So I Tried A Straw Set…

Is it just me or on youtube, quite a few vloggers go “oh, this is my first time trying this style.” And then they go on to execute it perfectly. *mental side-eye.* Haha. Don’t mind me, I’m just hating. I’d LOVE to join the club of people that get styles right on the very first attempt! But for now, I’m still outside. 😦

The hair journey, like life, has got its ups and downs. I’m learning, so I’m not going to only share the good stuff. You’re going to get it all, the good, the bad, the ugly. Feel free to give suggestions, tell me how I could be better or succeed. Help me be great! Please share your tips with me! Thank you in advance 🙂

STRAW SET a.k.a. STRAW CURLS

What You Need

Got this pack of straws for 40 Naira.

1. Drinking straws
2. Bobby pins
3. A pair of scissors

You like it already, don’t you? Very pocket friendly but I assure you, it will EAT your time.

How I Prepped My Hair

It’s up to you to decide if you want to style wet or damp or dry.

I had deep conditioned earlier in the day, moisturised (with a mix of a leave-in and a really soft hold gel) and sealed and my hair was in the usual chunky twists. Done with my chores for the night, I spritzed my hair section by section with water and got to work.

Steps

I wish I made a video and took more photos, but I was too busy struggling with my hands and hair and the lighting at that time wasn’t great anyway.

Here’s this really great video tutorial by vlogger, backsyncfan.

You can see more about straw sets here, but let me just summarise real quick:

1. Get your straws and bobby pins ready and close to you. My hair isn’t long, and I had these long straws, so I cut them in half.

2. Carve out a small section of hair. Make sure it’s detangled. You can do this with your wide toothed comb or a brush. Stretch it sha. It’s also good to divide your hair into big sections, as big as you can manage and start taking your small sections from there.

3. Wrap the section around a straw, starting with the ends of your hair. It’s good to tuck them in so they don’t unravel.

4. When you get to the end of your wrapping, get your bobby pin and secure straw very tightly- the pin will be inside the straw and also in your roots, against scalp.

5. Repeat till hair is all done.

6. If straws are still too long, trim them. Be careful not to cut your hair, or nick your fingers!

7. Cover hair. Better you do this with a big satin or silk scarf, OR, cover with your bonnet first and then wrap any scarf around. The scarf holds it together better than your bonnet will.

NEEEED. SLEEEEEEP.

8. Leave to set. I slept with the straw set overnight. It was surprisingly comfortable to sleep in.

9. Next day, gently unravel. Carry go!

I stood infront of my bathroom mirror for over 3 hours. I was really sleepy and really tired, but I managed to get about 50 straws in.

I knew it wouldn’t turn out as expected, but it didn’t stop me from silently threatening my hair to magically fix up. 3 hours+ is no joke!!

Me the next morning. ( ._.)

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What I think I did wrong

1. I think I should have tried to hold the straws in a vertical position as I wrapped, because this was the look I was actually going for.

Like this. Source

2. I think I should have cut my hair in much smaller sections.

3. I didn’t hold the hair with the bobby pins tight enough. It only occurred to me in the final twists that the right way to do it would be to pin the straws firmly into my roots for better hold. Don’t ask how I was doing it before then because I truly don’t know!

So, what did I do?

what to do, what to do, what to do?

I laughed at myself first and proceeded to comb the “curls” out in most places. Then with two hair combs and 2 bobby pins, I held my hair up in some kind of- what, puff? Also, Ruby Woo (any good red lippie really) always helps me in times of doubt!

Straw curls look like sleek dreadlocks at best, and at the worst I guess they can look like freeform dreadlocks. Three people asked me if I was loc’ing my hair, haha. I see this as a bright side. #winning

locks! ^_^

Oh yes, this time, imperfect fro made it past the front door! She was with me running my errands, and at a fancy party later Friday evening. In this round, AB- 1. World- 0. *Rozay grunt!* ^_^

I will try a straw set again, just to prove it to myself that I can do this so-called simple style! The next time I do, I’ll be wide awake and alert, not sleepy, and I’ll try not to make the same mistakes again. Hopefully, this would translate to sleek results!

So, booskis. Have you ever tried a straw set? Tell me about it! As I said, your suggestions are very welcome!

Till next time,

Love,

AB

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