Pin curls are great, they give you an ‘oldy-wordly’ 1040’s glamour look that is unmistakable. They were very popular in the 1940’s and 50’s and formed the base for most hairstyles back then. Usually used with medium length to shorter styles, they will also work to produce waves on longer lengths.
In this world of instant gratification pin curls seem to have fallen out of favor because of easier and quicker methods of curling the hair like curling irons and flat irons. Even with heat free curls, most women still go for flexi rods and hair rollers before using pin curls. It’s a shame because pin curls are so easy to apply, are healthy for your hair and they are so much easier to sleep with than any rollers!
Pin curls can be created on hair extensions too. They can be done on dry hair but for the best results hair should be dampened a bit before curling and for the perfectly uniform pin curl set, your curls should be equal in size. Suffice to say that wet pin curl sets will work best on relaxed hair. Here are the steps to get a perfect pin curl set every time.
- Start with freshly washed and conditioned hair. If you are doing the pin curl set on hair extensions you will have to dry your hair and the extensions slightly using a blow dryer until just damp.
- Gather all your leave out hair and clip it away while you work on the hair extensions first.
- Grab a 1 inch section of hair and comb through to remove any tangles, spritz with water or apply some styling mousse or gel if necessary. Starting at the base of the extensions roll the hair around two of your fingers to create the curl then secure to your scalp using either a pin curl clip or the good old bobby pin.
- Repeat this for all the hair extensions re-wetting the hair where necessary. Now it ‘s time to curl your leave out hair.
- Decide where your part is going to be. The idea is to make the curls on either side of the part a mirror image of the other in terms of the direction of the roll. If you are relaxed grab sections of your leave out and spritz with water and apply your styling mousse or gel. Roll as you did with the extensions.
- If you are natural on the other hand, you will need to apply heat protectant, blow dry and flat iron your leave out hair first. You can apply a little bit of your moisturizer to help set the pin curl but not too much as it will cause your hair to revert. Roll your hair as you did with the hair extensions securing the curls to your scalp using bobby pins.
- Allow your hair to air dry overnight or alternatively you can sit underneath a dryer for about an hour until all the pin curls are dry to the touch.
- Once dry, remove all the bobby pins from your head to release the curls and finger style. You can separate the curls a little and add some decorative clips for that retro look. You can also brush out the hair for a super big hair look or sculpt them for some finger wave fun!
Now all you have to do is slap on some scarlett lipstick and your retro look is complete!
