Red Seal Hairstylist Practice Exam

Pin curls are a method of styling that provides a temporary curling effect mainly because they rely on setting hair in a curled position while it dries. The hair is twisted into a spiral shape and secured to the scalp with a clip or bobby pin, allowing the natural texture to develop as it dries. The results are typically temporary because pin curls do not involve heat, and the hold is dependent on the hair's ability to maintain the shape until it is brushed out or the hair becomes wet again.

This makes pin curls a far more gentle approach to creating curls, but because they do not utilize heat, the resulting style will not last as long as methods that do use heat, such as hot rollers or traditional curling irons. Over time, the shape formed by pin curls can be lost due to humidity, movement, or simply the hair's natural inclination to fall back into its original shape. Therefore, they provide a more casual, softer curl that is easy to manipulate and remove, aligning with the idea of temporary results in hairstyling.