As someone with deadly straight hair without even trying, it should come as no surprise that for a long time I've been on a quest to make it curly. Despite what someone think, I'm actually not that good at doing my hair and am especially bad a curling. Well, until now...

 

I've always struggled to try and curl my hair, trying everything from hot rollers to velcros and curling irons. My main problem has been a combination of lack of knowledge/skills and laziness. Surely it couldn't be too hard to learn how to get that gorgeous, sassy, bouncy, curled and wavy look. And yet, I couldn't be bothered mostly because I felt everytime I tried I always failed - so what was the point? I am also lucky enough to have some rather skilled friends who are wonderful enough to do my hair for me.

But I'd been so bored with my hair lately that I wanted to do something different. I definitely wanted to go shorter and I wanted something that could be a bit edgy when left straight but could transform into a more classic look with some teasing and curling. I settled on a style and walked out of the salon looking like a million bucks. Question was, could I maintain the curls when I wanted to?

 

Cue my fairy hair mother Elisse and her brilliant advice. Wet sets with foam rollers. Easy to do, no need to follow any real pattern, easy to sleep in and leave in overnight to wake up with fab hair. It seemed simple enough and she assured me I could do it. So I hunted down some foam rollers (which were harder to find than I thought they'd be) and gave it a shot.

My first attempt didn't quite work out. I got home too late the night before and was too tired to set my hair so I did it first thing the next morning. I left it in for a while and blow dryed it a little but the curls weren't completely dry by the time I had to take them out so they didn't hold properly. Still, there was enough of a wave in there that it didn't look completely terrible and with a bit of teasing it looked decent and I was able to leave the house in it.

 

My second attempt was far more successful, although at first I didn't think it was. I set my hair as per usual and when I took the rollers out the next morning I was so impressed by how tight the curls were and what great hold they had. I started to divide the middle section and brush them down a little bit...and then I started to panic. They looked ridiculous! They were sitting way too high and the ends had gone a bit crazy and I looked like some kind of wannabe vintage albino golliwog.

I kept brushing, my panic rising. Oh my God, I thought. This is SO not going to work. I can't leave the house like this!! I'm going to have to wash my hair to get rid of it. I looked at the clock, 15 minutes before I had to leave for work. WHY? Whyyyyy did I do this?? Amidst my panic and hyperventilation, Elisse's words came back to me. No matter what, just keep brushing - the curl will hold. And you know what? IT WORKED!! Phew!

 

So, the basic steps and tips for creating a wet set from a total newbie?

This is a much easier way to curl your hair than pin curls (good lord!) and far less painful that burning yourself on hot rollers and curling irons! So, have YOU got any tips for ME? If you have any questions leave them in the comments too and I'll do my best to help.