Emily Kendall was getting frustrated. She had looked everywhere around the house and searched every place she could think of. Where might it be hiding? She went through each room carefully. Rummaging through drawers, closets and cabinets, she still could not find it. She had picked out her outfit, shoes and accessories. However, she could not locate this one essential thing. She was very much looking forward to going out for a fun evening and now it looked like she might have to cancel. What was this all-important item that was causing her so much angst? Her curling tongs! They seemed to have disappeared into a black hole.
The 22-year-old Morecambe, Lancashire mum of one plopped herself atop the radiator to think about what to do next – and to get some warmth. Her young daughter then toddled into the room toward her mum. Reaching out, the little girl attempted to touch the radiator. Emily quickly stopped her, warning her it was hot. Then Emily glanced down at the radiator pipe and an odd idea suddenly popped into her head. The pipe reminded her of the curling tongs she had been desperately hunting for. Also, the pipe was hot. What if? Why not?
Emily crouched awkwardly on the floor near the pipe, taking care not to let her face and arm get too close. She then took a section of her long hair and carefully wound it around the length of the hot pipe. She left it that way for a few moments, took a deep breath and slowly unraveled it. To her surprise, it was perfectly curled. She did the same thing with the remaining sections of hair and when she was done, gorgeous spirals tumbled down her back.
Emily could not believe the inspired hack worked so well. In fact, she reflected that it was an even better experience than the curling tongs. For one thing, she did not burn her fingers like she usually did when she used the curlers. Her hair did not smoke either, like it would with the curling iron, so she believed the pipe’s heat was not as damaging to her tresses. Also, unlike the tongs, she did not have to plug in the radiator, so she was actually saving on electricity. Emily was amazed and pleased, as well, that the entire process only took around 20 minutes. Usually, her curling routine clocked in at 40 minutes. That meant she was done in half the time.
She did discover there was a drawback to the radiator process. She got a bit of a sore neck from how she had to position herself down on the floor next to the radiator. Still, the result was fabulous, springy curls and she was excited to find out how long they would stay in.
After an enjoyable time that evening, Emily was delighted the curls successfully held the whole night and even into the next night. She and her friends had a good laugh about it when she told them the story. Some of them were even willing to try the radiator method themselves. So satisfied was she about the results, Emily planned to use the new styling trick for some upcoming parties and gatherings. Who needs curling tongs anyway?
The resourceful young woman decided to post photos of her innovative hairstyling technique on Facebook. She captioned the photos “Can’t find my hair curlers.” In one funny close-up picture, Emily is demonstrating the technique, propped up next to the radiator and winding her hair about the pipe. Her quirky post garnered thousands of likes, shares and admiring comments. She was praised for her quick-thinking solution for the misplaced hair tool and everyone agreed her hair came out looking great. Emily, however, gives the credit to her daughter who came into the room at just the right time and almost touched the hot radiator (or rather, styling machine).