I live in a curl-less world :(

csousa1

Last week I ordered two dresses online (from Vicky's) as choices for what to wear to a wedding next Friday. They came in yesterday and they are perfect and fit beautifully!! One is a brightish blue and the other is a dark teal, and both are halter. Both look great with my coloring and bring out my eyes, and once my tan is in place, and my hair re-darkened, they will look even better.

For those of you who remember, I am not exactly looking forward to this wedding. It is really important to me that I look spectacular. I will be posting pics of the dresses when it comes close so that you can all help me decide which to wear and what accessories will be good.

In the meantime -  I REALLY want to wear my hair curly. I have long hair (middle of my back) that I dye very dark brown regularly, and it looks amazing in curls. The only problem is, I never seem to make the curls look very good on my own. I have tried a ton of different ways. My hair is very fine and soft and very naturally straight, so it basically resists curls for all it is worth.

So, what are your hair-curling/waving techniques? Should I just go out and buy some super glue and shelaque right now? A wig? This is especially posed to those of you who also have fine, straight hair and how you combat that, but any tips will be greatly appreciated Thank you ladies!

motoLyn

I know your pain!  My hair is chopstick straight and hates curls.  I find hot rollers does the trick and I put some mousse into my semi damp hair and them curl them up in the hot rollers.  Take out the rollers like 45 minutes later and a bit of hair spray and viola!  Good luck!  I want to see PICS!

lunarsongbird

Not even sleeping in sponge curlers works?

CCO2012

Tons of hair spray as you are curling it. Use dirty hair to curl, hold style better. Curl it tight and as close to the time you are leaving as possible and  prepare for loose curls, since no matter what you will do, they will fall as the night goes on. But hey, loose curls are sexy!

csousa1

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_not-engaged-yet_live-curl-less-world?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:136Discussion:d516589a-82bf-4fbd-a308-12925b81f6ffPost:2763cc8f-c181-4cf2-bf51-a7f941f4016b">Re: I live in a curl-less world :(</a>:
[QUOTE]Not even sleeping in sponge curlers works?
Posted by lunarsongbird[/QUOTE]

Not really :( I actually tried that this weekend, as a trial run. I showered Saturday night, put all my conditioner goodies in my hair like normal, and then while it was still wet/damp, I smoothed some mousse into it and rolled sections of it up in the sponge rollers. The next morning, one side look fantastic, the other side looked wayward and confused, and the top looked like slept-on wet hair. Within an hour it had all fallen out (granted I went to the beach, so I'm sure the ocean air didn't help). Maybe I shouldn't have put any leave-in conditioner or silkifying stuff in it? But then I am afriad it will just look frizzy. *sigh*

ADTonk

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_not-engaged-yet_live-curl-less-world?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:136Discussion:d516589a-82bf-4fbd-a308-12925b81f6ffPost:2e41082d-c8b4-49dd-af7c-a0f8fe03eef1">I live in a curl-less world :(</a>:
[QUOTE]<strong>So, what are your hair-curling/waving techniques?</strong> Should I just go out and buy some super glue and shelaque right now? A wig? This is especially posed to those of you who also have fine, straight hair and how you combat that, but any tips will be greatly appreciated :) Thank you ladies!
Posted by csousa1[/QUOTE]

I have very straight hair.  It's fine, but I have a lot of it.  Here's what I do:

Wash and blowdry it. Clip up all but the bottom 1"-2" of my hair.  Take a small section of hair, comb it straight, and spray it with flexible hold hairspray.  I start with the curler close to the roots, curl the top 1/3rd of my hair, hold it, and work the curling iron down to the ends.  Do this for each small section of hair.  Then let down another section of hair and repeat.

If you've gotten your hair curled at the salon before, this is how stylists curl hair.  I find that it holds better than trying to curl the entire length of your hair at once - plus it makes it curlier. 

If this doesn't make any sense, I can try to find a video to show you.

Edited for clarity

cu97tiger

I think you'd be better off doing a trial run where you don't wash your hair for a day or two, then see if the curls stay better. If worse comes to worse, maybe you can go to one of those 'blow-dry bars' that seem to be popping up everywhere to have them do your hair the day of the wedding? 

Can't wait to see pics of the dresses! 

CCO2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_not-engaged-yet_live-curl-less-world?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:136Discussion:d516589a-82bf-4fbd-a308-12925b81f6ffPost:d8ca43cc-5b95-4b36-b55a-890beda6228e">Re: I live in a curl-less world :(</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: I live in a curl-less world :( : Not really :( I actually tried that this weekend, as a trial run. <strong>I showered Saturday night, put all my conditioner goodies in my hair like normal, and then while it was still wet/damp, I smoothed some mousse into it and rolled sections of it up in the sponge rollers.</strong> The next morning, one side look fantastic, the other side looked wayward and confused, and the top looked like slept-on wet hair. Within an hour it had all fallen out (granted I went to the beach, so I'm sure the ocean air didn't help). Maybe I shouldn't have put any leave-in conditioner or silkifying stuff in it? But then I am afriad it will just look frizzy. *sigh*
Posted by csousa1[/QUOTE]

You must use dirty hair,  just like a day of no wash... I promise it will make all the difference in the world. Clean hair is silky smooth and will resist any styling other than wearing it straight especially if it is naturally that way.

sparkles88

CCO and ADTonk both have good suggestions. Curls hold better when they are done on hair that has not been recently washed. Also, spray each individual section of hair with hair spray right before you curl it. I think Suave sells some pretty cheap hair spray with various levels of hold and flexibility. It's comes in a large pink colored can. I usually buy something like a 9 or 10 level, and that seems to hold it well.

jorhys

I also have very long hair that doesn't hold curl. I use velcro rollers to get waves and lots of volume. Here's a youtube video exactly the way I do it. Clicky!

MLekathLEEN

FSIL has baby fine hair that is stick straight and I HATE doing her hair. This is what we do and it manages to stay pretty well considering what she has to work with.

1.) Don't wash it. Day old hair will usually manage better and the natural oils in your hair will help keep the curl.
2.) Mousse hair first
3.) Spray piece of hair with hair spray then curl it with a curling iron
4.) Pin that curl on your head with bobby pins. Repeat 28375 times.
5.) Let the curls cool for 20 minutes or so before taking the bobby pins out.
6.) Spray each curl as you take it out with hair spray, then do a once over.

Elle1036

Dude, get a YouCurl ($40 available most places that sell hair stuff).

I just got one about a week ago and I'm in love with it.  My hair generally holds curl ok, but not great, and I also find styling my hair curly to be really difficult.

With this thing, it's easy and my hair stays curled for 4 times longer than usual.  Plus, it's so much quicker than other curling irons or rollers.

Ok, infomercial over.  If you decide to try it, wash your hair and then comb a volumizing mousse through it while it's damp.  Blow dry and then get to work.

Edit:  Or wash your hair the day before like some of the other ladies have suggested, but still use the volumizing mousse.

Hazel_B

Sounds like pps have some great suggestions. Sadly I have none, having curls can be the bane of my existance some days.

csousa1

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_not-engaged-yet_live-curl-less-world?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:136Discussion:d516589a-82bf-4fbd-a308-12925b81f6ffPost:1d27b640-0905-4295-b315-282d5658bf7b">Re: I live in a curl-less world :(</a>:
[QUOTE]Dude, get a YouCurl ($40 available most places that sell hair stuff). I just got one about a week ago and I'm in love with it.  My hair generally holds curl ok, but not great, and I also find styling my hair curly to be really difficult. With this thing, it's easy and my hair stays curled for 4 times longer than usual.  Plus, it's so much quicker than other curling irons or rollers. Ok, infomercial over.  If you decide to try it, wash your hair and then comb a volumizing mousse through it while it's damp.  Blow dry and then get to work. Edit:  Or wash your hair the day before like some of the other ladies have suggested, but still use the volumizing mousse.
Posted by Elle1036[/QUOTE]


Elle, which one do you use? When I googled YouCurl a couple options came up, so I am curious which one you use. If it is the one I think, I will def be buying it because I have wanted one like that.

I think I will be trying all of these options this weekend as trial runs and see which works best. I'm scared of the dirty hair thing, although I know that works, because my hair is SOO fine that it gets greasy pretty easily :( But I will be brave and try it!

Thanks ladies!!

Elle1036

This is the one I have:

http://www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&biw=1187&bih=680&q=youcurl&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=8584479339981681807&sa=X&ei=GLTvTf-yKef10gH8xe2MDQ&ved=0CDsQ8wIwAg#ps-sellers

My FI's younger sister got a similar product called the Hai elite rod and raved about it, so I was going to get one, but then I found this for less than half the price.

MLekathLEEN

I'm scared of those. I burned my fingers trying to curl my hair one of those and said F this Maybe I'm just a dum dum..

Elle1036

It comes with a little half-glove that protects your fingers from the heat, but I honestly don't even use it.  I was worried about it, too, because I burn the crap out of myself every time I try to use a regular curling iron (the kind with a clamp), but I don't have the same problem with the YouCurl.  Maybe just because it only has to be on the hair for a few seconds, or because I think it looks better when I don't curl all the way to the ends, but I haven't burned myself once.

csousa1

Thanks Elle! I just bought it I will be trying it out tonight I think. I'll let you know how it works!

Elle1036

I really hope it works for you as well as it does for me.  I'm going to feel like such an ass if it flops.

leia1979

I use the long foam rollers. They have a wire core, so you just bend them to keep them in place. My stylist recommends BigSexyHair Dense. I used to just mix gel and water in a spray bottle. Work section by section and get the hair pretty damp with water and product.

These: http://www.sallybeauty.com/flexible-rods/HAIRAR4,default,pd.html?cm_vc=SEARCH

SopChick

Has anyone ever had a digital perm? It's the one that looks like the loose wavy curls celebs always have...

I also have fine, straight hair that hates to curl, I will definitely give your tips a try!

Peaseblossom55

i have fine straight hair and its pretty hard to curl, the shorter it is the easier it is.  I do theatre and they always want me to have curly hair.  hot rollers don't work,  sponge roller in wet hair andd set over night to dry or blown dry might work, it has worked for me in the past, but it's so time consuming and i need a ton of rollers. Might it be worth to get it done as a special treat for yourself?