If your hair is like mine: naturally straight, wont stand up to a curling iron and refuses to be professionally permed, rag curls are a great way to get long lasting, vintage curls. In Missouri, our summers are as humid as the rainforest and winters are usually very rainy but rag curls stay strong and hold tight all day!
You will need:
a brush
a water bottle
some sort of mousse or setting lotion
(I use Garnier Fructis full control mousse- extra strong hold)
15-25 cotton rags approx. 1 1/2 inches wide by 5 inches long
(I use flat fold cloth diapers available at walmart in the baby dept. You can use any cotton be it a t-shirt, a sheet, or scrap of pretty fabric)
1.) Begin with towel dried hair. You can soak it in the sink or towel dry after a shower. Apply a generous amount of mousse or setting lotion to your hair. Don't be afraid to use a lot! Brush your hair and get all of the tangles out.
2.) Section off the first piece of hair. For gentle, large curls, use a larger section of hair. For tight, smaller curls, use a smaller section of hair.
3.) Fold rag in half (hot-dog style) with the ends of the hair inside of the rag fold (as seen in the picture).
4.) Roll the hair up to where you want your curls to start and tie it off. Don't roll the hair or tie it too tight. Repeat on the other side of your head until all of the hair is rolled up. You can do as many layers as you like, I generally do 2. If you hair dries quickly, use the spray bottle to moisten it as you go.
5.) When finished, cover your head with a scarf (feelin' like Aunt Jemima) and sleep on it! (Oh, so glamorous- snoring and drooling on my pillow!)
TIP: Be patient with rag curls, they are a real pain in the butt the first few times. If you are doing more than one layer, sometimes it is helpful to section off the top layer with a clip, roll the bottom layer first, then let the top layer down and roll.
6.) In the morning, when your hair is dry, untie and unroll each curl. Do not pull rags out because it will straighten the curls. When all of the rags are out, you can keep the curls as they are or run your fingers or a brush to them to separate or fluff them out. Spritz your hair with a little hairspray or shine serum and style your bangs as desired. If you have any little strands that aren't as curly as you'd like, you can touch them up with a curling iron. You can add a headband or flower for a cute flapper look. Any questions, just ask!!
p.s. yea, got a hair cut! I havent had it this short since high school! Its a little shorter than I'd like, but at least I can still do victory rolls!
