| 10 May 2008, at 1.06 am | Sign In or become a Member to use the Guestbook, Results Exchange or Chatroom |
Curling Hair
[Boys! Don't rush to another page -- read through this and be very glad you only have to get your hair cut once in a while!]
Curling hair for Irish dancing is part technique, part art form and part witchcraft -- ask twenty people how they do it and you will get twenty different answers.
Below, we have outlined just ONE WAY of going about the job. Use it to get yourself started, but do talk to other parents. You will gradually find the method and products that suit you and your dancer's hair the best, and this page will hopefully shorten the learning curve.
This first tip is definitely the most important: have at least one trial curling run before your dancer competes for the first time. It will be bewildering enough without wondering if your curls will 'hold'. If you can find the time, have more than one go, until you are confident of success.
Preparation
Buy some hair styling 'goo' -- mousse, gel, or spray. If you already use a favourite that suits your dancer's hair, you're halfway there. Otherwise, chat to other parents or simply pick the one you fancy.
You will also need to buy plenty of 'magik wands' and hair curling papers. (See our 'Suppliers' page for sources.)
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Have your dancer wash her hair, and then dry it thoroughly. Leave plenty of time for this, especially with long or thick hair. Allow plenty of time (ie, hours) to do the actual curling -- it can take a long time at first.
Curling
Sit your dancer on a straight-backed chair and have a small table nearby so that you can reach everything easily. Use a reasonably high chair and table if possible, to minimise bending and turning. Curling is a long process and your back will complain if you don't.
The curling papers are used to wrap around the magik wands before curling the hair around both. They come in small 'booklets', loosely stuck together along one edge. Since your dancer can't do much else, persuade her to sit and peel them off as you need them. (You certainly won't be able to, because your fingers will be sticky with styling goo!)
To make a curl, take a thinnish strand of hair (exactly how much depends on your chosen product and your dancer's hair type). Apply mousse, gel or spray to it, and comb it through the strand. Wrap a curling paper around a magic wand and wind the hair up until it sits comfortably against the head. (Not too tight -- you're not giving a face-lift!) Lock the pointed end of the Magic Wand into the hole in the other end and move on.
But where to start? There are a number of strategies: one is to start at the bottom left and work your way around to bottom right, then back again one 'row' up, and so on. Another is to bunch most of the hair up into a loose 'pony tail' on top of the head and to work with what's left first, gradually releasing more hair. You'll have to try it and see what suits best.
Repeat until you have 40, 80 or 160 curls in place (yes, boys, that many!) The number you need will depend on your dancer's hair type, the effect you are trying to achieve, and your stamina. Don't under-estimate how long it will take at first, or how tired you and your dancer will become; keep your sanity by having a break every so often; wash those sticky fingers, have a cuppa/martini/beer ...
Taking them out
Give yourself plenty of time to take the magik wands out -- especially at first. You will gradually get to know how long it takes to do a decent job, but it can be tricky at first.
Tip: Your dancer will not want to drag a tight tee-shirt or jumper over fresh curls. Better slip something loose and/or unzippable on first, so that it can be removed easily before putting on the dance costume.
To remove a curl, unhook a Magic Wand and gently unroll it. This is where you find out how 'brave' your dancer is -- strands of hair sometimes get trapped and pulled out. Ouch!
Remove the wand and the paper, but keep hold of the curl. Depending on how large you made your strands of hair around each roller, you may well be able to carefully split the strands, getting more than one curl from each. Don't go too far, though, or the curls may become weak. A lot will depend on your dancer's hair type, the styling product you used, how much drying time you had -- even how damp the day is.
Unlike the curling process, there is a definite reason for starting at the bottom and working up to the top of the head. If you do it the other way round you will have to dig through your newly-born curls to unroll those remaining. Not to be advised.
Gradually work your way around the head, removing wands as you go. Since the dancer is a 'captive' once more, she can untangle the wands from the papers. The wands can be used over and over unless they break, but please remember to put your used papers in the bin. Picking up needlessly dropped litter is a real pain for feis volunteers.
Other tips
Do allow as much drying time as you can. Overnight is the bare minimum, or you will have damp hair and sagging curls the next morning. It can be tricky to fit in a curling session after school on Friday and have it dry in time for the first dance on Saturday morning. Mousse tends to be easier to handle, but does seem to stay damp longer.
It can be helpful to spray the newly 'hatched' curls with a holding spray, but be aware that the use of hair sprays in competition halls is frowned upon as they can cause breathing problems for other people. It can also be annoying if people cannot see their youngster dance because somebody is standing up to remove rollers. Please be thoughtful.
If at first you don't succeed (as well as you would like) keep trying. It does take practice, but gets better the more you do it.
Finally, do NOT be tempted to curl or uncurl hair in the back of a car on a long journey. We have direct and lasting experience of the back problems this can cause ...
Good luck!
