Does anyone know how to do rag curls?  I've noticed it posted a few times in other topics.  Would this work on shorter hair?  I currently have just above the shoulder length...if I twisted it tighter because it's shorter..?

I have a daily battle with my hair...it's super fine, super straight and super soft,,,,which means it does nothing!!  I'd love to grow it long but between it's texture and volume and the fact that I have a square face I'm afraid it would "just hang there" with no body and emphasize my jaw.  Every day a small battle goes on in my head....should I cut it? should I grow it? should I perm it?....arrrgh.  Especially since summer is coming up...it's been so humid these past few years and having any hair around my face drives me nuts!!  Unfortunately I also have a large, bulbous forehead so I prefer to wear bangs...which refuse to do anything but lie flat and limp across my forehead (add to that a stubborn cowlick) so even if I pull it back I still have to deal with the bangs some how.

I guess we're never really happy with our hair, no matter what we get!!  ::)

I *love* rag curls!  The results are so perfect!

I don't know how thick your hair is.  My hair is fine but relatively thick and I can get all mine in four rags (two on top, two on bottom). Just keep in mind that the more the curls, the tighter the curl.

Start with a strip of cotton fabric (I use old flannel sheets) about three times the length of your hair, one for each curl.  It is definitely best to have very damp hair when you begin.  Divide your hair in sections, one for each curl.  Choose one and pin the others out of the way.

Gather one section into a ponytail.  Put a soft ponytail holder at the base, including one strip of fabric.  Leave about 6" of fabric hanging out above the ponytail holder, the remaining length should be next to your ponytail.

Grasp the long length of fabric and wrap the HAIR AROUND the FABRIC.  It is very important that you wrap the hair and not the fabric, or you won't get any curl.  When you reach the end, start working your way back, this time wrapping the FABRIC AROUND to cover the already coiled HAIR.  When you get to the top of the rag curl, tie the two ends together to secure.  Repeat for each curl.

Keep in mind that it will take your hair a *long* time to dry in rag curls.  Once you are sure it is dry (takes mine more than 24 hours), untie the knot at the top and uncoil the fabric from around the hair.  Once you are at the bottom, grasp the ponytail holder with one hand and carefully and gently pull the fabric down through the curl.  You should then be able to slide the ponytail holder off the curl as well.

Rag curls respond especially well to finger combing if you want ringlets.  Otherwise, comb with a wide-toothed comb so you can easily remove any little knots that may have cropped up in the process.

wrote on May 7^th, 2003 at 6:23pm:

I have a daily battle with my hair...it's super fine, super straight and super soft,,,,which means it does nothing!!  I'd love to grow it long but between it's texture and volume and the fact that I have a square face I'm afraid it would "just hang there" with no body and emphasize my jaw.  Every day a small battle goes on in my head....should I cut it? should I grow it? should I perm it?....arrrgh.  Especially since summer is coming up...it's been so humid these past few years and having any hair around my face drives me nuts!!

Superfine;
Another suggestion for creating a little lift to your hair and keeping it off your face would be to put just the front/top section of your hair into a barrette, ponytail or braid.  This allows you to show off the length, but keep it out of your face.

That sounds neat!!  I'll bet it takes a little practice tho.  Does it work on different length hair?  I still have some layering in my bob.  How thick are the strips of flannel?  I'm assuming the thicker the strips, the looser the curls, the thinner the strips, the tighter...right?

My hair dries fairly fast....do you wash it right before you go to bed?  If I wash it earlier it will be dry in an hour!  Even if it's dry....can I still keep them in all night??  So when you use the rag curls, how long do the curls last for you?

Any suggestions for what to do about humidity and your hair?  During the summer here it's horrible!!

Bikerbraid....good idea!!  The only problem right now is that I still have layers on top....which leaves little pieces hanging out if I try to pull it back....plus, my hair is quite slippery and hard to hold back with clips...unless I try those small "butterfly" type....anyone use those?  Are they ok for your hair or do they scratch?

You might try doing twists with the front hair (sort of like cornrows only not braided) to bring the hair to the back.

The rag curls work with all different lengths of hair.  And you are right, the tighter/smaller the wrap, the tighter the curl.  I have waist length hair and use a favorite cotton crew sock (or socks) to curl my hair.  One sock gives me nice waves, two socks a bit more bounce and curl, 4 socks and I have large ringlets!  The curling works best if your hair is damp when rolled.  

Have some fun and be creative!  ;D

The butterfly clips are ok for your hair, they don't rip it or scratch it, as long as you don't find pieces of hair clinging to it when you take it out.

Is your hair too short to braid?

Superfine:Not an answer to your original question(I´ve no idea how to do rag curls ;D ),but I wouldn´t worry about growing your hair longer!Your hair sounds identical to mine-I have lots of super fine/straight/slippery hair too-and it is at 41 inches now.It took a bit of patience,and the growing-out phase(especially around mid-back lenght) is a bit trying,but there is so much more one can do with long hair.A different hair accessory(hairsticks!!) in some kind of updo every day almost always looks good.
My hair also just hangs there when I leave it down,but I don´t mind, ;D since I wear my hair in an   updo almost 99% of the time.I once also had a chin-length bob,and all I can say is that my hair is much easier to handle nowadays.So,don´t despair! :D

Sorry,lots of typos,had been in a hurry! :o

FYI... you can correct typos or any other errors by clicking "Modify" on your post.

Yours in the "I make a lot of use of that function" (as you can see) devolution,

Thanks,that´s good to know! :D

Hey guys...thanks for all the suggestions!!  As for braiding my hair....it still has quite a few layers in it and would be frustrating...plus, I've never braided before...I've had a co-worker french braid it when it was longer but that was over 10 years ago!!  :o

Anne-Marie....thanks for the encouragement.  I'm just afraid that I don't have the right facial features for long hair....I have a really strong jaw and I've had hairdressers comment that long hair (shoulder length) makes my face look too long.  The other problem is that volume-wise I don't have alot of hair, plus thickness- wise it's fine so it's a double-whammy.  At least if you have fine hair but you have alot of it, it looks like something, you know??   :-/

Well, next week I have my 8-week hair appointment...and I'm agonizing on a daily basis if I want to go short or grow it out.... ???  The thing is I hate using styling products in it cuz it's so fine and I can literally feel the products in my hair...it feels like I need to wash it again....so I can't do much in the way of styling...I curl it in the morning but it doesn't last...so it pretty much hangs down...unless I pull it back everyday it'll drive me nuts!!  But the whole point of having long hair is to enjoy it and admire it...if it's up all the time it's not the same....anyway, I'm sure you've all gone thru this stage of contemplating long hair... ::)

I guess I could always wear a head band it keep it off my face....you know the ones you can buy to tie around your neck? I don't know....arrrghhh!!  I actually just colored it this weekend...a dark brown..using Herbatint (semi-natural product)...it turned out really nice and soft and the color is exactly what I wanted.  You have to leave it in for 40 minutes, but hey, for the results it's okay.

I have very fine hair as well, and not as much of it as I would like.  I have found that at certains stages of growing my hair, it seemed less cooperative and unwilling to do anything I wanted it to do.  My hair does not like to hold a curl if it is shorter than  BSL.  Once I got past that length, the rag curls hold very well.  I can have wonderful ringlets or just body waves.  I do not use any leave-in products.  I just roll my hair when it is slightly damp and let it dry.

Sounds like you are happy with your "new" color - that might help you get through the awkward stage you feel you are in.

Actually it's funny you mention it, Bikerbraid....when I was younger and had longer hair (just slightly longer than shoulder length) it did have a slight curl in it.  Not any more....although I haven't had it to that length in a while.  I'd be curious to see if it would come back....I just naturally assumed that after all the torture I had put my hair thru (perms, colors, washing twice a day sometimes, etc) that it was punishing me.   ;)

Does BSL = Below Shoulder Length??

Another silly question, you know how some women's hair falls into a "v" pattern in the back rather than straight across?  Do you have to have it cut like that or is that a natural thing?  I think it looks cool....like a cascade of hair.

BSL = Bra strap length

The "V" that you see could be either natural or cut.  I have noticed that people who do not have regular trims, their hair will tend to be a bit shorter on the sides than the back.  This could be because the hairline is lower on the back of the head or due to the likelihood of damage being greater for the hair in the front and sides.  Some people prefer that more natural look with the hair "rounded" rather than straight across or blunt.  My hair is slightly rounded, not straight across, but not a sharp V.  I have my hair trimmed once or twice a year now.

I thought the v-shape could only be cut into the hair. Hm.

Wow this topic's been here awhile!  Oh well, I'll reply to it anyways ::).  I have tried rag curls as well as french braids, etc, to curl my hair.  I don' t like to leave it in for as long as it would take to dry if I did it wet.  So I wait till my hair's completely dry, then use the rags as specified in the first post.  After my hair's wrapped around the rag, but before I wrap the fabric back up, I lightly spray my hair with water from a spray bottle.  This way, only the hair on the outside of the curl (which dries first 'cause its on the outside :)) gets wet.  Then I finish wrapping the rag.  if you forget to spray your hair until after the wrapped curl is finished you can still spray the rag, getting it slightly damp, and it will still work.  if I do this my hair is dry overnight (8,9 hours).  Remember to only get hair slightly damp!

Yep - spraying the hair so it is damp can work.  

My hair does not like to curl easily, so I've found the more damp my hair is when I wrap it, (and the longer left wrapped up), the better the curls will last.

I tried rag curls for the first time tonight and so far am not having anyluck.  

I cut my strips of flannel pillow case, put in the holder around the hair and fabric, then wrapped my hair around the fabric.  All good to this point.  But when wrapping the fabric around the hair, it was too loose, and even if I had been able to tie the ends, the fabric cover would have fallen off the twisted hair.  What am I doing wrong?  When I've seen pictures of people with their hair still in the rag curls, they have been tied close to the head.  Mine just hung down.  Also, when I tried to take it out, the hair was soooo tangled in the fabric.  The directions seem so simple, I just can't seem to make it work.   ???

Hmmm, let's see if I can help.....

When I do rag curls, I start wrapping my hair around the strip STARTING at about half the length of my hair.  Once I have the ends wrapped around the fabric, I 'roll' the rest of my hair onto the fabric, bringing it to my scalp.  I then twist my hair into a mini bun (if necessary to keep the hair closer to the scalp), then tie the ends of the fabric to hold the roller in place.

I really must get hubby to take some pictures of this being done - it is so hard to describe.

I'll give that a try, thank you!

wrote on Feb 14^th, 2005 at 10:42am:

Hmmm, let's see if I can help..... When I do rag curls, I start wrapping my hair around the strip STARTING at about half the length of my hair.  Once I have the ends wrapped around the fabric, I 'roll' the rest of my hair onto the fabric, bringing it to my scalp.  I then twist my hair into a mini bun (if necessary to keep the hair closer to the scalp), then tie the ends of the fabric to hold the roller in place. I really must get hubby to take some pictures of this being done - it is so hard to describe.

I had better luck getting them in tonight then I ever have before.  (I actually have 2 rag curls in my hair)  I did have to pin one of them up, and we'll see how it looks tomorrow morning.   :)

Let us know how it worked for you.   :D

I split my hair into 4 sections, did 2 wrap snap and go curlers and 2 rag curlers.  I liked the effect of the rag curls better, but I wrapped dry hair w/ no gel, so it wasn't curly enough.  I'll keep trying though.  Now that I've figured out the basics, it can only get better.   ;)

Way to go!  Next......pictures!

It's been a while since I was on. The rags curls sounds great, I'll have to give it a try.
Brad

wrote on May 18^th, 2005 at 2:34pm:

It's been a while since I was on. The rags curls sounds great, I'll have to give it a try. Brad

Glad to see you back!  Let us know how the rag curls work out.

Sounds great, but I'm not sure whether I should use strips of fabric or socks. Socks sound ssoooo much easier, but I"m having trouble understanding how to use the sock method. Any more info would be great. By the way my hair is knee lengh and thin. Don't hold curl very good.

Have you seen the visual sock curling instructions yet?

Welcome to Longlocks :)
Anais

wrote on Aug 8^th, 2005 at 7:52pm:

Sounds great, but I'm not sure whether I should use strips of fabric or socks. Socks sound ssoooo much easier, but I"m having trouble understanding how to use the sock method. Any more info would be great. By the way my hair is knee lengh and thin. Don't hold curl very good.

Anais' sock curling instructions work great, by the way.  (tried the sock curling about 5 days ago on the last wash) but for the me the rags are a little bit easier to manage... (maybe because I was using tired old socks? *giggles*  ahh well)

Rapunzel mentioned something about only doing a few (4) rag curls on your head, and I think I'm going to give this a shot.... but I'm still going to do the vertical-twist thingy Anais has in her instructions... it makes the hair SOOOOO much more easier to roll!

So where can I find the visual, I'm gonna go look now, but if anyone could tell me just in case I don't have any luck that would be GREAT!

FOUND IT! It was right under my nose, lol. Seems easy enough, next wash I'm gonna try. I only was twice a week so I still got a few more days to go.

WOW I have just read this fascinating article and viewed the sock rolling method and can't wait to have a go. I only wash my hair every two weeks though and it isn't due for a wash for another week. The only problem I anticipate is that my hair is so thick it will take ages and ages to dry. My hair is slightly wavy anyway but if I leave it to dry naturally it just looks all big and bushy but rag-curling (or sock curling) might make it look a little more tamed. Wish me good luck!

Your hair does not have to be wet to sock curl!  In fact, it is best if your hair is only slightly damp.  If you have really thick hair, you may want to just spray the hair with water.  

At night, I will roll my hair up on a sock or two with it dry and still have lovely waves in the morning.  ;D

Oh, thank you bikerbraid, I will try that.

Well, I did try the sock curling and it was a disaster. I know I probably didn't do it right but I am afraid I am going back to the staighteners - for now at least. I did leave my hair to dry a bit first but with my hair being so thick I wore the sock curls overnight and they were still damp in the morning. I even tried drying them in and my husband took a picture of me with the hairdryer and a plastic bag over my head, not a pretty siight.