Big curls on the ends of hair? That *stay put*?

[Frenchy56]

This has to have been asked about before, but when I searched I got so many results, so please redirect me if someone has perfectly answered my question before

I love a particular 40s hairstyle that is often seen on Lauren Bacall and Rita Hayworth, whereby the very ends of the hair are curled into big, wavy curls, and the rest of the hair is straight. I would love to achieve this, but I don't know how.

To my untrained eyes, it literally looks as though biggish rollers have been used, but only rolled part-way up the hair? It really doesn't look like a brushed-out full set.

I'm willing to believe that this will never be a possibility for me, as my hair is fine, straight and wispy, and whenever I do set my hair the ends always uncurl first

Any help most appreciated

Edit: out of eagerness/ desperation, I'm going to try rolling big sections of hair on medium bendy rolllers tonight, only using 7 or 8 rollers, and only partway up my head, to try and get this style. I doubt it'll work but I'm curious, especially as I'd be able to sleep in the damn things for once.

I know someone here will know how to do it properly though, so I thought I'd still post

 

[Antje]

You must brush out section by section, so you can achieve barrel kinda curls

 

[Miss Tuppence]

I sure one of the girls will come along soon who knows more about this style- I usually roller right up to the scalp and rarely change my setting directions, so I'm not the girl to advise! I'm intrigued to know what your set comes out like- pictures would be good if possible! Good Luck.

 

[tammylynn70]

I've always rollered to the scalp too. I have thick hair that's pretty long and have to do small sections for the set to "take". I believe after talking to my sister (she used to be a cosmetologist) that you really have to do this in order for it to come out right. Once you brush it out, be very careful and brush in sections over your hand to avoid killing the curl. Setting gel or mousse helps when you set it for the curl to last. You can also use hot rollers and a curler, but spray the sections you're curling with hairspray or spray gel. I'm just starting to do this myself so I lean on her a lot.

 

[Frenchy56]

Well, given the advice about brushing section by section I'll re-set my hair as usual, then brush it out as advised tomorrow morning, and let you know if I get anything like the result I'm after Thank you all!

 

[RodeoRose]

You could always use rags or pins and just roll it up to the neck (instead of the scalp). This is what I do most nights; then thoroughly brush it out against your palm for that smooth wave look. If you use medium-sized hanks of hair for each rag, it'll give you a bigger, more wave-like curl.
Much of the secret is in the brushing out! This is a great video tutorial on the proper way to brush out a set; the palm trick revolutionized my hair skills, lol!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEtJZK946Y0

 

[ZombieGirl]

It may be your haircut that is making your curls fall. Maybe talk to your stylist about what kind of layers would be most useful for that style.

 

[Frenchy56]

It may be your haircut that is making your curls fall. Maybe talk to your stylist about what kind of layers would be most useful for that style.

I'm really hoping you're right. The back and underneath of my hair is long, straight and heavy (well, as heavy as fine hair can get)- what would you suggest I get done? I might have to post this elsewhere or start a new topic as that's another question I have, really- though I'm not sure I want a full-on middy, I definitely think a different haircut would help my sets.

Going to unroll shortly and try out the brushing thing, never done it before and it may just be the solution I'm looking for!

 

[Frenchy56]

I tried the brushing-out against your hand thing and it worked GREAT It's still not really the exact style I wanted, but I definitely got a softer, smoother, generally better look than I usually get! Thanks so much to everyone that gave me that tip!

 

[Antje]

When you get more skilled, you somehow can make the cascading curls like you want to

 

[Frenchy56]

When you get more skilled, you somehow can make the cascading curls like you want to

Well, I brushed my hair out again that day, after having it up all day, and funnily enough it was starting to look a lot more like the style I wanted! I wouldn't say I'm skilled though

I really can't believe what an amazing difference that technique makes!

Another quick question, do you really have to brush each section of hair as you unroll? Or can you unroll your whole head and then start taking sections?

 

[Smuterella]

I unroll the whole head and just brush like a maniac for a good few minutes and then shape it as per Lolita Haze's recent tutorial.

 

[Frenchy56]

I unroll the whole head and just brush like a maniac for a good few minutes and then shape it as per Lolita Haze's recent tutorial.

What exactly do you mean by 'shape it', are you doing anything in particular (that I should be doing )?

I used to just brush my whole head without taking sections, but I realise now that it turns mine into a frizzy mess compared to the result I got brushing out section by section. That might be because I deliberately set my hair tighter than I really want it, so it'll last for 3 days. I'd be interested to see how long my sets will last using this new brushing technique, given that I am making my curls a lot looser than they usually are at first.

P.S. you have such lovely curls in your avatar, so shiny!

 

[Smuterella]

Thank you, thats very sweet of you. By shaping I mean directing the hair over my hand and brushing it into the shape I want, kind of what you are doing I think. You can get so many different results from just one simple setting pattern by brushing and placing the curls where you want them.

What sort of curlers are you using? I find US perm rods to be the best thing - same as Lolita uses (thanks for the tip Lady Lo!) and if I set my hair wet, with just a touch of setting lotion, and pin the curls up at night, the set can last for days. Have you seen the tutorial Lolita did? It shows the sort of setting you describe in your original post and shows the brush out technique (though I only use one brush myself).

 

[Frenchy56]

What sort of curlers are you using? Have you seen the tutorial Lolita did?

I use 20mm sponge rollers on the shorter parts of my hair, and 15mm sponge rollers on the longer back and underneath parts. Though they are quite compressed now from sleeping on them and general use, so they are really a lot smaller- the 15mm can curl my shoulder-length back bits to an inch or so long (when I first unroll).

I'm thinking of either getting some new sponge rollers or trying perm rods, as my hair always seems to get tangled round the end plastic bits of my rollers, I'm just bothered that the same thing might happen with the perm rods, as they have a fastener too.

Would you post me a link to that tutorial? Thanks so much for your help!

 

[Smuterella]

Here you go! There is a very strange noise in the background but its worth sticking with. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J50kzRZ6mbQ

The perm rods I've got don't have anything to get tangled - they look like this:

I've got two sizes, dark pink and peach. The peach are larger and better for loosely curled styles. For something like you want to do I'd use the peach and put quite a bit of hair on each curler to keep looseness in the curl.

I love the perm rods, they are the best way I've ever found to get a curl in my hair and while not comfy to sleep on you soon get used to them.

I've got a couple of sets on my blog and there is definitely a perm rod one there if you want to take a look.

 

[Antje]

I somethimes brush at once, but I also brush it out section by section, I don't brush each curl individualy

 

[RichieDagger]

For me, it takes an off-the-base wetset, brushing out, a lot of pomade, and even more practice! Took me almost a year to get it -just- right.

 

[Frenchy56]

The perm rods I've got don't have anything to get tangled - they look like this:

How do you keep them fixed in your hair? All the perm rods I've ever seen seem to have an elasticated bit that you pull over the ends, and that fixes them. That's why I was worried about my hair getting tangled, given how easily it seems to tangle in the plastic end bits of my sponge rollers >:|

Are they easier to sleep in than bendy rollers? Last time I went to bed in those my shoulders and neck were killing me the next day, never again! I do want to try perm rods, but being able to sleep in them would be a must, it's practically the only way I can continue to set my hair on a regular basis.

 

[Smuterella]

They do have an elestic but but they don't tangle anywhere near as much as sponge rollers, I promise!

They are hard to sleep in but when you do it every night you get used to it pretty quickly.