Tutorial

The morning after update. Okay, I just reread that and I better not be saying that for her again for MANY years!!:) Anyhow, after a comedy act trying to unroll (which takes two hands) while trying to take pictures (which works best with two hands!) and trying to edit last night's post by putting this below but not getting Blogger to let me move the uploaded photos down here is the final steps...before the beginning...typical for us!! I would need to have movie mode on for you to see the unwinding motion used to avoid 'snagging' the curler in the hair! Just imagine as you are holding the curler that you are drawing circles on the ceiling as you snap your wrist. In this shot where I was letting Mari unroll so I could work the camera I caught a big NO NO! Don't just pull down hard on the curler!! Besides ending up knotted in the hair it also over stretches the hair.

After all the curlers are out you then go back and slide your finger into the curls and rebrush them around your finger. This gets rid of 'frizzies' and helps them lay as discreet ringlets.

See how neatly it comes back after a quick brush around the finger???

Now if you do not want 'ringlets' but a nice fluffy do you can separate the ringlets by sticking your finger through the curl and sliding it down to isolate out a smaller strand and then brush around your finger!

So she's a tweener! As should be expected she changed her mind and decided to go with a curly pony. This is how much curl we got with NO gel/spray or any other product when rolling a really dirty/oily head. You should use something when rolling to help hold the curl through a toddler's bouncing and dancing. Just remember to keep saying as you wipe it on the strands before rolling "A LITTLE DAB WILL DO YOU" because LESS is better!!!! Too much and the hair won't dry or may dry too 'crunchy' and not bounce well while dancing. Side view of the finished pony which in a couple of hours will be stick straight again because she's off with the gang to go to a Wisconsin Dells waterpark resort.

Part One:

Sorry to my other readers but this post is for my honorary grandbabies in New Orleans who have their first dance recital coming up soon! Since I can't seem to get my e-mail to hold all of these photos as well as the narrative I'm posting it here so their Mommy can get a practice or two in before the big day. So for those of you who have no intention of ever subjecting your daughters to the 'joys' of curlers or who have been there, done that now is the time to duck out and miss the boring tutorial. Now Mommy, here it is..... I know, not the best shot but this shows how to use the 'rat tail' end of the comb to slide down the scalp to section out a 'chunk' of hair. The smaller the chunk of hair and the more tightly you roll the tighter/kinkier the curl! So since Mari, our gracious model, decided that since I was rolling 'a couple' of curlers for the photo shoot she might as well get a full do, hers are BIG chunks which I rolled loosely for a softer less curly final outcome.

To avoid wonky ends I use papers to contain the ends of the hair. These are especially useful around the face where the uneven wisps can make rolling very frustrating!

With the rectangular paper turned so that the length runs parallel to the strands of hair I place it behind the chunk to be rolled about halfway up.

I then fold it over the chunk and SLOWLY slide it down the hair until the bottom edge of the paper just reaches the bottom ends of the hair.

Then holding the curler horizontally....parallel to the floor... I lay the papered end OVER the curler and start rolling away from me which would also be towards their head.

About mid-way up the strand I slowly start turning the curler with every turn until the curler is now vertical...perpendicular to the floor. Honestly, it's like writing right or left handed in that the direction you turn the curler (foam pointing up or foam pointing down) is a matter of natural comfort. The only consideration is do you want the curls to rotate towards the face or away from the face? In this picture the curl will end up facing Mari's face which looks better when wearing a headband as she is planning but when pinning up or placing a topknot it is often neater to have the curl turn away from the face. I don't think it matters that much for a tot recital but just thrown out there FYI.

I usually do a slightly modified perm-roll in that I do not roll the top of the head back because we do not like the extra POUF it gives. I usually end up with two rows going around the head like this but if you are doing it with part pulled up into a bow you might want to pull that part up before rolling and place curlers in the pony separately.

Super clean hair usually does NOT take the best curl! If they resist sleeping in the curlers then you can add a little mouse/gel, roll it with a curling iron and while still warm quickly roll as above. If they will sleep in the curlers then remember to roll while 90-100% DRY!!!! If you roll wet it runs the risk of not drying out all the way into the ends for long hair and a tiny bit of moisture, a HINT of moisture, just slightly moist hair will take a great curl. Call if I've missed anything.

Oh yeah!!! I'll try to take more shots of how to UNROLL without creating frizz and how to split big/fat cirls to get several smaller ones tomorrow when we undo Mari's do.