What about us naturally curly girls?

[Little One]

Hey girlies! I'm brand new to this forum, so please excuse me if somebody's already asked this already...but what did the naturally curly girls do in the 1940s? Did they still put their hair into pin curls, or was there some other mehod of smoothing the hair? I love the look of pin curls, but it really puins my hair when I have to brush them out dry. If anybody has any input on this whatsoever, please feel free to post!
If you're wondering, when I say I've got curly hair, I am not referring to tightly coiled African American curls, more like Irish super curls haha...ummm..how to descibe this...my hair is about this curly:
Www.fashion.sniperslive.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/081.jpg

 

[CherryRed]

Hi Little One. Welcome to the lounge!
I have naturally curly Irish girl hair. It's not as curly as the pic you posted but it used to be before I had my son. When I set my hair it tames the curls and makes them easier to control. I have to have some layers in it so it doesn't get that wedge look. I also do wet sets sometimes but I mostly use hot sticks.

 

[Little One]

Thank you for taking the time to post, it's so nice to meet you too! Thank you for the advice, I'll have to try the hot sticks. I find that when I do a wet set, my hair end up looking more untamed and psychotic when I brush I out, though. Thanks so much! Xox

 

[Miss Bunny]

I have naturally curly hair too, and a lot of it! I have found that with a good cut and the right products I can usually get it to fix up (although some days it has other plans!) For my case, I use the John Frieda night cream when I fix mine in the morning to smooth it out. Sometimes I use pomade in my hair before I brush it out as C-Dot has recommended on another thread. I also use a curling iron to take care of wayward strands.

 

[deadpandiva]

I have naturally curly hair, which I straighten and then curl.

 

[jemjefferson]

I too have naturally thick curly hair. Its all about the right cut and products. I use a stiff brissle brush, as suggested in another thread, and I honestly dont was it for at least a week and a half.

 

[goldwyn girl]

I also have naturally very curly hair, the bane of my existance !!! I set mine on large rollers to get it straight and then curl it the way I want and cross my fingers that it works lol It's also very fine and tends to frizz. Straightening it first is a godsend !

 

[Lady Jessica]

I have naturally curly hair, and I've tried many different methods, but it seems to fight every single one of them. I've even slept in curlers to no avail. It refuses to cooperate! But I could be doing it wrong. In any case, I usually just give up on setting it, because I'm afraid of ruining it after a bad experience with being forced to straighten it constantly (and it ultimately losing some curl).

 

[cecil]

I suppose at the time that they'd simply set their hair in pincurls while wet the way that straight haired women did. My hair is naturally very curly and a wet set works fine. For heat sets I just blow dry it straight then curl with a curling iron or hot rollers. I hear a lot of women complain about curly hair being a pain but when it comes to vintage styles I swear we've got the upper hand. There's no more effort involved and naturally curly hair tends to hold a curl (this is especially true with heat styling) much longer.

 

[Lollipop]

Not sure about the girls in the 1940s, But I'm assuming that unless the girls had these amazing curls that didn't frizz and whatnot, They would just set it like girls with straight hair did, I have naturally curly hair, and I do a Pin curl-wet set to it , and the curls turn out fantastic. I find that pin curls make my curls more smoother, and less frizzy..and just more...Better, If ya get what I mean.

 

[shopgirl61]

although my pic doesn't really show it I too have thick naturally curly, wavy hair. I can honestly say it has never been all one length at any time in my life at least that I can recall. I struggle with it like you wouldn't believe!

Too many layers and it looks choppy, not enough layers and its heavy and dense. Currently I am trying to grow out the top (as my stylist recomended last november) but alas I simply can not work it beyond a hot air brush, and that is only my bangs and sides. osteo arthrities has def gotten the best of what little i was born with

 

[MissWink]

I have naturally curly hair. I use big foam rollers to control the hair and make it easier to style. Never use pincurls though.

 

[Lady Jessica]

My main problem is, is even if I set my hair and go to bed, in the morning my hair is still damp (Damp enough that it feels as if I've just toweled my hair after getting out from the shower)... Do any of you naturally curly girls have this problem? I tried sleeping on pin curls to no avail.

Also, how do you cover the hair? Is there a fabric that's better to cover it with while you sleep? Should you sleep on it?

 

[Lollipop]

My main problem is, is even if I set my hair and go to bed, in the morning my hair is still damp (Damp enough that it feels as if I've just toweled my hair after getting out from the shower)... Do any of you naturally curly girls have this problem? I tried sleeping on pin curls to no avail.

Also, how do you cover the hair? Is there a fabric that's better to cover it with while you sleep? Should you sleep on it?

Not usually...But by the time I finish with my pin curls, My hair is always half dry, anyway..But I did once..I had set my hair in those big rollers for a beehive, and I went under the dryer and it took forever for my hair to dry all the way...You could try blow drying your hair so it is almost dry, but not really before doing rollers, or pin curls, or etc.... I never do anything the right way, So I never cover mine(Although, When I have pin curls in my hair, and I have to go out to the store or something, I cover it with a net, and do the whole Rockabilly Rosie the Riveter bandanna thing, So I end up sleeping with the net at times..).But usually, I Just sleep as is...I think that if ya let the hair "breath"(aka not covering it up), It drys faster 'cause, It's not holding in the moisture and whatnot.

 

[VoodooDolly]

I have naturally curly hair that is pretty similar to the pic in the link you posted, but my curls are a little smaller in diameter. I do have a few suggestions though. First, at least for daily casual wear, I wouldn't worry too much about perfection. If your natural curls are at at all uniform, you can probably just do rolls in the front and leave the back to do it's own thing. I know that in pics of movie stars of the time it looks like everyone had flawless hair but in all the photos I have seen of real women, their hair is a little frizzy and messy. So mussy hair is not only unavoidable, it's authentic! lol Also, if I put all my usual product in my hair after a shower (leave in conditioner, gel, detangler, smoothing cream) and then run a wide tooth comb through it when it is about halfway dry, I find I can often trick the curls into forming a very nice fingerwave. This sometimes leaves it a little frizzy, but any flyaways can be tamed once it is completely dry.

 

[Lady Jessica]

My hair takes a very long time to dry. I'd say about four hours? Maybe three, if it's very hot outside. Is anybody else's hair this slow in drying? I generally just kind of pull half of it back and mousse it. My curls are sort of wavy/curly. Is that authentic enough? I saw in an Indiana Jones film, one of the naturally curly-looking girls just had a headband in. [huh]

My hair tends to frizz up very badly if I brush it after it's even semi-dry. It gets very fluffy... But I'm going to try what you do, VoodooDolly! Hopefully it works!

 

[Jennifer Lynn]

Jessica - I'm in the same boat as far as putting curly hair (after showering) into curlers and whatnot, and waking up with hair that's still damp. I may try my Aquis towel next time I do that though (it's dries the hair or skin quicker). I may try VoodooDolly's suggestion as well. Curls aren't going to be perfect, but if we can trick them shortly after washing to do what we want (with a little help from our usual hair products), why not?

 

[cecil]

My main problem is, is even if I set my hair and go to bed, in the morning my hair is still damp (Damp enough that it feels as if I've just toweled my hair after getting out from the shower)... Do any of you naturally curly girls have this problem? I tried sleeping on pin curls to no avail.

Also, how do you cover the hair? Is there a fabric that's better to cover it with while you sleep? Should you sleep on it?

Yes, I definitely hear you on the slow-drying hair. I'll set my hair at about 8pm, then get up the next day, potter around the house all day and by 5pm it's still not dry. It's such a pain. The only way I can combat this it is by blasting them with the hairdryer sporadically. If you have it on high heat but low, um..."blowiness", you can dry them off quite a bit before you go to bed, and then again in the morning. Alternatively there are heaps of cheapish vintage hood dryers around, a few ladies here have them. They'd help quite a bit, I'd imagine.

 

[VoodooDolly]

My hair is about to the bottom of my shoulder blades, and it usually takes almost a full day to dry completely. The funny part is that when it finally is dry, I wet it down it with a spray bottle of water every morning to refresh the natural curl anyway. :eusa_doh: Or if I have set some curls or bangs in the front, I leave those dry and just wet down the back. When I spray it down that way, it dries in a couple of hours.

Since my hair (like most curly hair) has a tendency to frizz if overwashed, I usually only give it a full shampoo every 3-4 days anyway. I find that some of my best hair happens on day 3, when the natural oils have calmed the frizz a little. I swear, it's not as greasy/yucky as it sounds. Ha ha. It just tends to look very smooth and shiny, but still full of body. Maybe I will try to summon up the nerve to post a picture of my hair when it actually behaves.

 

[lolly_loisides]

I agree with VoodooDolly, I have thick coarse curly hair & I find that after about 3 days the curls relax enough for me to do pretty good victory rolls. I just hate having to curl my already curly hair - seems stupid!