How do you make rag curls?

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Piccolina

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Hi all, Jkath's vintage clothing thread got me thinking...When I was a little girl my Grandma would put my hair in rag curls (my hair is natually straight as a board, and rather on the thin side) and the next morning I would have these adorable little ring curls. I'd love to try and put rag curls in my own hair now but don't really know how. Can anyone offer any pointers? Many TIA :)
 
Hey, that's cool! I'll have to try this as my hair is very fine and straight. I would love to have a little liveliness to it.
 
Doing this reminded me of all those "wet sets" we had to learn in beauty school. And to think I never thought I'd need that knowledge!

With a good double mirror, you can do this pretty easily:

Go to the beauty supply and for a tiny amount, you can buy those hard plastic rollers. (Do not buy those horrid pink spongy ones! They'll leave creases!) Get a smaller size than you think you want. Get enough for your hair too! Also, buy the long spring clips (they're about 3-1/2 to 4" long)
Wash your hair, and set it on these guys. Remember, that a section of hair needs to be the same length and width of the roller. Also, when you secure your first clip, roll the next roller, and instead of securing it, clip the clip to hold both rollers. (Picture yourself holding two empty toilet paper rolls clamped together by only 2 fingers.) After you're done setting it, spray it with an aerosol hairspray that has hold but doesn't firm up too much. Let it dry naturally (unless you have an old fashioned bonnet dryer, I suggest sitting in the sun with a glass of iced tea) and then brush it out with a really good large round bristle brush. (and I mean LARGE barrelled!) No plastic vent brushes! Your hair will look really shiny with body if you do it right. If you sleep carefully, you can revive the look the next day with a good brushing and perhaps a slight curl of a curling iron if needed.
 
Thank-you so much ladies! Your tips and that website are so helpful. I've got straight, fine hair and keeping a curl in can be next to impossible (lol, perhaps unless I use a whole bottle of hair spray). So I'm always looking for tips (and new ways/techniques) to help turn my limp locks into beautiful ringlets.

I don't have the type of curlers that you mean Jkath, but I will look for them next time I'm in a bigger city - thank-you for your help :)
 
Another thought: it's very difficult to do much with fine hair unless you're using a quality shampoo from a reputable company. The grocery store brands have a molecular structure which makes it impossible to penetrate your hair's cuticle, thus leaving all the product laying on your hair or "coating" it. (In cooking terms, you want to marinate your hair, not bread it!)
 
jkath said:
Another thought: it's very difficult to do much with fine hair unless you're using a quality shampoo from a reputable company. The grocery store brands have a molecular structure which makes it impossible to penetrate your hair's cuticle, thus leaving all the product laying on your hair or "coating" it. (In cooking terms, you want to marinate your hair, not bread it!)
I Jkath, thank-you for that handy thought :) I actually use a dye/scent free band of shampoo and conditioner because I have very sensative skin and get contact dermatitis (I have mild eczema, so the two might be tied into one another) from a lot of shampoos/soaps/etc :neutral: In fact I don't even own any styling products (hair spray, gel, etc) at the moment. But I've had some success with organic hair spray (it's what I used during my wedding). I've had fine hair my whole life, so does my mom so I tend to think it's my genes...What's that expression, "no one's every happy with their hair" - it certainly applies in my case :LOL:

I like you tip about getting a good hair brush, that's really something that I need to do if I'm going to produce waves like you mentioned - thanks for the much needed reminder and all of your help :)
 
jkath, do you mean the perm rod type of curlers?

Piccolina, can you get some hot rollers there? I live in straight hair world too, but I have had amazing success (including the 80's when big hair was essential!) with hot rollers. Takes minutes to do (once you get the technique down) and lasts a LONG time.
 
Alix said:
Piccolina, can you get some hot rollers there? I live in straight hair world too, but I have had amazing success (including the 80's when big hair was essential!) with hot rollers. Takes minutes to do (once you get the technique down) and lasts a LONG time.
Hi Alix (fellow straight haired sister), do you mean the bendy, flexible type that are all in a heating sort of "device" (lol, not sure how to describe them) that you twist the ends of together once you've rolled your hair around them? I think I've seen those in a national catalog here...thanks Alix, that might be a good idea :)
 
I could just let my hair grow and cut it off and send it to you. It is curly when short. If I let it grow it is very wavy as long as I put it on huge rollers to soften the curl. Also, it is quite thick.:)
 
purrfectlydevine said:
I could just let my hair grow and cut it off and send it to you. It is curly when short. If I let it grow it is very wavy as long as I put it on huge rollers to soften the curl. Also, it is quite thick.:)
:glare: (Envy! - Just kidding) :LOL: Well, I would never ask someone for their hair - but thank-you, you are the first to offer. Don't make that suggestion around my mom though, I fear she would ponder it and say yes (her hair is paper thin, and after each of us was born it got progressively thinner) :ROFLMAO: Some days though, I do want to go all "Dolly Parton" and secretly wish for a bunch of gorgeous, thick wigs to pick and choose from :)
 
If I grew mine waist length I'd never have hair tha wasn't wet. When it wa to the middle of my back it wouldtake 2 days to dry in the summer when the humidity was high.
 
hey, wigs are fun!!! I was wearing one when I met my husband!

Here are the kind of rollers I was talking about:
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and the clips: (the three things on the bottom left corner)
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and here are the hot rollers Alix was talking about (pretty much):
 
You are sooooo helpful Jkath, that's awesome! Those were the same type that I thought Alix had meant (lol, just wasn't sure how to describe them properly), and now I know the exact kind that you were refering to. With all this help I'll hopefully be well on my way to curls soon :)
 
I don't remember mom using rag curls with us. We had Shirley Temple curls until we were old enough to fuss, then pigtails, then pony tails.When we visited our grandmother, she did our hair in French braids and we thought we were really special. Mom dressed us not in matching clothes, but our coats and hats were all the same style, but different colors. I remember once when we went to see Santa, we were in the line and a lady behind us asked my mom "Where are they giving away those cute hats?" My mom was livid.
 
No, Shirley Temple curls were rolled up and down on rollers and combed out one at a time and hung in curls. We always had to sleep in rollers on Saturday night so our hair would be done for Sunday.
 
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