can we all just agree that pincurls are AMAZING?

photo-illustrated instructions below!

oh my stars. ever since i was a tiny kid, i've had a burning desire for the kind of curls that nature did not intend for me: those perfect thick round sausage curls most often found in public television productions of jane austen novels. once i got old enough to realize that braiding my wet hair and then waiting until it dried to take the braids out resulted in wavy hair (with weird super straight parts at the ends), not curly hair, my dear accomodating mom tried everything. we had a hand-me-down set of hot rollers, from one of the many older daughters of my mom's friends who were far more stylish than i, but because we didn't really use styling products and because my hair has a mind of its own, they didn't really do much. even when she got up early and woke me up early (a sacrifice in itself) to put them in my hair, affixing them with those weird metal clips, and then sent me back to bed (ouch!) for another hour, the results were disappointing at best. (and at worst...oh at worst. frizzy as all get out, sort of wavy-ish in places, some really crazy mixed up curly places from where i pulled the roller out horizontally, and some super straight places. sad.) we also tried sponge rollers, which were marginally more useful, but still not so great. especially since i was so excited about the curls that i wasn't very good at waiting until my hair was completely dry. then, in the sixth grade, i was finally allowed to use her curling iron (woo!) but i didn't have a very good idea of how to divide my thick hair into sections, and i didn't use the right kind of styling products, etc. not good either.

years and years later, i learned of the magic of mousse and scrunching, which is cool. especially my just-for-curls zesty smelling mousse. i like that stuff.

but PINCURLS. i tried them last night, in preparation for today's crazy hair day. i thought it would take a long time and require many many bobby pins (which, you may recall, i didn't get a chance to buy on monday because of my wacky tacky outfit), but i was wrong. it went pretty quick, even with the smaller sections i knew intuitively were key to my success. and they looked cool when they were all pinned up on my head! like beautiful silent movie star pretty. like nylons and high heels and pearls and a dress just to vacuum pretty. gorgeous. and easy. and fun.

i put a silk scarf on my head when i went to sleep to protect them, and then this morning when i took them out, i was delighted to see that they really do work! i had lovely curls that stayed all day.

so seriously, if you know of a little girl who pines for curls, buy her a card of bobby pins and get cracking. it's totally worth it.

update: or a little boy. there's enough awesome to go around, here.

update #2: if you got here by searching for "pincurls," here's my quick and dirty method (now new and improved: pincurl instructions with photos, just for you! and with a special bonus! guest hair model audra! thanks, audra! thanks also to jeff and dave who took pictures.):

here is what you will need: a lot of bobby pins. like a lot! a comb or a pencil for making parts, and some sort of mousse for added styling power. i would also suggest a brush, just in case, a silk scarf that you can put over them while you sleep, some large claw clips to hold aside the parts of your hair that you're not working on at the moment, and maybe a vase of flowers, just because they're nice to have around.


1. begin with damp hair (this is important; it's going to take a long long time to dry, and your hair drying in the pins is key to your success) and add some mousse. i have special "curl construct" mousse, which, in addition to smelling nice, really does construct curls.


2. divide your hair into small-ish sections, but be careful how you do it. i tried to use roughly square sections (if you've ever seen someone who has tiny braids with a box pattern as the part, this is what i mean) and i used about three layers (top, middle, bottom) because when you're done, your hair will stay in those sections unless you brush it out. this is also why you want to make sure that you have your hair parted exactly where you'll want it when you take the pins out.


3. carefully take the section of hair and wrap it up using your finger into a coil. be sure not to twist it! keep wrapping until you reach your scalp, then press the coil flat into your head and pin it with a bobby pin. if it doesn't fit in one pin, you could add another in an X, but i would start again with less hair. (but wait! you might say, you did bobby pin Xs with audra's hair! and yes, you are right. still, i would recommend making them small enough that Xs are not necessary. [because really, who likes an ex?])


4. once your whole head is done, you have to wait until your hair dries. if you've made the curls carefully, you probably look kind of retro glamorous. congratulations! you might want to wear it all pinned up sometime, even if you're not going for curls. if you're going to bed, wrap a scarf carefully around your entire head (i recommend using a silk one to minimize pulling) and try to sleep carefully.


5. when it's time to take the curls out, gently pull the pins out and let the curls fall on their own. if you're leaving them as they are (sausagey!), you might want to add a tiny bit of mousse by carefully scrunching the curl in your hand. if you're planning on combing or brushing it, mousse might not be a bad idea when you're done.


update #3: if you enjoyed this post, i encourage you to look around and read some of the other ones! and thanks for your comments; i always love reading what folks have to say.

update #4: i recently tried pincurls out on someone with fine, wavy hair, and in just a few hours her hair was curly and ready to go! mine definitely needs overnight to dry at minimum, but if your hair is less dense than mine, you might not have to allow 18 hours for this process.