How To: Pin Curls on Naturally Curly Hair

So, this is a post I've wanted to do for a while now and I've finally had the time to sit down and do it. It's a tutorial on how I go from my naturally curly hair to a smooth pin up look.

This has been my go to when I want a full pin up look and I use to do it all the time. It's actually been a few months since I've done this style as it does involve a lot of direct heat and I was beginning to see some slight changes in my hair. Because of that, I've been giving my hair some rest from heat and have been wearing it in its natural state. Now when I say that my hair is "natural" what I mean is that I do not chemically process it to straighten it. I do not have a perm or relaxer. I use to get relaxers all the time but decided to stop about 2 years ago and it was the best decision for me. My hair grew so much more and was much more healthy. And while I love my curls, I do still like having the option to have my hair straight and it makes it much easier to do these kind of styles. Now I know there are a lot of natural girls that are anti any kind of heat, and while I respect that, I'm not one of them. I'm learning how to properly use heat and how to care for my curls pre and post styling.

So now on to the tutorial! But please be warned, many of these pictures are of me without any makeup on. Try not to let that distract you lol.

Here's some of the tools/products I'll be using.

To prep my hair for straightening I like to wash and do a deep condition the night before to help strengthen my hair and add much needed moisture. The products I like to use are Miss Jessie's Super Slip Sudsy Shampoo, Aussie Moist Conditioner, and the Shea Moisture Raw Shea Butter Deep Treatment Masque w/Sea Kelp and Argan Oil. When I put the treatment masque in I put a plastic cap over my hair and use my heat cap over it for a more deep penetrating treatment.

Here is what my hair looks like freshly washed:

After my hair is thoroughly washed and moisturized I get ready to blow dry it. I like to let my hair air dry about 80%-90% dry so that way I don't have to use the blow dryer for too long. As a heat protectant I like to use Carol's Daughter Chocolat Smoothing Blow Dry Cream. It also helps to smooth the hair and control frizz. And yes, it does smell like chocolate lol. So once I've applied that all over my head I begin to blow dry my hair. I don't do anything special, just a regular blow dry.

And here is what my hair looks like all blown out. You can see from the previous picture how much shrinkage I have when my hair is wet.

And now that my hair is fully dry I can straighten it. I use a regular straighter. The one I have, I've had for so long that I don't even remember the name of it. I keep it on a medium heat and one big rule of thumb I have is to not pass the straightener over my hair more than twice and never hold it in one spot longer than a second or two.

(This is the longest part of the process. Takes me about an hour to straighten my hair)

After I'm done straightening I divide my hair into 4 sections to get ready for the pin curls. It looks silly, but it helps me to keep everything neat and it makes it much faster to do. I have one big section in the back, two on either side of my head, and then one in the middle.

(That's my bunny Chewy there in the background)

At this point the only product I add to my hair after straightening it is the setting lotion. I don't add much as I don't want my hair to revert back to it's curly state. The one I use is Lotta Body.

I usually start in the back since that's the biggest section. Starting from the bottom, I'll part a row of hair horizontally, add my setting lotion, then take about an inch section, and with my curling iron, just curl that piece of hair down until I get to the root. I'll hold it there for about 10 seconds then I'll slide it off the iron. Now I'll take that piece of hair and wrap it around one or two fingers(depending on how large I want the curl) then slide my finger out and pin it to my head. Then I'll repeat until I've done all the hair in that row then I'll make a new row and start the process over again.

Once I've finished the back I'll move on to the sides and the middle section, repeating the same process.

 

When I'm done I'll throw a scarf on and call it a night. I usually sleep on my stomach or side so I don't really have trouble sleeping in pin curls like I know a lot of ladies do.

So, the next day after I have gotten dressed and done my make up I get ready for the take down. I counted once and I think I used around 50 or so clips! Once I have all the clips out I'll separate the curls a little bit with my fingers.

Next comes the brushing. Now I know you guys have heard about how much brushing is involved, and it's no lie. I usually end up brushing for at least 5 minutes if not longer. I use my trusty Denman brush for the brush out. You wanna brush the hair over your hand to help combat frizz and begin to sculpt the hair into the shape you want. To get the "S" curl wave, I'll shape the hair and then add long clips in to hold it in place. If my bang is looking a little limp I'll do a bit of teasing, but not much. After I get everything in place I'll spray my hair spray on and let it set for about 10 minutes before I touch it again to remove the clips.

 

 

For a final touch I'll add a nice flower. Et voila! This is how I do my pin curl hair style. I think because of the combination of using setting lotion plus the curling iron, unless it's raining or humid out(Georgia weather is so fickle you never know what you're gonna get) I can usually get this style to last a couple of days.

I know it seems like a lot of work but I think since I've done it so many times it feels like nothing. And it's the price to pay to get the look I want. I don't really mind it. I'm usually watching something on Netflix while I'm doing this so the time flies. And I don't know if you could tell, but I'm totally sitting on the floor in front of my full length mirror while doing this haha. I desperately need a proper vanity.

Like I mentioned before, I haven't done this style in ages since I'm laying off direct heat for a while, but I'm looking into alternative methods of achieving this style because I do miss it. If I find one I like, I'll do an update. I hope this helped any natural hair ladies(or anyone for that matter) looking to do a pin curl style! :)

MKD