How to Curl Your Hair With Paper Bags

Co-authored by wikiHow Staff

Last Updated: November 29, 2021 Tested

Whether you’re styling your hair for a formal event or just want a fun look for school or work, you can’t go wrong with sweet, bouncy curls. Unless your hair is already naturally curly, however, creating curls can be a major task. If you’d rather not spend an hour meticulously curling every strand with a curling iron, you’ll be happy to learn about this simple trick. Put down your damaging hot tools and grab a paper bag, because that’s all you’ll need for this!

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Prepping Your Hair

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Dampen your hair. You can either create these curls after a shower, or just use a spray bottle to dampen your hair. It’s important that you work with damp hair, rather than wet hair. If your hair is too wet when you begin, the paper will soak up the water and will not hold your hair properly.^{[1]
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- For African American hair, start with dry hair. Spritz a little bit of water, oil, and a moisturizing product onto each section of hair. You can also put a bit of product into the palm of your hand, and massage it into each section of hair as you go.^{[2]
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2
Comb out your hair. Use a wide-tooth comb to make sure your hair is tangle-free before starting. Damp hair is vulnerable to damage and breakage, so it’s important to use a comb rather than a brush.^{[3]
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Research source} Start at the ends of your hair and work your way up, getting out the tangles from each section before moving on.

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3
Section out your hair. To simplify this technique, it’s best to section out your hair so you can work with one section at a time. Depending on how much hair you have, you may spit it into a bottom and top layer, or a bottom, middle, and top layer. Use hair clips to pin the top sections up. This will make the process much more manageable.

Part 2

Part 2 of 3:

Creating the Curls

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Tear your paper bags into long strips. If you’re using brown paper lunch bags, tear or cut strips down the length of the bag, cutting off the bottoms so that you have one, smooth strip.^{[4]
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Research source} If you’re using larger paper bags, make sure to cut your strips so that they are all about 8-10 inches.
2
Wrap a strip of paper around your hair. For best results, use about 1-inch sections of hair. Place your damp hair, or your hair with product, in the middle of the paper strip and fold one side of the strip over, so that your hair is sandwiched between the two sides. Then, slide the strip down to the bottom of the section of hair, so that you’ll be able to roll up the entire strand.^{[5]
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Twist the hair around the paper. This part can be a little tricky to master. Basically, you want to begin rolling your hair around the middle of the paper strip, where the two sides have overlapped. Practice rolling the hair around the folded paper strip until if feels secure.^{[6]
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- For African American hair, you may prefer to create twists in your hair, and then roll the twist around the paper strip as outlined above. To create the twist, split the section of hair into two parts, and wrap them around each other. Then, roll that twisted section with the paper.^{[7]
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4
Roll the paper up the length of your hair. Once your hair is securely around the paper strip, slowly begin rolling it up the section. There should be two loose ends of paper sticking out on either side of the roll. Continue rolling until you’ve gone as high as you’d like the curl to go.^{[8]
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- You can go all the way to your scalp if you want volume in the roots, or you may leave a few inches of straighter hair at the top of your head. That’s completely up to you!
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Tie the loose ends of paper. Once you’ve rolled as much hair as you want to curl, you need to secure the paper strip. Do this by tying the two loose ends together.^{[9]
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Research source} Make sure you create a secure knot that will hold your hair firmly in place while it dries.
- If you’re unable to form a knot with the two loose ends of paper, you may need to work with longer strips.
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Do this for the rest of your hair. Once you’ve finished the bottom section of hair, let down your top section. Repeat the same process until you’ve wrapped and tied every single piece of hair in a paper strip.^{[10]
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Research source} When you’re finished, double check that all of your papers are securely knotted.
- The more paper curls you create, the better you’ll be at this technique.

Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

Finishing Your Curls

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Let your hair dry. You can create your paper bag curls before you go to sleep, and let them dry overnight. If you’re going to be lounging around the house, you can also certainly put your curlers in in the morning and let them dry throughout the day. The most important thing is that your hair is completely dry before removing the strips.^{[11]
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- If you’re in a rush, you can run a blow dryer over your curlers. Keep your blow dryer on low or medium heat, and make sure to apply a heat protectant to your hair if you plan to do this.
2
Unwrap each curl. Once you’ve felt your curls and determined your hair is completely dry, it’s time to untie your paper bags. Gently undo each knot and slowly unravel your rolled hair. Do this for your entire head. When you think you’ve untied them all, run your hands through your hair to ensure there isn’t any paper left in your hair.^{[12]
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- Keep a recycling bin near by so you can toss your paper strips into it as you remove them.
3
Style your curls with your fingers. Don’t brush your curls out, because you’ll undo the structure of each curl and create a frizzy mess. Instead, gently run your hands through your hair, playing with your curls until you’ve smoothed and tamed them to your satisfaction. If you like, you can spritz a little bit of hairspray on your curls to ensure they hold up for the entire day.^{[13]
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- Your curls may be tight when you first remove the paper bags, but over time they will loosen and fall into looser, softer curls.