Some Roller Advice, Please.

[Miire]

Hello everyone. I have a question about rollers. I was checking out some foam rollers at the store today and came to a pause when I found myself debating on which size roller I should buy that would mimick pin curls the best or simply give me the best curls to style my hair with. I had a pack of medium ones in one hand and small in the other. And then I started thinking about investing in some good hot rollers, or maybe brush ones. As you can see, I had no idea what would do. Which kind of rollers have worked best for long straight hair? Any advice?
Thanks!

 

[Tourbillion]

For long hair, I'd get the medium ones. The small ones are better for short hair, if you have hair longer than a bob you'd need several packs of the small ones to roll all of your hair, and you would get really poofy hair.

My hair is almost to my waist, and I usually use medium or even large ones. If I set them in wet hair they take forever to dry, and I get really hard to control hair. So, I usually set my hair when it is dry, but I have lots of body.

It also depends on what style you are going for. If you want big rolls, you need large curlers, at least in the front.

Maybe some of the experts will give their opinions, I'd recommend an experiment.

 

[jitterbugdoll]

For me, the smaller the better! I have hair that is just below my shoulders, and it is quite thick and course. You want the hair to wrap around a roller as many times as possible in order to form a curl, rather than simply curl the ends under--hence the need for a smaller curler (my hairdresser taught me that once around equals a 'C' curl or ends under for a page boy look, and twice around equals an 'S' curl or all over waves/curls, if that makes sense.)

For hot rollers, the best set, and the one that comes closest to a faux pin curl set, is a set called Hot Sticks. I swear by them for touch ups (or for when you cold set comes out awry), dry sets, and for when I style hair at swing dances/photo shoots. They are wonderful!

You can also make rag curlers at home, by cutting up an old t-shirt into inch-wide strip that are about six inches long. Rag curls are very good for wet sets, and are easier to master than pin curls, plus more comfortable to sleep in then sponge rollers.

 

[decodoll]

For my hair, the smaller the better as well. It's fine and just hates to hold a curl. I slept on 5/8" sponge rollers last night, and I was able to brush and brush it and it didn't loose the curl.

My new hairdresser was showing me how to do a faux pincurl set too with a curling iron. I'm still practising it, but I think I have more chance of getting this down than an actual pincurl set. You start with dry hair. Take a section as if your going to pincurl it and with a small barrel curling iron starting from the base of the section, curl toward your face holding the tale of hair over the top. Then gradually loosen the curling iron grip and twist more hair into the curling iron a little at a time until you get to the end. Pull the iron out and you will have a perfect spiral curl. At this point, you collapse this back onto your head forming the pincurl, clip or bobby pin down. When all done, spray like crazy with hair spray or setting lotion and let dry. When done perfect pincurls and no fish hooks! I hope that wasn't too confusing!

She's going to be doing a vintage lesson for her interns soon and asked it I wanted to be the model so that I could learn everything along with them. I'll be sure to post if I learn any more good tips.

 

[Tourbillion]

okay, I measured my sponge rollers.

Small 1/2"
Medium 5/8"
Large 7/8"
Jumbo 1 1/8"

The smalls make my hair into either unbrushable frizz or ringlets.

I usually use the mediums for 40's stuff, but I sometimes use the larges if I want looser curls.

 

[mysterygal]

That's what I was doing wrong! I'm so glad this was brought up! I curled my hair using small sponge rollers last night..the style looked really cute right after taking the curlers out but once I combed my fingers through it, was a little too much fro for me!

 

[Miire]

Thank-you so much! I experimented pin curls for the first time last weekend and I got lots and lots of frizz. I went from Shirley Temple when I took them out to Dianna Ross when I combed the curls. My hair isnt thin and I didnt use conditioner as well as having made the curls with wet hair. I think I'll try the medium foam curlers for an experiment and buy some good hot rollers for my brothers wedding in July.

 

[jitterbugdoll]

Usually frizz means you took too small of a section of hair, or curled it too tightly. I can end up with frizz with sponge rollers or rag curlers for the same reason as well. It just takes practice That is why I recommend picking up a set of Hot Sticks, as they can smooth out a frizzy situation or tame wayward strands if you have somewhere to be and your hair did not turn out the way you wanted it too

By the way, I always use conditioner on my hair and it doesn’t have any effect on the end result—my hair needs the conditioner or it ends up flyaway because of the dry air out here.

 

[Fleur De Guerre]

What make are the Hot Sticks? We don't seem to have them over here, so are they anything like these? http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/4422316/Trail/C%24cip%3D36237.Sports%2Band%2Bleisure%3EC%24cip%3D36390.Personal%2Bcare%3EC%24cip%3D36383.Curlers%2Band%2Bstylers.htm

I want to pick up some heated rollers, like the traditional in a box style ones, but I don't know if something like these would be better? They'd be more portable anyway.

 

[mysterygal]

Conair makes hot sticks that work great

 

[jitterbugdoll]

No, those aren't the same--they don't get hot enough.

You want these babies, which luckily, are plentiful on eBay (and also at beauty supply stores; I purchased a brand new set at Sally Beauty a few months ago. My old set, which is at least 20 years old, still works great as well.):

Te difference is that they are super hot, and very small, which gives them that faux pin curl effect. Seriously, when I discovered a forgotten set of these, which had belonged to one on my sisters, my hair began to look much, much more authentic (despite using a modern appliance)

 

[mysterygal]

And that one comes with more hot sticks than the conair one does...with long, thick hair, it took FOREVER!

 

[jitterbugdoll]

It actually had the same number of rollers as my ancient set did (if you are looking on eBay, go for the bigger set—it’s worth it), but the roller distribution was different (i.e., there weren’t the same number of small rollers and large rollers.) At first I wasn’t sure I would like it as well, but now I really like it.

In case anyone is wondering how I lay out the rollers, I do seven on the left side (rolled towards the face), four in the back (rolled under), and eight on the right side (rolled towards the face), with one large stick left over (which I sometimes use in the back as well.)

 

[Miire]

Awesome. I have a Sally's Beauty Supply Store right beside my work. I'll check it out.

 

[ITG]

Miire, did you get my PM in reply to yours? I wasn't sure if you did because I didn't think members who had messages below 15 could PM others, so it may not be showing up in your inbox yet.

 

[Fleur De Guerre]

I cannot WAIT to go to San Diego this July. It seems all the best stuff is not available in the UK. I am stocking up on Lottabody, for one, and if I get a set of those rollers over there I can still use them at home because I have a power converter. I bet they are cheaper over there too. Hooray for our ridiculously expensive currency!

 

[Fleur De Guerre]

Also, jitterbugdoll, when you fasten the ends together, do you fasten them towards the face as well, or away from it? are they easy to handle, and can you burn yourself on them easily or anything? Sorry for all the questions!

 

[jitterbugdoll]

You will love them, Fleur De Guerre--they are worth the wait

However, they are very hot, so be careful! You have to move a bit quickly, and make sure you avoid touching the center portion for too long.


Basically, you roll the hair around it like any other roller, towards your face, and then lock it together towards yours face as well. They do move around a bit, but if you roll them tightly enough, they won't shift around too much (and even if they do, it's not really a big deal.)

 

[Miire]

I've gotten the PM. Thank-you!

 

[Lauren]

I cannot WAIT to go to San Diego this July. It seems all the best stuff is not available in the UK.

Ooh! You're coming to my neck of the woods! Maybe if you have time we could hit a few vintage stores when you're in town