A vintage trick: how best to secure mesh or brush rollers

I was going to call this “The best way to secure vintage rollers” but it really applies to most mesh or brush rollers and particularity plastic ones. The typical way of securing these types of curlers is to place as is as follows (thanks to Hairdo May 1961).

Using a comb, create a rectangular section of hair about the size of the curler you want to use:




Wind the section of hair neatly around the roller:



Place a pik (aka pick aka pin) through the roller in the direction shown in the picture. This is particularly important. If you place the pick trough the roller the opposite way relative to the direction is it wound, the pik will not hold it in place. There are actually a few tutorials on on the web that seem to get it wrong with the rollers left on the verge of falling out, usually by first time users of these type of rollers.



Now the trick, and it comes from a vintage package of Solo Sleepeasy brush rollers. Instead of one pik through the center of the roller, use two, one on each end of the roller as shown in the diagram beside“fasten with roller pins” below (you may need to click on the image to enlarge it).




Without any greater tension being required, by securing the roller on each end with a pik will hold it in place much better than with one pick in the middle( which can even allow the roller to wobble if not wound perfectly). Because even the more rigid rollers are still somewhat flexible, you can also use the two piks to adjust the tension on each side of the roller so that is it even across the roller, not only resulting in a better set but also making wearing rollers much more comfortable. It really makes a big difference, and doesn’t take much more effort than just using a single pin.