Monday, November 22, 2010

Sponge rollers: better than a curling iron if you are clumsy like me

Making my hair curly is a difficult and long road. It requires lots of product and drying with a diffuser to even look a little wavy, and even a curling iron can't really make it curly. Plus, I burn myself and make my arms tired every time I try to use one!

But, of course, I can't just accept the fact that my hair is straight and be happy with it, I have to try to change it. In this way, I discovered sponge rollers.


(via google images)

Sponge rollers are much better than searingly hot metal. They are soft, like teddy bears. They are forgiving. One can sleep on them - which is what I do. I roll my hair up at night, spritzing a little water on each section before rolling it. I put a scarf over it when I'm done to keep the rollers from falling out while I sleep.

This particular time, when I took them out in the morning, my hair was curled WAY tighter than I expected. I went with it!



The side view shows how awesome the curls were. Also, you can see how my winter paleness allows my veins to be easily visible beneath my skin. Kinda gross chin/neck vein!



I almost feel a little like a 50s housewife when I put rollers in my hair - it's such an old beauty trick! I think sponge rollers have been around for decades. My husband makes fun of me when I have rollers in too :) - but I really like the look. Also, my hair still looks great the next day, and I can pin it up easily with the then-looser curls.

Have any of you rediscovered a beauty trick that's been used for many years and found it to work great for you?

11 comments:

Allison said...

My hair is pretty curly to beging with, and I've spend my life trying to make it straight! Funny how that is! I have used sponge rollers in the past for an uber curly look and I love them. When my hair was a bit longer I would use a variety of sizes at the same time. Tying hair in rags overnight is a very old trick that really really makes hair curly :) If you google rag curls there are loads of tutorials!

The Merry Traveller said...

I remember my mom having these like 20 years ago! I used to play doll-up in them but they have since vanished through the multiple house moves. I still see them occasionally being sold but in funky shapes and designs like strawberry shaped sponge rollers which kind of tickled me no end!

neffbot said...

Allison - I have hair envy over your curly hair :) I do use the multiple sizes, I couldn't get a good picture of my set so I just used a stock image. Mine come in all the pastels of the rainbow and have about 5 different sizes.

Merry - I haven't seen the funky shaped ones! I bought these pretty recently though, so I know they still have them on the market.

Anonymous said...

When I was younger my mum used to curl my hair for hours with a curling iron (I have the burn marks on my neck to prove it!) and it would fall out in mins! I don't bother any more...although I'd love to have curly hair!

Your hair looks amazing - LOVE it!

Debbie said...

I recently had about 7 inches cut off my hair and I used heated rollers before as nothing really worked to keep a curl in it. I bought a bun ring or doughnut a few days ago as I really wanted to have a big loose bun, I've not used one before and it is quite effective but you to have lots of hair to cover the ring. I have a picture on my post here: http://pixieandmurphy.blogspot.com/2010/11/little-bit-more-thrifting-today-dotty.html
I'm also really into wearing scarves in my hair, especially dotty ones.

xx

Brenda Jean said...

Haha, aw your arms get tired, my thoughts exactly! If you're a fan of soft sponge rollers, you should try googling foam twist rollers. They're a soft foam roller with a bendable wire stuck through the center, covered in fabric casing. They're more comfortable to sleep in and easier to get in and out of your hair without the pulling and snagging!

mollycolleen said...

I love the straight-bangs-curly-hair look on you! My mom used to put my hair in sponge curlers every night as a kid. I think it helped her be able to control my curls and know what to do with them.

Pretty Penny Mae said...

Oh, sponged curlers! My mom used to make me sleep in these before family photos, when I was a kid. They always did work a lot better than hot rollers. You're hair looks so cute curly!

neffbot said...

Monkey - thank you! Mine falls out of curling iron curls very quickly too.

Debbie - thanks for the link to your post, I'm super behind on reading/commenting. I really like your loose bun! Which sounds kind of pervy.

Brenda - I saw those, and wondered at them. They have them at walgreens but I wasn't sure if they gave good results. My hair is still pretty short - do they do well for short hair? I feel like the sponge rollers stay in really well because they lock together, but I do pinch my hair in them sometimes and it stinks.

Molly - thanks so much! Deep down (ok, not so deep down), I am jealous of your gorgeous red curly hair. It is so lovely!

Penny - thanks so much! I feel like we could do the swoopy-bangs-curly-hair look together since we have pretty similar hair (though yours is longer). Then we could be hair twins.

ThriftyMomma said...

Those rollers are fantastic esp. if you want major curls! I remember them when I was a kid and I have used them on myself and my daughter. hehe...yep you have to be careful not to get to much curl with those babies...:) Your gum comment was hilarious on my comments. Sorry you have such a horrid memory :)

neffbot said...

Thanks Thriftymomma! It's funny the things that stick in our heads...

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