Setting Hair in Rollers

From what I have seen and read, curls are the staple to most retro hairstyles. I have yet to master the art of pin curling (I can't even get one of them right ), but I am well on my way to mastering hair rollers... OK, not really...I have only set my hair in rollers twice. Here is what happened. Maybe my mishaps will help those who are trying this for the first time as well.

Don't do this:

• Start at the bottom of your head and work you way up. This was one of my first mistake at it literally turned into a nightmare. Your sections will be uneven, your visibility will be shot, there will be hair falling out of clips and mixing in with the hair you are trying to roll. Just don't do it. 
• Start rolling hair with no pattern in mind. This is yet another way to make a mess of yourself and get uneven amounts of hair on each roller. It will also drive you slightly insane when you haven the slightest clue what you are doing.
• Use way too much setting lotion or "curl enhancing" spray. This will make your curls crunchy, stiff, gross, etc.
• Forget that your ends need to be properly rolled and tucked in all nice and neat and together. Otherwise you will get a nice curl with a little messed up frizz ball at the end.
• Put too much hair on each roller. You will get a general curl but not the ringlets that you are going for. If all you want is a general curl than that's fine, I guess.
• Not roll the hair tight enough. It will fall out while you are sleeping.
• Take the rollers out before your hair dries. This is a surefire way to end up with NO curls.

If you mess up a bajillion time like I did then your hair might look like the three pictures below. It looked nice for about two seconds when I first "styled it" but my curls went limp and fell out soon after that.

 

Do This Instead: 

• Star at the top of your head, wherever it is that you parted your hair. This will keep the rest of your hair out of your way and will allow you to get even sized sections.
• Know how you are going to roll your hair before your start rolling away. Having a pattern in mind allows for more even sections.
• Use small amounts of water with equal parts of setting lotion. This worked for me. If you are doing a true wet set (straight-out-of-the-shower, towel-dried hair), Just spritz a little bit of setting lotion on each strand before you roll it.
• Take special care of your ends, making sure their lay flat and stay together. Neatly tuck them in under the rest of the hair being rolled.
• Roll strand of hair that are as thick as the diameter of the rollers you are using and just a tiny bit less wide than the length of the roller for the best curls.
• Roll hair tightly by creating a little tension while you roll and making sure you roll all the way up to your scalp.

If you follow these tips your hair should look like the pictures below. I liked my ringlets so much that I did not attempt to style my hair, I just clipped the front of my hair back. Btw, my curls lasted many hours in muggy Florida weather...in the middle of a horrible rain storm, hurray for me!  (PS. The I ran out of rollers so I had to use a foam roller, hence the little pink blob at the bottom of the first pic)

 Other things to keep in mind:

• You have to be extra careful unrolling curls when using velcro rollers or wire rollers that have bristles because their like to hang on to your hair. OUCH!
• Foam rollers are more comfortable to sleep on but I cannot get the hang of them so I just tough it out and sleep slightly in pain.
• Humidity in the air, rain, and sweat will your curls go limp :'(
• Wear a bandana, scarf, or sleeping cap when you go to bed to keep your curls in place while you sleep. Heck, if you are brave enough and do not want to waste your hard work on curls that will go limp before it's time you to go out at night, walk around town in your rollers and a cute bandana while running your errands. You will get strange looks, but whatever!
• When you take out the rollers (by gently rolling them off, not pulling them out), twirl the curl around
• Wait until your hair is completely dry!

Hope this helped!

The End