OK--Who else out there has been using the curling iron since their youth? I would have two or three plugged in when I was getting ready for school--Aqua Net at the ready. I had to get those satellite dish bangs just right... Luckily those days are gone gone gone, and we can just make lovely curls with them instead.
Here's what I normally use on my girls. I also have a big barrel curling iron (2 inch), that is great for straightening and rounding off the ends. This is a 1 inch and a 1/2 inch. I used the 1/2 inch today, since her hair doesn't have a lot of natural curl.
Here's what we started with. Some people might want to round brush the hair and make it all straight prior....but I am not one of those people. Since her hair is fairly thick, I clipped up half to start.
This shows how I've wrapped it to the ends.
If you can wrap the ends in and close the clip tight enough to keep them in, do so. Her hair was too fat to keep them in, so I have to alternate opening and closing the clip a small bit, and letting the hair rotate through the iron, until I can pull the ends in. After I do this a little bit, I roll the hair back up to where I started from. Please tell me if this does not make sense!
End poking out, as I rotate it through.
I hold the iron in place, each time I adjust it, about a count of 10. The straighter the hair, the more time it will need. Since you don't have the ends in, closest to the iron, you don't have to worry so much about burning the hair. To release the curl, I open and shut the clip a little at a time, just like when you are rotating the hair through, and pull down.
Mine end up looking like this. Let it cool before adjusting it.
Another shot of wrapping the hair, beginning near the clip.
And another of ends poking out, after initial wrap. I was really trying to illustrate how to do this....so hopefully having more is more helpful??
If you decide to be one of 'those people', and want the hair more straight before you curl it, here's a trick. Here's a little wave in her hair.
Just run your iron down the hair quickly, repeating until straight.
Showing how I position the curls on the side of her head. It's the same as when you roll curlers, you lay them the same way. This is blurry due to my hurried-ness with the camera, and my near panic at leaving the iron in her hair too long.
See that end, and how it's not completely curled? I didn't get it rotated through quite enough. Now, you can attempt to re-curl that portion if you want. Me? I just figured it will blend in when the curls are separated, and it adds to that more 'natural' look. Thankfully that's the 'thing' now, and my laziness works to my advantage.
See? I am all done, and all the curls are NOT exactly the same.
I also like to curl all her baby flyaway hairs around her face., instead of just leaving them hanging straight. These I just roll around my iron for a few seconds. Consistency is the key!
I let her cools curl while she watched some Max and Ruby, and I decided to start on my huge pile o'laundry. After I'd had enough of that, I finger combed through her curls, separating each one, and trying to make them look more even. This picture shows me she could have used a bit more of that. Letting the curls cool will help them stay in longer! Mucho importante!
I sprayed with hairspray, and we stuck a big fat headband in. I like to leave some hair covering the ears when I put in a headband. It's cute, and it helps cushion their little ears against a non-soft headband. All beautiful and bouncy!
