A client's simple question about her grandmother's pin curls made me look at my whole kit differently.

I was doing a set for a regular, Mrs. Ellis, and she pointed to my hot rollers and said, 'My grandma did my hair for my wedding with just water, bobby pins, and her fingers. It held for three days in the humidity.' I finished her style, but her comment stuck with me. That night, I tried setting my own hair with just water and pins like she described. It took patience, but the wave was soft and real, not crispy. How many of you still use or even teach those old hand-setting techniques anymore?

3 comments

3 Comments

beth_kelly13d ago

Honestly, that's everywhere now. We're all so busy buying the next gadget that we forget the simple stuff that actually works. My mom fixed my favorite toy with a paperclip and some glue when I was a kid, and it's still holding. Makes you wonder what other basic skills we've traded for convenience and a receipt.

the_faith13d ago

My grandpa taught me to fix a lamp with a twist of wire, @beth_kelly. That skill beats buying a new one every time. We lost a lot when we stopped learning those simple fixes.

lee58213d ago

Ngl, that pin curl story hits home. My aunt used to set her hair with just strips of old cotton sheets and some homemade setting lotion. The curls had a bounce and a shine you just don't get from a hot tool. Tbh, we traded that kind of gentle, lasting result for speed and a lot of heat damage. It feels like a whole language of those little tricks is just gone now.