Straw Curls....Help!?!

[steffers29madds]

I knew there was a reason I avoided "hairstyles" like the plague. While I'm pretty good at doing my own hair I fail massively with pony hair. 

I am working on a custom for a swap that is completely finished except for the hair. I have done the curls now twice and am still unsatisfied. I did use the boil curl method btw. The first time was an utter disaster and the second while better is not perfect. I can't figure out how to get the ends to lay smooth. I have little poky hairs and they almost have a bit of frizz feel at the end.  I know there are many of you who excel pony hairstyles. Help! What am I doing wrong??

Oh and one of the colors is a different kind of hair so the curls are much looser. I think it is katsilk if I'm not mistaken. It had a very greasy feel to it at first. The hair has been washed and conditioned twice now. I'm afraid if I keep messing with it it will go frizzy and I'll have to start all over with a rehair. 

[Ren-Ren]

I can't figure out how to get the ends to lay smooth. I have little poky hairs and they almost have a bit of frizz feel at the end.  I know there are many of you who excel pony hairstyles. Help! What am I doing wrong??

Oh and one of the colors is a different kind of hair so the curls are much looser. I think it is katsilk if I'm not mistaken. It had a very greasy feel to it at first. The hair has been washed and conditioned twice now. I'm afraid if I keep messing with it it will go frizzy and I'll have to start all over with a rehair. 

I had that problem with the ends of my straw curls too, but I just found a solution while working on my most recent one. I cut off the bottoms, not just the parts that were sticking out, but part of the good curl too-- probably about 1/3 of an inch off each and after that they looked even and smooth. Not sure if this is what other more experienced people do, but it works for me.

Also, are you using bobby pins or elastic bands to secure the hair to the straws? I originally used bands, but bobby pins work SO SO SO much better! For me, at least.

From what I hear mixing hair types tends to be a problem for styling for the very reason you've brought up. So there may not be any helping that, unfortunately. But perhaps some more experienced people have some ideas. 

[steffers29madds]

Thanks Ren-Ren. I thought about cutting part of the curl of as well but wondered if there was a step I was missing.

[RevRuby]

yyyyyyyyyyyeeeeeeeeeeeesssssssssssssss i clean them up with the scissors! lol.


most saran hair will boil fine, most nylon too, but rd nylon needs extra hot extra boiling because it's not as high a quality nylon as dh. restoredoll calls all of it's hair katsilk, but they do seperate the nylon and saran hair so i'm not sure which one you are using.

[NoDivision]

Sometimes I get lucky and don't have to do any trimming, it just depends. But every once in a while I get a really gnarly curl and have to trim some of the end off.

Aslo, are you wrapping the ends of your curls with something? I use a strip of paper towel at the end and wrap that around the curl to get it to lay smoother and tighter before puting the bobby pin on - Dunno if you're already doing that but some people don't. It helps a lot to keep the ends in control.

[Griffin]

Do you start wrapping the hair from the roots or the ends? I start at the ends and use a strip of toilet or tissue paper to wrap the end neatly like NoDi said, and secure it with a bobby pin. Then I wrap the rest of the hair, carefully rolling the curler* towards the roots, add another strip of toilet paper and secure the root with another pin.

[jupiternwndrlnd]

I knew there was a reason I avoided "hairstyles" like the plague. While I'm pretty good at doing my own hair I fail massively with pony hair. 

LOL Im the same way

when I do straw curls I always wrap the ends in a little bit of paper towel (kinda like when to roll hair while doing a perm) it helps those ends....and a little trim can help too.

[JoshsPonyPrincess]

Im with others on the thread I cut the straggling hairs off. Also saran doesn't hold its shape as well as nylon. It will curl but you will notice the curl fall out faster than with nylon.

[kaoskat]

Scissors are your friend! Cut the evil bits off! And give them a good "I win!" glare as they land in the trash!

[steffers29madds]

Thanks guys! I wasn't using anything to wrap them and Griffin I am wrapping from the top so maybe that's part of the problem. I'll give it one more shot and if it still bites cut those suckers off.