curls photo. Text: Beauty School - Pin Curls - As a styling trick to curl hair with zero heat, pin curls involve rolling small sections of wet hair into loops around a tubular object from ends to roots. Each loop is secured with bobby pins and wrapped in a scarf as they dry. Curly hairdos became popular in the '30s, as a switch from shorter and straighter styles in the '20s. A decade later, the '40s saw the rise in the pin curl technique, which resulted in a tight, bouncy style. The curls were usually left down, accessorized with hats or headbands or tied into an updo.