Sleeping Beauty
January 6, 2010
My daughter has been bugging me to curl her hair. And while I consider myself to be something of a girly-girl, hair curling is not something I have ever really done. I did have a brief love affair with my curling iron during the mid 80’s, however, that is something best left in the past.
Last week we were out shopping and my daughter spotted hot rollers. Oh, her life would not be complete until she had the hot rollers.
Unfortunately for her I have never used them. And it was probably a mistake to wait until we were getting ready for a New Year’s Eve party to try them for the first time. Scratch that, it was definitely a mistake.
Her hair did not come out curly. There were many tears. I finally resorted to making pin curls like I remember my grandmother doing to me once upon a time.
At one point all of the boys were in the bathroom wondering: a) why she wasn’t just happy with her normal straight hair, b) when the hell we were going to leave for the party, and c) why do girls cry so much. (The answers are a) because, b) when we are DONE, and c) get used to it)
We finally got her hair curly to her satisfaction (”But it doesn’t look curly, it just looks messy,” said one of the boys right before I killed him with the flaming daggers that shot out of my eyes.)
We went to the party and within the hour she looked like this.
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The things we go through for our kids! I’m sure she was beautiful. With curls or without!
January 6th, 2010 at 1:57 pmAwwwwww…
January 6th, 2010 at 2:00 pmI can remember DESPERATELY wanting curly hair. Compared to my own straight (ish) hair it just seemed so lively and fun. Then I got a spiral perm and decided straight hair wasn’t so bad after all.
At least she doesn’t want the big curly bang poof from the late 80’s early 90’s!
January 6th, 2010 at 2:11 pmSweet sweet picture!
January 6th, 2010 at 2:12 pmOh the search for curly hair. I’ve slept in a couple of different rollers (sponge and some kind of awful metal thing,) used hot rollers, some kind of rollers that you wrapped your hair around, then curled the roller together, curling iron, and for many years (1st through 9th grade,) I had a PERM. Ugh. I’ve finally come to accept that I have straight hair.
January 6th, 2010 at 2:16 pmNext time use smaller sections of hair, coat the hair with some super hold mouse before rolling and leave it in the curlers a good hour. It should help!
January 6th, 2010 at 2:23 pmI have three daughters, all with a head full of beautiful ringlet curls. It mind sound as if I am bragging, I assure you that is not the case. If you only knew the amount of time and money I have spent on hair straighteners, straitening gels, blow dryers. The endless tears of “why oh why am I cursed with god-awful curls”. Raising girls is a mine field and I tip-toe most of the time. One word of advice-”but sweetie you are so beautiful just the way you are” will ALWAYS end in a fit of ugliness of tornadic proportions. If you value your sanity…don’t go there.
January 6th, 2010 at 2:25 pmOf course she did that so quickly! I’m thinking she should sleep in the pink foam curlers and have curly hair when she wakes up in the morning. Wonder if she’ll only do that once due to the uncomfortableness of them or if she’ll want to do it repeatedly?
January 6th, 2010 at 2:26 pmVery cute. Perhaps that is why there were so many tears though; often works that way in our house when a child is extremely tired.
I have the opposite request from my eldest daughter with curly hair! She is desperate for it to be straight or straightened, bizarrely Mother Nature is listening since it gets less curly by the day.
Happy New Year to you all.
January 6th, 2010 at 2:26 pmThe trick on little girls’ hair is to use sponge rollers–put them in wet/damp hair after a bath and leave them till morning (my Mom always tied a kerchief in my hair, Aunt Jemima-style, to keep the curlers in while I slept, and I do the same with my daughter). Depending on hair length, you can end up with Shirley Temple curls! Also, when you do sponge rollers, part her hair where you’ll want it to part once it’s curly, b/c when the rollers come out, you can’t brush the curls or you end up with a giant frizz ball. And the other bonus is, it’s not very comfortable to sleep in rollers with your hair in a kerchief, so requests for curly hair are generally limited to special occasions! Good luck!
January 6th, 2010 at 2:29 pmoh.. my heart is melting… so sweet
January 6th, 2010 at 2:34 pmWe used to tie our hair up with bits of cloth and sleep overnight with it. Just don’t make the mistake of trying to make tiny curls by using more rags and then brushing it out. My sister had to walk around with a full blown afro after we did that–and her hair is normally pin straight.
She looks adorable curled up on that sofa.
January 6th, 2010 at 2:39 pmGotta love the girls. I have three of them, and no boys. Two of them are teens…the one with straight hair wanted a curling iron for Christmas, and the one with curly hair wanted a new straightener. Your answer to the boys’ first question? Dead on. Because.
January 6th, 2010 at 2:44 pmI have stick straight hair that looks is probably a lot like hers and it won’t hold a curl either. I feel her pain and want to cry sometimes too…
January 6th, 2010 at 2:44 pmOh, she looks beautiful. Funny, been there with my own daughter. Luckily, she is now in a sporty pony tail stage.
January 6th, 2010 at 2:47 pmPoor thing! Hair trials and tribulations do tend to tire a girl out, don’t they?
January 6th, 2010 at 2:48 pmI bet she nearly maimed the one who received that look in the first shot…
January 6th, 2010 at 2:55 pmAs a straight-haired person who wanted curly hair (at least when I was in high school…), I found that solar rollers (foam and fabric covered wire that you wrap your hair around and twist the ends) and perm for a day u-shaped curlers were the best and easiest methods. Put mousse on hair, roll, and look like an idiot for a while (I slept in mine). Take out and finger brush. Curls for a few days (if I didn’t wash).
January 6th, 2010 at 2:55 pmPrecious! That is how she looks and if she wants to sleep with beautiful curls that took 10 hours to get just right - that is her perogative! LOL!
January 6th, 2010 at 2:56 pmOh the curls! My girls like to have their hair curled so I bought foam rollers and I put them in after bath time when their hair is still wet. My 7yo will sleep with them all night and the last time she went to school with curly hair she was the talk of the first grade (or so I heard from another mom). My 4yo will only let me do the front of her head so the next day she looks like an even worse version of Jan Brady.
January 6th, 2010 at 3:00 pmHot rollers are one of the great mysteries of life. . NO ONE, barring a handful of seasoned professionals have mastered the use of them. Best to learn this lesson early on. . Adorable!
January 6th, 2010 at 3:16 pmx
Paula
http://www.adhocmom.com
Oh, poor thing! Isn’t that how it goes! I have stick-straight fine hair and would love curly and thick. My best friend has curly and thick and would love straight and fine. Sigh.
January 6th, 2010 at 3:21 pmSponge rollers. Just make sure you get the ends smooth. She can sleep on them. The first day it’s massively curly-almost afro on the ends. Second day it’s curly like she wants. Third day it’s pretty waves. Been doing it for my stick straight daughters’ hair for years.
January 6th, 2010 at 3:23 pm“right before I killed him with the flaming daggers that shot out of my eyes.” I thought I was the only one who had those! I love your writing.
January 6th, 2010 at 3:24 pmWhen my daughter was in Kindergarten, she always said she wanted “curly hair like Meghan’s”. My daughter’s hair and a wall could have a contest to see which is straighter, and my daughter would probably win. I always told her that I thought Meghan would say she wanted straight hair like my daughter. The day of the 5th grade choir concert, Meghan’s mom told me she had straightened Meghan’s hair for the concert, because Meghan doesn’t like the curls. Tell your boys that girls are never satisfied with what they have! = )
And, my daughter wanted a straightener for her 13th bday so she could use it to curl her hair. What???? Why not use a curling iron? Oh mom, that’s crazy! = )
January 6th, 2010 at 3:32 pmThat’s adorable, especially that photo of her in the bathroom. I personally can’t believe that they still make hot rollers. I can remember my mini-Clairol set that I used in the eighties every single day. Sigh.
January 6th, 2010 at 3:34 pmI wonder why girls have to cry so much too, and I am a girl! And I consider myself a “cryer.” However, my crying skills do nothing to match that of my 5 year old daughter. I saw a commercial with Goerge Lopez telling his daughter, “I’ll try to be more sensitive to your emotions - if you just wouldn’t have so many!” My feelings exactly. Your story reminded me so much of my daughter that I immediately felt better that I am not alone in the world. I have 3 other kids - all boys, and sometimes I think she is a mutant with a flaw in her crying genes.
January 6th, 2010 at 3:42 pmyour boys’ reactions to your daughter hair explorations are hilarious. Boys really don’t get our love/hate relationship with the hair, do they?
I have an extremely curly set of hair myself, always had, and I longed for years and years to have nice, straight hair (until wisdom kicked in and made me realize that it’s never gonna happen.)
because you know what? curly IS messy. all the time, even when it’s all done nice. there’s always a very fine line between vibrant curls and the messed up, bird’s nest look. it takes a lot of work to keep that bird’s nest at bay.
you cannot get out of bed, give it a quick brushing and be done with it. ever.
forget about getting a brush near it when it’s dry, too.
anyway, just my two cents to let you daughter know that curls are not as easy as they look!
happy new year to all your family!
January 6th, 2010 at 3:49 pmWow, beautiful red dress and sleeping beauty.
At least the hot rollers didn’t get stuck in her long hair like they used to get stuck in mine in junior high. Late for school, hot rollers totally snarled and stuck in hair. Not a good situation……
Do you have a photo of her in her curls and red dress?
January 6th, 2010 at 4:04 pmShe’s beautiful as always. Being beautiful must be exhausting.
Hot rollers are nice for volume, but don’t seem so great at actually creating the curls my daughter craves either. What works far better, oddly, is a 1″ flat iron. Unlike a curling iron, there’s not really a “hot” part that will burn them if they twist or turn unexpectedly. I clip her hair up, then basically slide the iron down a piece of hair while gently turning it and–ta-da!–a ringlet. Spritz with hair spray, move on to the next lock. (my blog link today goes to the post with her relatively successful curl attempt on her birthday)
January 6th, 2010 at 4:12 pmYou need those pink foam rollers and a little bit of spray gel (Herbal Essences has a good one)… I know that the girls I nanny for sleep in them overnight but you could even do it with slightly damp hair and just blow dry until the rollers are dry.
I’ve never been able to get the hang of hot rollers - they’re too heavy and above my ability level.
January 6th, 2010 at 4:13 pmJust a tip for next time (I LOVE doing my hair, and have been using all manner of apparatus since I was pretty young)
January 6th, 2010 at 4:14 pm1. Comb through all of her hair
2. Spray some hair spray over her whole head. Not a lot just a light spray
3. Seperate her hair into sections. Top section 2 side sections and the back section.
4. Use a comb with a pointy end to get uniform amounts of hair in each section.Spray each section with hairspray again just before putting in the curlers.
5. The curlers need enough time to heat up properly. Usually it doesn’t take very long, but if you can leave them on about 10 - 15 minutes that should be more than enough.
6. Take it one curler at a time. If it doesn’t go in properly the first time comb through that section again, and do it over.
If her hair is really fine (like mine) she will need some tricks and products to hold a curl. Never blow dry. It smoothes the hair shaft and makes the curl fall out even faster. Air dry, then use a curl defining mousse in the dry hair, curl, and pin the curl until the hair is cooled. Use hairspray before curling, during pinning, and after unpinning! Using a good quality aerosol hairspray will keep the hair from looking gunky. Curls should hold much longer that way! Good luck!
January 6th, 2010 at 4:36 pmI also tried hot rollers on my daughter this year. It did not curl at all. I think because her hair is so long? I have no idea. Then I tried a curling iron and that didn’t do anything either. Oh well!
January 6th, 2010 at 4:37 pmOh and also you get a stronger curl by twisting a small section of hair and then wrapping it around the curling iron from the top instead of the traditional way of fixing it in the iron and curling to the scalp.
January 6th, 2010 at 4:38 pmRags. They work on even the straightest, thickest, most rebellious curl resistant hair.
Just get a lot of strips of cotton or linen or something, an old cut up T-shirt work great. Start with really wet, straight from the bath hair. Divide it into small sections. Wrap the ends in paper towel squares, or those cool tissue paper things that salons use. Then wrap the hair around the strip of fabric as tight as you can and roll all the way up to the scalp. Tie the ends together twice tight. Repeat until all hair is rolled up. Wait until it is really dry, so sleep on it or use a blow dryer for ever.
Carefully untie the rags and slide the hair out. There will be bouncy shiny ringlets at the end. See this photo of my straight haired girl.
January 6th, 2010 at 4:46 pmHow about those pink spongy ones…I used to wear those overnight every Saturday night and my hair was curly…I can’t curl hair either and my daughter always wants it “flippy” on the ends…yeah ok, straight to the ER with burns…
January 6th, 2010 at 5:07 pmI have always had straight hair, am also hair-challenged, so I was grateful to have a boy child. But now he has decided he needs to straighten his hair (which was straight until puberty struck). Now he spends WAY more time on his hair than I ever have. I feel your pain!
January 6th, 2010 at 5:38 pmBut,for the hour before she felt like a princess. I’ve been that little girl, tears and all. You’re a good Mom for wandering down that crazy path with her.
January 6th, 2010 at 5:40 pmahahah, cute story.
Girls cry BECAUSE. lol. the poor guy is in for a harsh awakening when he’ll have his first girlfriend (not for mmannnny years.. when he’s over 30 or something)
January 6th, 2010 at 5:51 pmDespite having had curly hair my whole life, I will never be able to convince anyone that curly hair is no good. I dream of being able to pull a brush through my hair without looking like I have a bush on my head.
I did occasionally use hot rollers to make my hair less curly, and the key really is to use small sections of hair. You might not have enough rollers to do it all at once.
January 6th, 2010 at 7:46 pmI have curly hair, and have always wanted straight hair, but I know better than to try to fight its natural tendencies. I guess we always want what we don’t have.
January 6th, 2010 at 8:25 pmSometimes hair will curl better if it’s “pre-heated”, sounds crazy but it works for my hair. The curlers need to go in her hair right after shampoo and blow dry while the hair is still warm and “bendable”. If her hair doesn’t need washing but she wants to curl it, try warming it up with the blow dryer before putting in the curlers - and the curlers need to stay in until completely cold to lock in the curl. Oh the trials of being a girly-girl!
January 6th, 2010 at 8:26 pmOh and to think she is not even a teenager yet……having a teenage girl will turn your beautiful hair gray!
Keep smiling…….it keeps getting harder as they get older.
Happy 2010
January 6th, 2010 at 9:02 pmAs the mom of 3 girls who MUST have their hair curled for dance (and my oldest is in her 10th year), I have learned every trick there is in the book to curling hair. (and so you know…my oldest has THICK, STICK STRAIGHT hair)
First and foremost (and most likely to turn your stomach) is that hair that is dirty curls best. That is correct. Washing hair, then curling does not produce the optimum curl. We usually wash hair 2 days before recital day.
Sponge curlers ARE the best but not to be used on wet hair. If your daughter has hair that is the least bit thick it will NEVER dry when tightly wrapped in a sponge roller. BARELY damp at worst. The best? Dippity Do. Yes. (none of that here…I just use Aussie hair gel). DO NOT soak hair. Run a little through each section and roll. I also found these bendable rollers at Target that work great…but I have to use about 50 on my oldest’s hair.
I have 2 sets of hot rollers (dang…now I’m starting to sound like one of those child model mothers…EWWWW). One is the Richard Caruso…which uses steam vs heat. It’s FABULOUS on the hair but the curls don’t really last well, well unless you use the smallest rollers. Then they do OK. The hot rollers that produce the absolute BEST, longest lasting curls Conair La Salon Maxi Bond Professional (these allow me to roll 2 of my three girls’ hair for pictures…the youngest I make wear sponge rollers to school. Yes, therapy here I come). Be warned, when they say hot…the mean F&*(in HOT! As in, burn your fingerprints off hot. When using these, I spray their hair (in individual sections) with Sprunch then roll.
This picture was taken a couple years ago after the second of two recitals (we do ours on the same day) and my oldest, in the purple, had been in 3 separate dances (so 6 total dances with 6 costume changes). And those were what the curls looked like after it was all over!
http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s150/ruffages/girlsafterdance.jpg
Everything you never really wanted to know about curling hair. And are sorry you even implied you wanted to know.
January 6th, 2010 at 10:16 pmSuch a sweet photo. <3
I just ordered curlers as a gift for my daughter, who is turning 8 in a few weeks.
I bet she’ll remember the Great Curl Experiment forever. I bet it’s a fond, happy memory with out recall of tears or drama.
Either that, or she’ll work it all out with her therapist and blame you. Either way, it’s classic mother-daughter stuff, eh?
January 6th, 2010 at 11:32 pmThis speaks right to my heart. I have thick, thick, thick hair and it does not curl. As a girl, I went through hours of pain and suffering to try and get it to curl. I remember in kindergarten, I had a Christmas concert and my mother spent hours trying to curl my hair with the result of lots of tears and flat, crinkled hair. And then there was the time we tried braiding it into millions of tiny plaits. The next day, I went to school with tears and an afro.
All the best to your darling. I feel for her.
January 7th, 2010 at 12:49 amWhat a little sweetie, on that couch. Oh, little one, we’ve all been there!
January 7th, 2010 at 7:46 amLong time lurker here
with stick straight hair who loves the option of having curls. I have tried it all and the only thing I have found that works is the steam ( caruso sp?) rollers. They are around thirty nine dollars a set here but they are good for your hair and will make natural looking curls that will stay in all day. They are available at beauty supply stores or online. My daughter is thirteen and growing out her hair for locks of love. Her hair is so long and heavy it falls out a little but still wavy and curly and pretty at the end of the school day. I love your blog and have been reading for years. Your little girl standing there so sweet with hair rollars in just made me want to comment.
January 7th, 2010 at 9:33 amAnother one here with a very curly haired daughter who wants STRAIGHT hair! Always when it’s humid or rainy out, go figure…I guess the grass is always greener!
January 7th, 2010 at 9:40 amTarget sells Velcro rollers — just dampen her hair a little, then wrap around the Velcro and let dry — or use blow dryer, to hasten the process bc she is, after all, a little girl with little patience.
I think the package costs under $20. And there’s no heating involved. Of course, now that you already have the hot rollers, my assvice is useless.
January 7th, 2010 at 10:07 amCrying for girls is like punching for boys … and you are right to prep your sons now!
Crying for curly hair when you have straight hair is a right of passage (sometimes expensive)
Crying before the party = sleeping AT the party from the exhaustion of crying before.
January 7th, 2010 at 10:21 amClassyFabSarah is right. Sponge pink rollers and gel. My 7 yr old is a competitive dancer. Some of her dances in the past had required curly hair. I tried everything, hot rollers, curling irons, sponge and solar rollers, gelled, moussed, damp, hairspray (you get it). I could never get a curl to last. A veteran dance mom gave me these instructions: unwashed dry hair, gel each section, roll and sleep on it. Finally after a dozen attempts using other methods, she had smooth, beautiful curls that lasted two days-even after dancing. Of course, depending upon your daughter’s hair, anyone of the other methods may work. Good luck next time!!
January 7th, 2010 at 11:35 amSponge curlers are definitely the way to go. They are AWESOME. Put them in at night after bath/shower and sleep with them on overnight. In the morning she will wake up with gorgeous curls
This makes me excited for when my baby girl has long hair. Right now she is rockin the mullet look (she’s 18m). Poor girl is in desperate need of her first hair cut
January 7th, 2010 at 12:01 pmI remember those curly days with my daughter. Now she’s too lazy to blow dry her hair, much less use curlers.
January 7th, 2010 at 12:17 pmWhat a great moment for her though, to finally get curls.
My 13 year old with just a touch of wave in her hair, hates it and wants it stick straight. She uses a straightener every day. I grew up constantly having perms in my stick straight hair and finally started getting them again. I finally like my hair again, I have never liked me in straight hair. I might have to try the rag idea on my 6 year old though, her hair is just slightly wavy, but she always wants curls.
January 7th, 2010 at 1:23 pmHuh…I have naturally wavy hair and use straightener gel and a flat iron. Funny how that happens.
January 7th, 2010 at 5:23 pmWith seven other males in the house, I think she’s entitled to a little extra time in the bathroom!
January 7th, 2010 at 7:32 pmI loved, loved loved my hot rollers. When I was a kid, I would never let my mother brush the curls out because I wanted to look like Shirley Temple. Now I use the Velcro kind which are faster and don’t leave the smell of scorched ear flesh behind, but I must say they don’t approximate the greatness of the hot rollers.
January 7th, 2010 at 9:55 pmWe got CandiSticks for Christmas…Conair, I think…and they worked pretty well for my girls. None of them have hair as long as your daughter’s though. My only complaint was that Santa should have brought us two sets of the bendy rollers because curling hair for all three takes FOREVER.
January 8th, 2010 at 12:11 amI have never mastered the hot rollers skill set. NEVER. I can sort of curling iron my hair, but only on one side. This is probably why I can sit slack-jawed watching YouTube videos of teenagers doing their hair or putting on makeup for hours.
January 8th, 2010 at 12:34 amI sometimes feel that I must be a freak of nature for actually liking my hair. I absolutely hate having my hair straightened. Then again, things seem to work in reverse in my family. I inherited my curly locks from my dad, not that anyone would have guessed. I never saw my dad’s hair in curls. He straightened it a couple of times a day.
January 8th, 2010 at 1:19 amMy mom was not a hot roller person either, so she convinced my sisters and I to use rag curls when we wanted a little more than stick-straight hair. I was very hesitant, so I let my sisters go first. Their hair turned out lovely and curly and wonderful, so I finally consented. My mother got ready after my bath and then I slept on the rag curls, and the next morning she took them out.
What a nightmare. Apparently, rag curls do not work for everyone and they turned my hair into a big frizzy mess. I remember locking myself in the bathroom and crying so long that I missed school pictures that year. Which is, just for the record, JUST AS WELL!
January 8th, 2010 at 11:59 amThose who have straight hair, want curls
Those who have curls, want straight hair
That’s just how girls are!
And look foward to more of these moments.
She is beautiful
January 8th, 2010 at 1:43 pmyour are so patient…amazing…I would have taken her to the party with the straight hair…good for you! (and for her, she is adorable).
January 8th, 2010 at 2:04 pmBoth of these photos are just priceless. Oh, the energy expended by hair woes!
January 8th, 2010 at 2:58 pmBelieve it or not - the Jose Eber curling rod that they demo at the mall. It is absolutely amazing and curls last even overnight. Don’t buy it at the mall though (almost $200), I got ours on ebay for about $40 …
January 8th, 2010 at 8:38 pmYou just make me laugh! My daughters are both blessed with the straightest dishwater blonde hair ever while mine is naturally curly and a very dark brown. I almost cried when they were each born and I eagerly checked for the curls. *sigh* I was severely dissapointed and I’m sure I sent a scathing remark or two to the hubs. For you see, I must resort to wielding a curling iron for dance recitals and stuff, which until they were about “that” age I’d never touched one in my life! Happy New Year to you:)
January 8th, 2010 at 11:10 pmHow sweet. I love that she is curled up on the couch. I use to use hot rollers back in the day and I still have a set that uses steam to get hot. Haven’t used them in years but I can’t seem to get rid of them. Loved the part about the boys. Yes, they need to get use to the crying!
January 9th, 2010 at 10:43 amIf she wants to try for curly hair again you might want to try sponge curlers but make sure they are the big fat ones. I use them for my girls. I curl it before they go to sleep and in the morning they have really curly hair. Putting something over them is helpful so they don’t fall out while she sleeps.
January 9th, 2010 at 2:19 pmI went through the opposite with my mother. I had curls and wanted straight. My mother was terrible at doing it so she used to take me to the salon before dances/parties/etc… I love the story though. Too funny!! And little boys are just so hilarious. They are literal to a fault.
January 9th, 2010 at 9:51 pmI’m reading all these helpful suggestions and thinking…this woman has SEVEN children and her daughter is just a little girl. When is she going to have time to do all this??? Your daughter is beautiful straight hair or curly. Maybe you could just buy a cheap curly wig for when she wants to dress up! Ha!
January 11th, 2010 at 12:43 amNice post. It’s great how you handle your children!
January 13th, 2010 at 3:03 pm