Medium length hair curlers: selection and use
Medium length hair is considered one of the most successful styling options, including for creating curls. At this length, you can safely experiment with different types of curls. Read more about how to choose curlers and use them correctly in the article.
Which one is better to choose?
On medium length hair, almost any type of curler can be used. Depending on the tool you choose, you can get more voluminous or smaller curls, soft waves or elastic afro curls.
Quite common for medium length hair are Velcro curlers... They got their name due to the fleecy surface. The latter is a soft hook that clings to the hair and prevents the curlers from sliding off. Another name is hedgehogs.
Velcro comes in different diameters, so with their help you can create both root volume (the largest diameter of the curler) and medium-sized curls. Velcro has a mesh surface, so the hair dries quickly, the material does not heat up, therefore you can dry the curled strands with a hairdryer. Finally, the products are easy to care for and affordable.
However, Velcro is not suitable for too thick hair - in such a head of hair, they will provoke tangled hair. The worst option is these curlers for dry, weak and split ends.
The modern way to quickly get curls is to use hot curlers. A similar tool was used by women back in the Soviet period. The curlers were rag or foam rollers that were heated in hot water, after which the strands were quickly wound around them.By the time the curlers cooled down, the hair curled into curls.
Today, such products are practically not used, since it takes a long time, there is a risk of getting burned. Modern counterparts are heated in a microwave or oven. Although this is not the most comfortable option to operate.
The current version of the heated hair rollers is electric hair rollers. They are sold in a special container that connects to the mains. Curlers are placed inside the container, which are heated for 4-6 minutes, while they are equipped with an insulating circuit, which significantly reduces the risk of burns. Such devices do less damage to hair than their Soviet counterparts.
They act on the principle of a curling iron, with the only difference that in an electric curler, the strands do not come into direct contact with the hottest part, as is the case when using a curling iron.
At the same time, heat rollers still have a negative effect on the hair structure, therefore it is not recommended to do a hairstyle with their use more than once a week. With extreme caution, you should wind them up to owners of bleached, dry and weakened hair. When choosing an electric curler, you should give preference to topicsthat have a Teflon or ceramic coating, since metal ones cause more damage to the hair.
If you want to become the owner of elastic small curls like a perm or afro curls, you should pay attention to wooden bobbins. Outwardly, they are sticks in the form of spirals, have rubber bands for fixing.
The bobbins are very difficult to screw on on their own, it is impossible to sleep on them and even just walking is not very pleasant - the skin turns out to be too tight. But the styling after using the bobbins lasts up to several days.
Soft version of bobbins - spirals. These are fabric curlers that are twisted into a spiral. To wind the strands and fix them, the products are equipped with a special hook. Like bobbins, they help create bouncy curls, but are not suitable for heavy, thick hair.
Foam curlers usually are soft rollers with rubber bands. They are easy to use, comfortable (you can even sleep) and have a low cost. These tools produce soft, natural waves. The product can have different diameters - from 2 cm (for small curls) and up to 3.5-4 cm (for large ones).
Another kind of soft curlers - boomerangs. Inside such products there is a wire rod (due to this, such curlers are flexible), on top there is foam rubber (a less durable option) or a rubberized surface. Boomerangs look like soft sticks around which a strand is wound. The curlers themselves are bent and fixed in this way. \
Products are easy to use, do not heat up when dried with a hair dryer, they do not need clips (which often cause the appearance of creases on curls) are affordable. However, the styling is not always obtained the first time, a certain skill is needed. In addition, the wire often breaks in places of bends, which makes it impossible to further use boomerangs.
For medium-length hair, velvet curlers are also suitable. It is with such people that professionals prefer to work. Such "cylinders" will allow you to get a luxurious Hollywood styling at home.
Externally, velvet curlers are perforated rollers, covered with velor or velvety fabric on the outside. A special clamp is used for fixation.... Due to the soft surface, these curlers do not injure the hair.
How to use it correctly?
The wrapping of different types of curlers may have some differences. But first, let's take a look at the general guidelines for creating curly styling.
Twist on the curlers should only clean hair. When trying to make curls on stale hair, you will end up with greasy curls that won't last long.
So, the first step should be washing and drying hair. Do not curl damp hair as this breaks it and the curls will take too long to dry.
Before wrapping on curlers, the hair must be carefully combed and divided into 4 zones - occipital, frontal and 2 lateral. They begin to twist the curlers from the occipital zone. Then they move on to the frontal, and then to the side ones. It is recommended to slightly moisten each strand before wrapping. It is convenient to do this from a spray bottle.
Take the curlers in your hands, put the tip of your hair in the middle of the roller and start curling the strand inward. The width of the strand is slightly less than the width of the roller. The rollers are removed after the hair is completely dry, usually it takes 1-2 hours. If you use a hairdryer, the process will go faster.
If electric curlers are used, then the hair should be perfectly dry. Before wrapping, spray a thermal protective spray on it and let it fully absorb. The curlers are heated and quickly, while they are warm, wind the strands around them. The process follows the same principle as when using Velcro. To hold the rollers on the hair, use those clips that come in the set - clips, crabs. The heated rollers are removed after they have cooled down, as a rule, after 20-30 minutes.
If these types of curlers are wound, placing them horizontally (that is, the roller is laid horizontally), then when using bobbins, they should be wound vertically (that is, the “sticks” point downward).
The hair should be divided into several working zones, the strands to be wound should be 2 times thinner than the diameter of the bobbins. The latter can be arranged in a checkerboard pattern, along the parting or heading from the back of the head to the crown. In any case, the bobbins should be tight and even, but you don't need to pull the hair tightly - this spoils the hair. Strands on bobbins dry longer than others - up to 3-5 hours.
If you use foam curlers, then you can not dry your hair or moisten it with a spray bottle. You need to wind the strands from the bangs area. Then they go down from the bangs to the back of the head. After they go to the side zones, and it is better to wind the curlers in rows. That is, in the lateral zones, highlight the "line" from the face to the back of the head, along which the wrapping is done. Last but not least, they work with the temporal strands. Remove the curlers starting from the back of the head. Boomerangs are wound in the same way.
If you decide to curl your hair at night, put on a special mesh on your head or tie a scarf. This will prevent the papillotes from rolling and unrolling the strand. Otherwise, it will not turn out very nicely.
Velvet curlers they are wound in the same way as Velcro, however, special clamps are used for fixing.
When using spirals (fabric curlers), you must first put on the spiral on the hook, and then pick up the strand through the hole in the hook and pull it inside the spiral. Creating such a hairstyle requires a certain skill, it is important to pay attention to the direction of the spiral.
How to keep styling for a long time?
The use of styling products will help to keep the styling for a long time. Before wrapping the curlers on the strands, you need to apply a small amount of mousse or foam. You can do this immediately for the entire mass of hair or for each strand immediately before wrapping.
You should not take a large amount of the product and apply it to the roots. Otherwise, you get the effect of greasy hair.
After the curlers are removed, do not use the comb. It will destroy the structure of the curls. It is better to disassemble the curls with your hands, and then sprinkle with varnish. The varnish should be sprayed on the strands from below, and not sprayed from above - this will press the hairstyle, and the hair in the lower part will develop.
If you need additional volume, you can tilt your head down and in this position treat the curls with varnish. You need to spray it from below, as if from the ends of the hair.
It is important to understand that the better the strands dry on the curlers, the longer they will retain their shape... For this reason, you do not need to wet your hair with water too much and wind up thick strands. To ease the wrapping, it is also recommended to use conditioner after shampooing. This will make the hair manageable.
Finally, it's important to remember that different hair types hold curls differently. Best of all are dyed and discolored. For such a head of hair, almost any curlers are suitable, with caution you should use only Velcro (they can get confused) and heat rollers (they dry even more).
For thick and heavy hair, you can recommend bobbins, foam and velvet products, as well as (for rare use) hot rollers. And you should also select suitable styling products - strong fixation.
For information on how to use curlers correctly, see the video.
