The Perfect Rag Curls for Effortless Vintage Hair

The thing that I really love about rag curls is that people have been styling their hair this way for centuries as a way to set straight hair in curls without using heat styling tools or really anything but a comb and an old rag. Rag curls are also relatively easy to achieve, and depending on how you do them, you can achieve anything from Greta Garbo to Veronica Lake, to Lucille Ball looking curls without frying your hair.

Rag curls are also an excellent style for lazy hair people and for kids because styling them is so simple and low-maintenance. All you really have to do is throw rags in your damp hair, sleep comfortably (trust me, rag curls are much better than using those huge rollers or having pins poking you all night long), and brush out your curls in the morning for a style that will last weeks if you want them to!

1. Grab an old rag or towel and cut them into six strips at least three inches wide and nine inches long. Then, start your rag curls by dampening your hair with a spray bottle, or you can let your hair dry half-way after washing. I recommend using a sea salt setting spray to give the hair some extra texture if you have curl-resistant hair; it will help you keep the curl even longer!
2. Next, part your hair down the center, all the way back. Take your comb and make a parting from the top of the head, straight down to behind one ear. Comb all the hair in that first section straight down, and grip the ends tightly. Take a rag and center it right over the ends of the hair. Begin rolling the ends around the rag, making sure to secure them down. The trick is to roll them around once, then roll right over them again so that they are packed in tightly. In short, just keep rolling the hair around the rag until you can’t roll any farther. 
3. Now, take the ends of the rag and tie them together once to secure the curl. If you are having a hard time visualizing this, please check out this video. It will show you how to do the roll itself, but with a different sectioning pattern that will give you a different looking curl. Watch it only for the technique but still use the hair sectioning pattern from this tutorial to get the rag curl effect.
4. To make your second curl, you will make another parting parallel to the first one, and it will bisect the rest of that half of the head. Basically, it will run from the top of the back of the head, straight down the side to the  nape of the neck. Repeat the curl in that section until finished.
5. The leftover hair from the same side of the head in the back will make your third curl section. To finish, repeat these sections and curls on the other side of your head. The, wrap your head gently in a silk head scarf to sleep in. This part is optional, but will help you sleep more comfortably and will help keep your curls smoother.

Now, sleep soundly! When you wake up, brush out your curls with a boar bristle brush. Your rag curls are likely to be really big and fuzzy, so go in there with a light smoothing oil like Shiny Dancer; work it into your curls, gently twisting random ones to define them a bit.

I love a deep side part with these curls because it gives them a very vintage look and makes me feel less clownish initially. The clown hair will subside quickly, and your curls will relax into themselves throughout the day, so remember, f you feel way too curly at first, just be patient. Everything will work itself out. By the end of the day, you will want your hair to stay this way forever.

To make this style last, keep your curls dry, sleep with your silk scarf on, and then use some hair powder when your roots start feeling greasy after a couple’a days. That’s how ladies did it in the golden days! How pretty are these curls?

By Roxie Jane Hunt