The old-fashioned method of curling hair with rags or old stockings produces bouncy long-lasting ringlets without damaging the hair with curling irons.
Although rag curling takes some pre-planning, as the curls require hours to “set”, it is far gentler on hair than frying it with curlers!
Materials Needed for Rag Curling Hair
To rag curl your hair you will need a number of long strips of fabric. The fabric should be smooth, so it doesn’t catch the hair; knits with a bit of stretch in them work well. Old T-shirts can be cut up to make excellent curling rags, and old stockings are ideal for longer hair. The strips should be at least twice as long as your hair.
You will also need some hair elastics or rubber bands to secure the rags.
How to Rag Curl Your Hair
- Start with thoroughly detangled hair. If you are making the ringlets as part of a planned hairstyle, part your hair where the hairstyle requires it. This reduces the need to break up the finished curls in order to arrange the hair.
- Use a wet comb or spritzer to dampen your hair without soaking it – this helps the curls to set.
- Take a section of hair, as much as you want in a curl, and hold one end of the strip of fabric as close to the roots as possible. Wind the section of hair around the rag corkscrew-fashion. The more open the spiral of hair, the droopier the curl will be – so for tight, bouncy curls, wind the hair close to itself so the rag is not visible. You will then have what looks like a sausage of hair with the rest of the strip hanging from the bottom of the sausage.
- Take the rag strip close to the end of the hair and wind it upwards, corkscrew-fashion, around the hair. The aim is to cover all the hair to protect it. Make sure the ends of the hair are secured inside the rag.
- When all the hair is covered, secure the rag close to the scalp with a hair elastic or rubber band.
- Continue curling sections of hair in the same manner until all your hair is curled.
- Leave the curling rags in your hair for several hours or overnight. Hair holds curl best if it goes from damp to dry, so don’t take a shower before taking your curls out or they might soften.
- Carefully unwind the rag from the hair, then the hair from the rag, to release each curl. The curls can then be broken up into smaller curls, frizzed, brushed out to make waves or left as-is. A quick spritz of hairspray will help them hold their shape.
Tips for Making Rag Curls
- Some hair holds curl better than others. Experiment to see how long you need to keep the rags in to set the curls, and how many curls you need to make. Fewer curls are quicker to make, but contain more hair and are thus looser and more likely to droop. If your hair doesn’t hold curl well, making lots of curls with small sections of hair is the way to go.
- For hair that is very resistant to curl, smooth some mousse or setting lotion on your hair before making the curls.
- There’s no need to cut up old stockings – use one leg for a curl on each side of the head.
- Hair in rag curlers is not particularly fetching. Often women curl their hair in the evening and sleep on the curlers; but if you find this uncomfortable or want to time the curls for an evening event, cover your curlers with a scarf, Rosie-the-Riveter style, to keep yourself presentable!
Copyright Sarah Tennant. Contact the author to obtain permission for republication.
Sarah Tennant - Sarah Tennant is a onetime English major who lives in New Zealand with her husband and two small children. Her interests range from ...
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