Bloggy friends!
Rejoice with me! My life just got easier. 
I now share with you the rag curl method that will make Regency Ball preparation fast and painless! (Um, painless for me. That’s what counts. 
)
Ready?
Tear (or cut, if you feel civilized) a sheet into strips twice as long as the hair you want to curl. The Chicklette has ridiculously long hair, so my pieces were.. ridiculously long.
Divide the hair into five or six big sections. Brush, smooth, and spray each section as you go with a little styling lotion. No need to wet all over. Leave enough rag out to allow you to tie it off when you finish winding, and ask someone to hold it firmly in place. You can see I have borrowed the hand of the Miss 13 to hold the rag in place for me.
Wind the hair smoothly around the rag. By not overlapping the hair on itself, it will dry faster and produce an even curl.
Wind all the way to the end. Smoothing the hair around the rag (you don’t want the very last bit crinkly!) flip the end of your rag back around the part you have just been winding, and commence winding the rag around the hair.
Keep going all the way to the top. This gives you the two ends to tie together, and the rag wound back around the hair stops it getting all ruffled while your poor petal sleeps in it.
When you get back to the top, tie the two ends. You don’t have to tie it in a bow, I just couldn’t resist. Because… how cute is this?!
Leave in over night. When you take them out, unwind carefully. You can separate each curl into two for a “more curls” look. If you attempt that and get a big, foofy, fuzzy disaster, don’t panic. Brush the end of the particularly disastrous curl, and then wind it around your finger, encouraging it back in the direction it was wound the first time, and it will behave nicely. A little Anti-frizz serum or ends shine, or similar product, will help, but don’t over do it or your curl will soften too much.
This method doesn’t curl right to the roots of the hair, which is easier if you’re going for an upstyle - hooray! We weren’t as this was only for experimental purposes, so I added a bow. High is cute for little people, low is more suitable for older girls.
And that’s it folks. Toooooo easy!
Apr 30, 2012 @ 16:03:46
Gorgeous, lovely ……… but still looks like a painful process to me. I hope you’ll still be my friend after that confession. My girls, on the other hand, could have loads of fun.
Apr 30, 2012 @ 16:05:35
Hhmmm, sorry Mrs BB – I don’t know where that account name has come from – but just in case you’re curious, it’s Amy here! Now, to go and work this out …….. computers …… grrrrrrrrrr
Apr 30, 2012 @ 16:30:01
Sweetest girl in the world that I can’t wait to see.. It would take a LOT more than that (in fact I can’t even imagine you ever getting creatively evil enough!) to imperil your friendship status.
As for the painful process, and the girls having fun: If you have a spare old sheet we can set a bunch of girls to experimenting when we come to visit. That will keep them busy for a while..
May 01, 2012 @ 20:05:55
I am relieved, thankyou Mrs BB xo.
As to keeping the lassies busy, I wonder, does it matter if the sheet has paint splotches and plaster dust on it?
May 06, 2012 @ 17:55:26
Paint splotches and plaster? I’m sure (cough!) we can work around that!
May 01, 2012 @ 05:31:21
that is long!
how long do they stay?
May 06, 2012 @ 17:59:27
Well, it wasn’t a very fair trial for these poor curls, because the next day we went to the park where lots of running around games happened. They were still in a day after that, but looking a little sorrier! So they lasted a couple of days, but may have had a longer life if the Chicklette’s schedule hadn’t included so much outdoor adventure in the following days!
May 23, 2012 @ 15:03:54
They used to stay all day for me when I was a kid. Though, I imagine they would last quite a while with styling product. Just don’t get it wet (like with any curls that aren’t natural to your hair).
May 05, 2012 @ 17:22:30
And that, my dear Mrs BB, is EXACTLY how my dear old Ma used to do my rags (although sometimes we had fancy ones with cotton wool sewn in the middle to make “thicker” curls). Aaaaggghhh, I won’t be able to sleep tonight for fear of rags in my hair!! Heh heh. Hope you are well. I blogged today on my Vietnam trip if you want to go for a look see. Fee x
May 06, 2012 @ 18:02:34
Hello there, Fee! If only I’d asked your Ma years ago how she did them! This is much easier than the other way! (Tell her I thinks she’s a clever bunny!) (or maybe a clever Kiwi!
)
I’ll be over to check out your trip pics
May 23, 2012 @ 15:01:59
Awesome!! I was trying to describe this very thing to a friend of mine. My grandmother used to do this to mine and my sister’s hair when we were little. I just did it on my 12 year old for a trip she’s going on tomorrow (she said she wants little ringlets like her baby sister (this is the little one last Halloween: http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee193/sirenkijo/Family/SDC12128.jpg ),
As far as being painful, it’s not really. I have carpel tunnel in both hands and I did ok. And I had my daughter hold the end of the rag while I twisted the hair.
May 24, 2012 @ 17:18:21
Nikki, your daughter looks adorable!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and the pic, I appreciate you joining in.
May 25, 2012 @ 18:35:17
I’m always glad to put my 2 cents in
May 25, 2012 @ 18:36:11
And thank you
May 24, 2012 @ 23:21:18
Sometimes my daughter asks me to help her with her hair….
…
…
…
Yeh, I just stare at it in bewilderment. Just as I stared at these photos.
May 25, 2012 @ 18:34:24
One of these days, when you have some spare time, have her sit down and just experiment.
Jun 02, 2012 @ 17:42:50
Burstmode, what a lovely surprise to hear from you!
Hope all is well in your world.
As for little girls and hair… there is only a limited window of time during which she will be asking that favour of you. (I PROMISE it won’t be happening when she’s 15!
)
But do try for her. She will feel so loved, even if her hair is not quite what she had in mind. x