[GaJunebug]

When I was little, my mom used to like putting these solid plastic skinny rods that had an attached elastic string to it. You wrap the hair around the rod, and then pull the elastic string over the hair and it attached to the other side of the rod. Does anyone have any idea what I'm talking about? Those things last much longer than foam rollers do, and they gave the TIGHTEST curls ever. :D

Sounds like a perm rod to me.

[bettylibertine]

I love the middle pic - it totally does look BA! :D

[SoulOfTheSea]

Sounds like a perm rod to me.

shudder:

Hey, you were right! I :google:'d it, and they sure were perm rods. Strange they were those, but they made great over night curls. :D

[tokitoki]

I don't have any curl suggestions but I want to add my agreement that the middle pic looks awesome! I want to try it myself, to be honest!

[sazzie88]

Maybe putting a tiny bit of oil and condition for your second attempt :)

[kidari]

If you have APL hair and you do tight ringlets, it will look really short. I suggest doing bun waves: cinnamon buns for a wavy effect and a sock bun for the look of a roller set. I love rag curls too. If you use socks the curls come out bigger and if you do larger sections it's less curly and more voluminous. The level of dampness is completely dependent on the person. The more damp the hair is the more intense the curl but the longer it will take to dry. If it is at all damp when you take it out the curls will not last and if you have hair that is not straight, it will frizz. My favorite heat free curls all involve things you already have: hair ties, socks, pantyhose, bobby pins, etc. I actually HATE curlers I find them really time consuming and problematic with inconsistent results.

[Ceridwen Iris]

I don't have any curl ideas but I really like the shoelaces in your hair. Reminds me of synthetic dreads.

[AnimaSola3o4]

When I was little, my mom used to like putting these solid plastic skinny rods that had an attached elastic string to it. You wrap the hair around the rod, and then pull the elastic string over the hair and it attached to the other side of the rod. Does anyone have any idea what I'm talking about? Those things last much longer than foam rollers do, and they gave the TIGHTEST curls ever. :D

Those are perm rods. :)

I second the idea of rag curls. I used cut up t-shirt, but keep in mind that it will shed little bits of cotton into your hair. And to roll them, I took a sharp pencil and poked it into the fabric, held it along the pencil, and wrapped the hair around the pencil like I would a roller. Then I just slid the pencil out, and tied them off.

Pincurls aren't that difficult either, and you can even use your thin curling iron to help you form the curls, just don't plug it in. Then just bobby pin the curls to your head. :)

[Dreams_in_Pink]

I think you shouldn't have combed the curls. If you're going for the curly look, whatever tool you use (rags, pins, curlers) you should NEVER break the curl; you can only divide them in two carefully and apply some kind of oil/shine serum to polish each individual curl.

By the way, the middle picture looks super funky! If you could make the sections smaller you could get the dreadlocks look without the commitment :)

[AnimaSola3o4]

Also, here's an excellent video of pin curls and demonstrating how much curl you can get with them:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSt3qPNdlro&feature=results_video&playnext=1&list=PL1D1CF74E3B9D596F

[kaiakai]

By the way, the middle picture looks super funky! If you could make the sections smaller you could get the dreadlocks look without the commitment :)


That's how I ended up with dreads one time. I braided in strips of fabric and just left them in... (I think there is a pic in one of my albums)

[jasper]

I am glad someone already posted this link for you http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=82

It seems like the shoe laces or t-shirt yarn would work but the way you wrap your hair will determine if you get waves or curls.

[indigonight]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWs-XQgc-GE&feature=BFa&list=PL1D1CF74E3B9D596F&lf=results_video

Here is a channel on youtube that lists all types of heatless curls!
very useful!

[jacqueline101]

Your snake waves look wonderful.

[Babs1039]

Pincurls aren't that difficult either, and you can even use your thin curling iron to help you form the curls, just don't plug it in. Then just bobby pin the curls to your head. :)


I love this idea! Pin curls are a hassle for me and I never even thought about using a small curling iron to get the form. Now my only other problem with using pin curls is that when I use bobby pins I get these unsightly crimps in my hair. Is there a such thing as a completely smooth pin that won't leave those kinds of kinks?

[Annibelle]

I agree with the other posters-- the second photo looks great. :D You look like you should be in the Matrix. :cool:

[Avital88]

the only curls that work best for me are cocoon curls.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAPHSAPshJE

[shawty]

If you have APL hair and you do tight ringlets, it will look really short.

That's what I'm hoping for. =)

[shawty]

shudder:

Hey, you were right! I :google:'d it, and they sure were perm rods. Strange they were those, but they made great over night curls. :D

Perm rods? Does that mean they use chemicals???

[shawty]

I second the idea of rag curls. I used cut up t-shirt, but keep in mind that it will shed little bits of cotton into your hair. And to roll them, I took a sharp pencil and poked it into the fabric, held it along the pencil, and wrapped the hair around the pencil like I would a roller. Then I just slid the pencil out, and tied them off.

Pincurls aren't that difficult either, and you can even use your thin curling iron to help you form the curls, just don't plug it in. Then just bobby pin the curls to your head. :)

Those are really good ideas! Thanks! ^_^

[shawty]

I think you shouldn't have combed the curls.

I didn't. :shrug:

[hototogisu]

Perm rods! For a party I once set my BSL hair in about 40 perm rods (yes, really) and my hair was chin length. I used a pump of Motions foaming setting lotion in wet hair before wrapping in a standard perm pattern. I let them dry all day. I removed the curls the next day by soaking in an SMT for an hour before combing, but those curls could have lasted for days.

Tl;dr: PERM RODS. You'll need quite a few packs but they're cheap from beauty supply stores.

[hototogisu]

And there's nothing inherently chemically about perm rods, they're just built to withstand permi lotion.

[Mordia Pender]

I love this idea! Pin curls are a hassle for me and I never even thought about using a small curling iron to get the form. Now my only other problem with using pin curls is that when I use bobby pins I get these unsightly crimps in my hair. Is there a such thing as a completely smooth pin that won't leave those kinds of kinks?
To answer this question specifically, yes. I've mostly seen them as longer pins, but they do exist (and longer/bigger will hold more!).

My suggestion is also pin curls, but with one difference: I don't flatten the rolls to my head, I leave them "standing" and pin the bottom of them to my head. (Think of the stereotypical 40s 'do.) This a) allows my hair to actually dry "quickly", b) tends to keep a neater roll, and c) can be worn out if you place them strategically. I start at the nape of my neck and pin them all in a bunch moving up the back of my head. This method should also keep you from having weird bobby pin crimps (I've never had them). I use a curling mousse and maybe a spritz of hair spray when I'm done, but they could be done without, I suppose. This method took my hip(ish) length hair to shoulder length ringlets, and they stayed through sleeping several days before I brushed them out.

Oh, and wrapping hair around something is SO much faster. I personally use a dry erase marker that lives in my bathroom. A smooth (non tapered) brush handle could work too.

Looking at your pictures, it appears you twisted the strings around the hair, instead of the hair around the strings, which might be your problem. (I could be wrong of course. I looked at pictures; you were there. (; ) The second picture is pretty awesome, but I actually really like the first look, too. I want to try it, actually. (:<

(TL;DR - pin curls ahoy! Were the original waves done correctly?)

[Dreams_in_Pink]

I didn't. :shrug:

Event if you just shake your head a little bit, curls will be broken apart (especially if your hair's clean). Like i said, curls should be kept intact with either oil, serum or better yet, a product with some hold (gel or mousse)

[zombi]

Well, I'd like to try it, but since I've never been able to get a single bobby pin to stay in my hair at all, even for half a minute, even without holding much weight... it just seems impossible. Do you think pincurls can be done with those little snap barrettes instead?
I personally don't use bobby pins to pincurl because they dent the curl. They're often not recommended because of this!

I use pincurl clips -- they look like this:
http://www.amazon.com/Soft-Style-Boxed-Clips-Slide/dp/B000NJJBNU

And as Mordia Pender mentioned, a standing pincurl can give nice volume and a good curl as well. For waves as opposed to tight curls, use larger sections. (:

[SoulOfTheSea]

Perm rods? Does that mean they use chemicals???

Nope, they are just plastic curlers. :) You just spray your hair with water and put the curler in. That is all. :D

[shawty]

Looking at your pictures, it appears you twisted the strings around the hair, instead of the hair around the strings, which might be your problem. (I could be wrong of course. I looked at pictures; you were there. (; ) The second picture is pretty awesome, but I actually really like the first look, too. I want to try it, actually. (:<

Hmm... I kind of wrapped them both around each other? I did the proper pattern as instructed, though. I think I just needed to use an actual curling method instead of trying to trick waves into being curls.

[shawty]

And there's nothing inherently chemically about perm rods, they're just built to withstand permi lotion.

Yay! I hope to try them!

[shawty]

Event if you just shake your head a little bit, curls will be broken apart (especially if your hair's clean). Like i said, curls should be kept intact with either oil, serum or better yet, a product with some hold (gel or mousse)

AHHHH I SEE. I didn't use any product and my hair was clean. Dangit. I'll remember this for my next try.

[AnimaSola3o4]

I love this idea! Pin curls are a hassle for me and I never even thought about using a small curling iron to get the form. Now my only other problem with using pin curls is that when I use bobby pins I get these unsightly crimps in my hair. Is there a such thing as a completely smooth pin that won't leave those kinds of kinks?

I just read about this on a facebook group, and thought I'd pass the info along! I've never tried it, but it seems like it would work great!

[shawty]

I would recommend rags curls. They are cute and not terribly difficult. This video should help: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_EM1AGxYSI

I did it! It worked really well! I added links to the pictures in the original post.

[kaiakai]

ETA:
Attempt 2- Rag curls - SUCCESS!
http://i1167.photobucket.com/albums/q623/isislamb/ragcurl1.jpg (wrapped)
http://i1167.photobucket.com/albums/q623/isislamb/ragcurl2.jpg (uncombed)
http://i1167.photobucket.com/albums/q623/isislamb/ragcurl3.jpg (combed with wide-tooth)
I did 23 sections, using the edges of t-shirts, on damp hair, and slept with them in.

.


Those look great!!

[shawty]

Those look great!!

Thanks! ^_^

[spirals]

Now my only other problem with using pin curls is that when I use bobby pins I get these unsightly crimps in my hair. Is there a such thing as a completely smooth pin that won't leave those kinds of kinks?Use a roller pin; it's flat. Make a small cinnabun and clip the whole thing with it.

[earthnut]

You look very pretty with curls. :)

[Elanadi]

LOVE the rag curls!!