Brushing Out Pincurls (For Long Hair)?

I've been doing pin curls for a little over a month now, but I can't brush them out or style them at all.

My hair is pretty long, around 6 inches or so past my shoulders, and it holds curl fairly well. However, it always ends up air-drying while I'm pin curling, and when that happens it gets frizzy. It only gets worse when I take them out. When I try to brush them out, I get fluffy, frizzy, 70s hair rather than the 40s-50s look I'd like. And I would like for it to be more curly than wavy when I style it, and so I'm guessing my hair is too long for that? Is there anything I can do to get my hair more smooth and vintage-looking?

Have you used pomade? That usually does it to tame any frizziness from my wet sets.

I know that other people use it, though I haven't tried it out. Is there any specific kind/brand to use?

Tessie313 said:

I know that other people use it, though I haven't tried it out. Is there any specific kind/brand to use?

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I have been using the same kind for years now. I don't use it all that often because I don't curl my hair all that often. It is just the only pomade I could find at the store. It's Got2B brand. I hate the way it smells though. I'm definitely going to look to switch once this one is used up. I have heard of several other brands, but I can't recall their names.

I have long hair as well, and I've found that I can only pin-curl my hair if I start with it dry. Maybe this is more about my hair type? I need to start with dry hair and leave it overnight to get the curls/waves to set. My hair texture is medium-fine, but I have a lot of it so I would call it thick. It does not like to hold styles or curl. I generally use a small amount of diluted setting spray while I'm working, but this no more than lightly dampens my hair. Brushing it out afterward takes me about five minutes, and I rarely get frizz. I don't know if the lack of frizz is because I am using a dry set? The reason I avoid wet sets if that my hair would still be sopping in the morning. It's just very porous and it would take days to dry naturally if it was pinned up wet.

I would also recommend making the pincurls larger. My hair is also longer, and I find the tighter pincurls (like in the old instructions books) give me a lot of frizz and are hard to comb out and style.

Aveda makes two different types of pomade, which one you'll have the best results with will depend on your hair type. Any Aveda salon can suggest and sell the best one for you, and they both smell great

I really appreciate all the replies--my pin curls are a lot less frizzy now. However, I'm still wondering how to brush them out/style them? I'd prefer a more curly look, but I end up getting loose waves. I've seen some tutorials say, "Just keep brushing them out until you get a style you like," but when I do that, I brush out the curl entirely.

I used to pin curl my hair when I had waist-length hair. I still got my hair to follow the waves of the desired pin-curl look.

What I did was what I always do: I started from the ends and worked my way up. Long before I was into pinned curls, I've always brushed or combed my hair at the ends first. You don't run into crazy tangles this way.

With a your paddle brush, hold one hand at the outside of your hair, then brush under the curls. You need to do this in sections. I quarter my hair and brush out the sections separately. Use your hand as the surface to brush your hair against. You'll be going in sweeps, brushing the ends 2 or 3 strokes, then going up an inch for new hair, and brushing a few strokes, and up again. After you've gotten the tangles out, you can slowly brush all the way through from top to bottom. If you run into snags, stop and try a lower spot, doing the previous small-stroke method first.

Using your hand as a surface for your bristles to work against really helps get smoother curls, and encourages all hairs to work as one. If I ever add hair spray later on, it's just to keep new growth from frizzing all over the place. While at home, I rarely use hair spray. I'll tame my hair with a very light coating of either grape seed or coconut oil. For tiny areas where they just won't stay, I might use a tiny drop of lanolin oil.

If you've set your pin curls tightly, you'll get that "poodle hair" before it goes into soft S curls. Normally I use a dolly peg to set my hair in the best curls possible. I've tried setting larger curls, but it falls out pretty fast. I've noticed that the longer my hair gets, the tighter the sets need to be.

I haven't really used any pomade or setting lotion that often. Recently I've tried Garnier Fructice curl sculpting lotion/cream, and it does promote curls if you make sure you use it on damp hair. I let my hair air dry, set it, then spray it damp. I'd come across this blog awhile back that gave me the idea of dry setting before spraying it damp. Longer hair takes forever for curls to dry completely through due to how dense the curl becomes. Dampening the dry set encourages the curls to stay in place. With a good setting lotion, you're guaranteed a good curl. I had kept long hair on and off for about 10 years, so I've had plenty of time to experiment with long hair care.

Good brushing-out tips, AvavanBlythe, thank you. My hair is quite long, too, and sometimes brushing out seems like too much of a trial!

So far as frizz, I actually use coconut oil on my hair all of the time (my hair is just naturally...rebellious). Just start with a little bit at a time, as with any pomade. A bonus, of course, is the wonderful coconutty smell—and it is very good for your hair.

Ahh, the coconut oil I buy is deoderized. I know how crazy brushing out curls in hair can be. In my early pin-curling days with long hair, it was a trial since I didn't know I could dry set then spray it with water. You end up looking like a poodle! I honestly do best with a smaller paddle brush, and taking big locks of hair to brush out at a time. It works for me in long or short hair. Prior to pinned curls, my hair was stubborn about keeping a curl, hehe.

I use Lottabody setting lotion on my hair for wet sets, I'm in the US and buy it at Sally's Beauty Supply. For pomade, I use a beard pomade I bought for my husband that he doesn't really care for I've also made my own pomade from beeswax, olive oil and coconut oil, but his beard pomade smells a little better, haha.

And for the pomade, I find the tiniest bit on my fingertips is usually enough, start with less than you think, and then rub it across your palms, rub your hands over your hair, brush it through and then brush your curls over your palms. You hold the hair between your thumb and forefinger, and then brush over the palm, if that makes sense. Does that make sense? I'm trying to mime it to make sure I'm describing it properly.

The only thing I can think of is something similar to scrunching hair. But not. I typically just brush my fingers over my curls to make whatever fly-aways tame themselves against the curls.

I've got long hair too and the same problem... I was thinking about some kind of pomade but to make it harder, I'm a "no pooh" girl (no chemical ever touches my hair!)... DonnaP I'd be very interested in a detailed recipe for your homemade pomade!

This used to happen to me, and my hairstylist friend recommended that if one half of your hair dries out before you get to it, keep a spray bottle of water on your vanity (or wherever you happen to be setting your hair) and rewet the section(s) as necessary and only apply the setting lotion once you are ready to pin curl that piece/section.

As far as brushing out the set, using a big boar bristle brush like this one:

Does the trick, but you just need to keep brushing and shaping the style on your palm until it starts forming the shape you want. I know it seems like you will be brushing quite a bit, but that's just how it is. Hope this helps

This is exactly the brush I use when I do pin curls. Also, you never want to start out with wet hair, at least in my experience. I always have dry hair first, then put in the hot rollers for about an hour. After that's finished, you can start the process of making the pin curls. Then I use this brush to comb out the rest of my hair and I use a smoothing styling cream and lightly run it over the curls. Works wonders!

RebeccaMUA said:

This used to happen to me, and my hairstylist friend recommended that if one half of your hair dries out before you get to it, keep a spray bottle of water on your vanity (or wherever you happen to be setting your hair) and rewet the section(s) as necessary and only apply the setting lotion once you are ready to pin curl that piece/section.

As far as brushing out the set, using a big boar bristle brush like this one: View attachment 45737

Does the trick, but you just need to keep brushing and shaping the style on your palm until it starts forming the shape you want. I know it seems like you will be brushing quite a bit, but that's just how it is. Hope this helps

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I use a denman seven row brush to brush out pin curls. Copied both Lisa Freemont Street and A Vintage Vanity!

My method is similar to AvavanBlythe's. My hair just touches the top of my hips now. It's going to tangle if I look at it wrong, haha. I spray my boar/nylon brush with oil and start at the ends. But I don't use setting lotion. I feel like I don't need it. That might be due to my natural curl. Anyway, I should mention that I do a combo of pin curls and sponge rollers. I feel like they come out similarly.