DIY Hair: Curlformers Review

Author:

I love to dye my hair all colors of the rainbow. I love all things vintage, and I enjoy creating art, taking photos, and doing it myself.

My Inspiration for Trying Curlformers

I've been following Melanie Harter on Flickr for over five years, and I've always been envious of her perfect curls. I really thought they were natural, but after searching through her photos, I learned that she uses Curlformers to get those beautiful curls.

Not only does Melanie use Curlformers to create her great style, but she also uses them when dying her hair. As you can see, she used them to create rainbow hair! In this case, the Curlformers separate out sections of hair, much like foils used in salons, to help keep the colors from mixing together. They also make it much easier to wash each color out in sections.

Melanie Harter (a.k.a. Wisely_Chosen)
Melanie Harter

Finding a Heat-Free Curling Solution

I like to dye my hair a lot, and lately, I've been contemplating some major hair changes that would require a lot of bleach. For this reason, I have been trying to get away from using heat, because even with heat protectant products, it can still wreak havoc on your hair. Especially if it's bleached. So to protect my hair from further damage, I've been looking for an effective way to get heat-free curls. I've been eyeing Curlformers for a while, and finally took the plunge.

Types of Curlformers

In my search, I discovered that they make three different types of Curlformers—barrel, spiral, and corkscrew.

Barrel Curls: These are wide, bouncy, and big.
Spiral Curls: These are tighter than barrel curls but still soft and bouncy.
Corkscrew Curls: These are narrow and tight.

diy-hair-curlformers-review — curlformers

How to Use Curlformers

Well, it's pretty simple. You look like an alien for several hours, and then you look hot as hell.

Seriously though, it's not a difficult process. In your kit, you get some hooks—they look like big crochet needles—and the curl form tubes. The forms are made of a kind of woven plastic, and no matter how you bend them, they spring back into their curl shape.

Barrel Curl Review

My hair falls about four inches past my shoulders and is dead straight. I decided that barrel curls would be the most manageable and natural-looking on me. I purchased a kit with 16 barrel-style Curlformers. It comes with eight clockwise and eight counterclockwise spirals so that all the curls are not turning in the same direction. Make sure you buy a kit that comes with the styling hook.

It took a couple of tries to get the hooking technique down so I wasn't pulling my hair out as I tried to pull it through the form. After a while, the prepping was complete! I only ended up using 11 curl forms to cover my whole head.

So Soft You Can Sleep in Them

The great thing about Curlformers is that there is no pain. The rubber at the tops of the forms keeps them secured to your hair without tugging or ripping it out. They're easy to put on and easy to remove.

As a matter of fact, they are comfortable enough to sleep in! I slept in them my first time using Curlformers and enjoyed a good night's sleep. Sure, I had to adjust them every so often, but they're flexible and fairly soft. They didn't really get in the way.

The Results Are Exactly What I Wanted

After removing the tubes, you should always comb or at least finger comb your curls out. Nothing looks weirder to me than perfect little ringlets. They're just unnatural, stiff, and look kind of dumb. After a bit of fluffing, the look is complete.

I was so pleased when I took my Curlformers out—they worked perfectly! No heat and no excessive styling products to hold the curl. Just big, beautiful, perfect curls.