No, you're on exactly the right track. Your hair isn't wrong or bad at all; it looks like mine! (I've never had hair quite that short, and a just-brushed set WILL be just like that.) It's really good hair for doing these kinds of styles, since it holds very well.
(Forgive me if I sound know-it-all! I've been setting my hair with pincurls for everyday for 2+ years now, and before that different types of rollers and other wet-set techniques. A lot of different lengths, different products (or none), and different ways of brushing out. So I have tried and done a lot, and more than a few times.)
Brushing out is VERY important. Fluffy is the in-between stage, when the hair is no longer wanting to turn back into ringlets. But you need to brush more to smooth it into shape. It's easier with pincurls, but it will happen with rollers as well. Seriously, brush it MORE than you want to. If your hair is as much like mine as I think it is (or more so!) you will not be able to stretch out the curl.
In that vein, this hairbrush was the best wet set tool I bought: http://www.sallybeauty.com/styling-brush/SBS-103199,default,pd.html#start=7 Especially since my hair is/was longer, I had trouble brushing out with my nylon bristle brush, since the curls and hair were so thick the bristles couldn't get through. And a wire brush was too open to adequately brush out. (It WOULD stretch the curl out when it kept tangling instead of brushing.) These bristles are close enough to adequately brush and smooth, but very stiff so they'll go through.
Can you expound a little bit on why you can't get pin curls to stick? If it would help I can try to video how I do it. I roll over a form to keep an even size and keep tension up, roll it up, slide it off, finish rolling the curl with my fingers, and secure to my scalp with crossed bobby pins. I also use end papers (like they use for perms) to keep layered ends together and rolling neatly.
I *highly* encourage pin curls. They create such marvelous waves with absolutely zero effort. And they can literally be sculpted. I can brush a long bob into a pageboy by brushing over my hand, and it will stay. For days. Or I can brush it down and into a flip, and ditto! If a lock is going the "wrong" way, I can "unwind" it and brush it into a curl the other way. Seriously, they're amazing. Heat sets don't do that, and rollers aren't as precise. And they are more comfortable to sleep on than any rollers, and I use a hard foam pillow.
Another recommendation: https://www.amazon.com/HRST-Books-LLC-Sculpture-Curl/dp/B00GYF0Z1Y/ref=pd_sim_14_4?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B00GYF0Z1Y&pd_rd_r=DYNFC4NJK74Q93WD49DS&pd_rd_w=eIEd9&pd_rd_wg=S1cxg&psc=1&refRID=DYNFC4NJK74Q93WD49DS It's a crazy price for a little plastic tool... but with the booklet, it's totally worth it. I have her book, and although it goes into huge detail on pincurls, I didn't really "get" it from those instructions. In this booklet? I got it immediately. (Maybe she had some feedback?) And, disappointingly, the book actually had VERY few hairstyles using pincurls, and very few or none that described a real pincurl layout. But the booklet does! It describes a very good basic layout, with some variations for the bangs, and then several pages of suggested styles and variations for different looks in the 30s-40s. I got it for my birthday two years ago, the thing clicked right away, and I haven't looked back. I use different sizes from the tool often (it makes very tight curls) but the booklet is still in regular reference use.
Back to product. I don't use much, either. After I towel-dry my hair, I use a little bit of this: http://www.sallybeauty.com//smooth-finish-cream/SBS-140116,default,pd.html A pea-sized amount is very easy to spread through my hair, and it does help calm it down. I can't feel any residue. Then I spritz a 1/3 strength Lottabody setting lotion solution, which will give the the set a little more strength. (That may not be a factor for you, if you're not trying to get a set to stay for 4-5 days.) After brushing out I may use a little more of the smoothing cream if it's still looking a little frizzy, like when it's extra humid.
Wow, that's a lot of typing! Sorry to word dump. :) Seriously, I'm very excited for you. It's an adorable cut and this is the perfect time to experiment. I didn't get comfortable with pin curls until my hair was fairly short.
no subject
(Forgive me if I sound know-it-all! I've been setting my hair with pincurls for everyday for 2+ years now, and before that different types of rollers and other wet-set techniques. A lot of different lengths, different products (or none), and different ways of brushing out. So I have tried and done a lot, and more than a few times.)
Brushing out is VERY important. Fluffy is the in-between stage, when the hair is no longer wanting to turn back into ringlets. But you need to brush more to smooth it into shape. It's easier with pincurls, but it will happen with rollers as well. Seriously, brush it MORE than you want to. If your hair is as much like mine as I think it is (or more so!) you will not be able to stretch out the curl.
In that vein, this hairbrush was the best wet set tool I bought:
http://www.sallybeauty.com/styling-brush/SBS-103199,default,pd.html#start=7
Especially since my hair is/was longer, I had trouble brushing out with my nylon bristle brush, since the curls and hair were so thick the bristles couldn't get through. And a wire brush was too open to adequately brush out. (It WOULD stretch the curl out when it kept tangling instead of brushing.) These bristles are close enough to adequately brush and smooth, but very stiff so they'll go through.
Can you expound a little bit on why you can't get pin curls to stick? If it would help I can try to video how I do it. I roll over a form to keep an even size and keep tension up, roll it up, slide it off, finish rolling the curl with my fingers, and secure to my scalp with crossed bobby pins. I also use end papers (like they use for perms) to keep layered ends together and rolling neatly.
I *highly* encourage pin curls. They create such marvelous waves with absolutely zero effort. And they can literally be sculpted. I can brush a long bob into a pageboy by brushing over my hand, and it will stay. For days. Or I can brush it down and into a flip, and ditto! If a lock is going the "wrong" way, I can "unwind" it and brush it into a curl the other way. Seriously, they're amazing. Heat sets don't do that, and rollers aren't as precise. And they are more comfortable to sleep on than any rollers, and I use a hard foam pillow.
Another recommendation:
https://www.amazon.com/HRST-Books-LLC-Sculpture-Curl/dp/B00GYF0Z1Y/ref=pd_sim_14_4?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B00GYF0Z1Y&pd_rd_r=DYNFC4NJK74Q93WD49DS&pd_rd_w=eIEd9&pd_rd_wg=S1cxg&psc=1&refRID=DYNFC4NJK74Q93WD49DS
It's a crazy price for a little plastic tool... but with the booklet, it's totally worth it. I have her book, and although it goes into huge detail on pincurls, I didn't really "get" it from those instructions. In this booklet? I got it immediately. (Maybe she had some feedback?) And, disappointingly, the book actually had VERY few hairstyles using pincurls, and very few or none that described a real pincurl layout. But the booklet does! It describes a very good basic layout, with some variations for the bangs, and then several pages of suggested styles and variations for different looks in the 30s-40s. I got it for my birthday two years ago, the thing clicked right away, and I haven't looked back. I use different sizes from the tool often (it makes very tight curls) but the booklet is still in regular reference use.
Back to product. I don't use much, either. After I towel-dry my hair, I use a little bit of this:
http://www.sallybeauty.com//smooth-finish-cream/SBS-140116,default,pd.html
A pea-sized amount is very easy to spread through my hair, and it does help calm it down. I can't feel any residue. Then I spritz a 1/3 strength Lottabody setting lotion solution, which will give the the set a little more strength. (That may not be a factor for you, if you're not trying to get a set to stay for 4-5 days.) After brushing out I may use a little more of the smoothing cream if it's still looking a little frizzy, like when it's extra humid.
Wow, that's a lot of typing! Sorry to word dump. :) Seriously, I'm very excited for you. It's an adorable cut and this is the perfect time to experiment. I didn't get comfortable with pin curls until my hair was fairly short.