~*Curling hair with soft spike gurlers*~

You will need:

• Brush and comb
• gel (goop or spray) or mousse- favorites differ with each person...make sure to get the kind that HOLDS!!!!!! Don't go for the fancy kind, either...stick to cheap and well, sticky!
• Soft spike curlers; If you have a lot of hair, you'll need anywhere from 60-80 curlers, depending on hair length.
• Elastic hair band, scrunchie, headband, any other trinkets you'd like to put in
• Hairspray...again, get the cheap sticky kind
• Hairnet...not the kind that come in the little packages with three, they break really easily and are impossible to see! get the heavier, knitted kind...check out beauty supply stores!
• Endpapers (optional, but they make curling go faster!!)

Let me start off by saying first, that this takes A LONG TIME!!!!!! It's pretty painful, too, but grit your teeth and say, "I love Irish dance, I love Irish dance..." You should have someone else curl your hair (some people even drop their kids, curlers, instructions, and accesories off at a hair salon and go shopping! So if no one in your family or friend list is curler-friendly, I suggest this method!) Ok, let's get started.

You sould wash your hair with shampoo only (unless your hair gets really tangly, but don't use that much conditioner) on the night before the day before the feis...like, if you have a feis on Saturday, you would wash your hair on Thursday night.

Make sure your hair is completely dry before curling, unless you're curling with wet hair (then make sure you give the curls enough time to dry!)

For your curler-friendly friends/family:

THE MORNING OF THE DAY BEFORE THE FEIS, OR (IF YOU WASHED YOUR HAIR) THE NIGHT BEFORE THE DAY BEFORE THE FEIS: If that makes sense! hahahahahaha...

Take the comb and pake a part from the top of one ear to the other. Secure with your elastic band, and if you have a scrunchie, put that in now, too! You can also put your hair in a high ponytail and let the curls come tumbling down around your head...it looks nice this way as well, but the other way is more popular. Either way, it's your choice!

Take a lock of hair, no bigger than your index finger, and coat it with your gel, mousse, super glue, whatever. If You're using end papers, wrap that around the bottom of your hair. Wrap hair around the curler, keeping the hair untangled, and focused around the center of the curler.

When you reach the top, stick the tip of the spike curler through the little hole. Repeat this step until you're done with the rest of the ponytail, and then do it to the remaining hair.

When you're all done, spray with hairspray! Lot's of it!! Then put a hairnet over it to keep it from getting messed up.

P.S. I just discovered that it makes it alot easier to sleep if all the curlers are going the same way!

For our not-so-curler-friendly friends/family

: THE MORNING OF THE DAY BEFORE THE FEIS, OR (IF YOU WASHED YOUR HAIR) THE NIGHT BEFORE THE DAY BEFORE THE FEIS:

Put all supplies in a bag, take dancer and instructions to your favorite hair dresser, drop 'em off and go shopping for an hour or two.

P.S. Ignore those people who might be tempted to stare at your wonderfully unique hairdo! I've seriously been thinking about making a t-shirt that says, "I'm an Irish Dancer!!!" Just remember that the staring people will figure out that they're curlers sooner or later!!!!

THE DAY OF THE FEIS:

IT IS IMPORTANT NOT TO TAKE OUT YOUR CURLERS UNTIL YOU ARE RIGHT ABOUT TO DANCE!!

If you're running late, you can take them out in the car, but the sooner you take them out, the sooner the curl will unravel!

Take one curler out to see if it's dry enough. If it isn't, put it back in and wait a while.

When you start to take them out, take them out start at the bottom and work your way up. Another layer of hairspray wouldn't hurt! :o)

AFTER THE FEIS: Take a flying hop-two-three into the shower and wash your hair a couple of times. I personally use some of that VO5 hot oil stuff afterward,to repair all of those poor wittle strands of hair that got hurt in the process! Also, don't be alarmed at the amount of hair that will be falling out. I know, it's scary enough to want to go purchase some rogaine, but remember all the pulling and that occasional *snap* sound when the person curling your hair said, "oops!"? well, that's where it's coming from! don't worry, you'll grow more hair!!! Good luck in your curling!!

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Email: claddagh97@irishdancers.com