G4 Hair Styling—What am I doing wrong?

[Appleseed]

I've read countless tutorials on G4 hair styling and no matter how closely I follow what some of the best ones say, I can NEVER get similar results!

I soak the pony in near-boiling water (as most guides suggest you only use something *close* to boiling), leave them in for a minute, run a bit of conditioner through with my fingers, then rinse it out after another minute, then I wrap the hair around mini-curlers the way I want it, and splash some cold water over the toy to 'shock' the hair in place as many guides suggest doing. I waited 22 hours for this one, and it came out like this:

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Evidently, the hair is trying to curl, but it's still nowhere near close. It isn't just an issue with this toy either, as I have tried numerous ponies and get essentially the same results (some slightly better than others, but not by much). What is it really that I'm doing wrong that prevents me from getting the smooth, neat, tight curls that these tutorial writers keep getting? I've tried the straw and bobby pin method too but I can never keep the end of the hair strand down, it always perks up and makes the curl really messy. This is extremely frustrating. 

[kissthethunder]

I think you're supposed to have the hair in curlers before you put it in the hot water hun. The heat is what sets the curl

[Itajn]

I think your order is a bit wrong 
Correct one is:
1) wet hair with cold/warm water
2) condition and rinse
3) put hair in curlers
4) boil it
5) let dry
 

[Moondancer115]

I think your order is a bit wrong 
Correct one is:
1) wet hair with cold/warm water
2) condition and rinse
3) put hair in curlers
4) boil it
5) let dry

I second this 
Hope the hair will be great when you follow this

[Vintergatan]

Agreed with the others ^^ although, I don't think boiling is even necessary if you are going to be careful with her. I usually just wash and condition the hair, put curlers on and after some 20h I take them off and bam, pretty curls

[Appleseed]

Wow, okay! Thank you all for the advice, I shall try this and post about how it turns out, wish me luck

By boiling after putting it in curlers, do you mean pouring the boiled water over the pony after it's been done up?

[CrimsonEtClover]

After you've washed and conditioned her hair, put the curlers in, then dip her head into the boiling water!

My friend actually popped one into the freezer after this, to shock it into place?

[lovesbabysquirmy]

Use toilet paper to wrap the ends of the hair into before you put the curlers on!  That will resolve the messy strands at the end. 

[Appleseed]

How exactly does the toilet paper-wrapping method work? It always gets soaked for me, and doesn't stay on

[hathorcat]

Here is a link to jupiterlily's amazing straw curls tutorial!

http://www.mlparena.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=88983/highlight=jupiterlilly+tutorial.html

Designed to make all ponies fabulous!

[Flutterblossom]

You really don't need to place it in hot water at all! First, brush the hair out, wet it in warm water, shampoo and condition it, rinse it, then use pens to curl it. Tape the pens to a table and let it set for 20 hours. That's how I've always done it, as you can tell by my fluttershy avatar. But if you are doing Rarity, I recommend using hairspray because those curls just can't hold on their own. Lol she must use A LOT of hairspray!

[Loa]

Here is a link to jupiterlily's amazing straw curls tutorial!

http://www.mlparena.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=88983/highlight=jupiterlilly+tutorial.html

Designed to make all ponies fabulous!

I have used this many, many, many times, and it is FABULOUS!

[Vintergatan]

Same here that tutorial rocks. i´m generally clumsy and impatient but every time I applied this tutorial to my ponies, they ended up gorgeous (and I didn't boil them afterwards or anything)

[kissthethunder]

Same here that tutorial rocks. i´m generally clumsy and impatient but every time I applied this tutorial to my ponies, they ended up gorgeous (and I didn't boil them afterwards or anything)

Agreed

[lovesbabysquirmy]

Yep, the tutorial explains it better than I can.