Deep Wave "curlformers"... Hmmmm

Alma Petra

Well-Known Member
Bumping.

I did a pre-run practice with those on two small sections in the front of my head. I have finally learned: When trying something time-consuming and new, do a small test-run first! I did the set on DAMP, very coily, 4a hair using Design Essentials honey foam.

Right now I am not inspired to do this over my entire head:
  • I feel like the sections need to be VERY tiny in order for the hair to come out smooth.
  • Also, my hair is short, and the waves are so deep that I'm not sure how great the overall look would come out -- due to how the WAVE ends on each piece of hair.
  • FINALLY, I feel I would need a super strong, crunchy hold for this style to be worth it. Maybe the style would last if I took a super hold hair spray and sprayed each wave after I removed the curlformers???
I tried to take a lot of photos to help people decide if they want to invest in these. With one of the curlformers, I put in an amount of hair narrower than the width of the curlformer. It came out MUCH smoother. With the other curlformer, I put in the amount of hair EQUAL to the width of the curformer. It didn't come out as smooth.

If I can find a way to get a very crunchy, strong, long-lasting hold, I might try a set. I hope I have enough wavy curlformers!: It seems like I'd need to make VERY small sections to get this to work.

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The waves came out so cute and your hair is very long when stretched.

I think that the style was messed up at the separation stage only. So yes you could possibly benefit from a hard-hold product, for example your best hair gel. I use my Wetline gel for bantu knot outs and it gives me very good hold. Also maybe pay more attention and be gentler at the separation stage? For me I try to follow where the clumps themselves want to separate. When I style soaking wet my hair makes small clumps within the bigger chunks of hair that I grab to twist or knot so at take down it's easier and neater to separate these small clumps from each other than to separate arbitrarily.
 

YvetteWithJoy

On break
The waves came out so cute and your hair is very long when stretched.

I think that the style was messed up at the separation stage only. So yes you could possibly benefit from a hard-hold product, for example your best hair gel. I use my Wetline gel for bantu knot outs and it gives me very good hold. Also maybe pay more attention and be gentler at the separation stage? For me I try to follow where the clumps themselves want to separate. When I style soaking wet my hair makes small clumps within the bigger chunks of hair that I grab to twist or knot so at take down it's easier and neater to separate these small clumps from each other than to separate arbitrarily.

@Alma Petra :kiss:

THANK YOU!

I was thinking about trying it with a gel. I'll test the same areas with my strongest-holding gel and see what happens.

And, yes: Separating the one wave into three wasn't so much the problem, but when I ran my hands down the wave, that was a no-no. I will look for the natural clumping! :smile:

I am concerned about the number of curlformers I might need. Naptural85 has used the regular ones. My hair is very, very similar to hers. I think she has gotten away with using about 40, but one time she used 75 of knock-off brand because she was using very small sections!
 

Alma Petra

Well-Known Member
@Alma Petra :kiss:

THANK YOU!

I was thinking about trying it with a gel. I'll test the same areas with my strongest-holding gel and see what happens.

And, yes: Separating the one wave into three wasn't so much the problem, but when I ran my hands down the wave, that was a no-no. I will look for the natural clumping! :smile:

I am concerned about the number of curlformers I might need. Naptural85 has used the regular ones. My hair is very, very similar to hers. I think she has gotten away with using about 40, but one time she used 75 of knock-off brand because she was using very small sections!

:2inlove:

And as a bonus point, for me, unlike it is with WnGs, I don't even need to SOTC (scrunch out the crunch) after take down. My hair comes out soft from the knots. With WnGs, I need to SOTC the Wetline gel to get softness. Thankfully it SOTCs out completely without residual crunch.

And why were you running your hand through the waves, sis? Wouldn't that be like using a comb on them or on any form of curls? It would disrupt the curl formation. If you were aiming to separate, I think I would do that gently slowly and with purpose, not randomly and I would stop if individual strands seem to be starting to separate instead of small clumps. Whenever my hair snags first before yielding and separating, I know that single strands are going to separate and that I'm going to end up with frizz in that area lol.
 

Daina

Well-Known Member
@YvetteWithJoy, I agree I think you ran into trouble separating. I have these and only used them once. The waves are very delicate so I actually didn't separate but let them naturally fall and stretch out as the day went. Only used them once because it was too much work and I needed too many. I would use them again if I could get someone else to install them.
 

Curls&Justice417

Well-Known Member
I bought some on eBay awhile ago because they were so cheap and it was a total fail! Like you all mentioned, you have to separate your hair in tiny sections. My hair looked half way decent after I took them out but the next day I was looking like this sooo.....yeah....


I don't have the desire to try them again any time soon. Too time consuming.
 

BlackMasterPiece

Well-Known Member
So I tried it!

To sum things up:

  • It took like 4-5 tedious hours for me to install
  • Was nightmarish to sleep in (why I played myself and even attempted to is baffling)
  • Had to use 44 rollers because of my hair density and the fact that it works best with small sections
  • I probably need another pack for my next install
Conclusion: My hair looked bouncy and amazing and I achieved the straightest heatless stretch I've ever experienced in my life and will def try again:look::rofl:

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I know my coarse wiry strands hold a curl incredibly well so all I used was cantu leave in repair cream on each section.

Of course I tried this during a heatwave when it hit 95 degrees so it was perfect in the morning then by the time I came back home in the evening it was a cute fluffy wavy 70s kinda fro that was slightly reverted, somehow it was both defined and fluffy, it was cute.

I'm on day 2 so the waves have relaxed a bit but they're still there, especially at the roots, the ends have reverted a bit. What I like is I can now transition to a braidout or set my hair on rods and its as if I'm doing it on blowdried hair.

Got alot of compliments, I believe I'll gain speed with experience:yep:
 
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YvetteWithJoy

On break
Did you hair get caught in these? I have the awfulest time with curlformers. Could you send me the link too please?

Mine did, and I lost hair because of it, too. But, I didn't have any prior practice/experience with curlformers. I have no idea how I could prevent this in the future, were I to try them again.
 

YvetteWithJoy

On break
I tried it again. I dampened my completely dry hair with a tiny bit of water from a spray bottle, and applied the Design Essentials foam. (I feel like a need some other product for this, eventually.)

My family is giving me serious side-eyes and some straight out guffaws/laughs, but it didn't take long to install them and I didn't have to use a ton of them.

The very good: I figured out how to install without much tension on the hair, and with no hair loss!!! :clap:
An issue: I can see my hair through the deep wave curl formers, and in several of them my hair is somewhat stretched but I can see a few coils!!! Seeing coils = not good. We'll see how this turns out. Regardless, this stretching should prevent tangling!!!


I purchased a can of good old fashioned Aqua Net super duper hold hair spray. I'm going to do very delicate separation, and then try to shellac it with the Aqua Net.

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YvetteWithJoy

On break
Update:

When I started removing the deep wave curlformers, my hair was not fully dry. :( I had to just remove them anyway because I couldn't wear them to church.

I ended up just having to bun.

I'm definitely going to do it again, but next time on Friday night so that the curlformers can stay in as long as need be on Saturday morning. It took me so little time to install and remove them that I feel it is well worth it to figure these out for my hair. :smile:

So, I have two issues to resolve: product selection and hair section size. My coily springs are challenging to straighten. I'm not sure if I should put more hair in each curlformer or less in the aim for increased smoothness/straightness. And, that Design Essentials foam/mousse is a nice product, I guess, but not for my hair for this process. I don't know WHAT product to try next time. My Nairobi setting lotion? A gel? I feel like I need something lotion-y, and heavy to try to keep my 4a, pen-spring-sized coils laid out in the curlformers.

I'll read the regular curlformer thread before my next attempt this upcoming weekend. I'll update this thread with my progress.
 

YvetteWithJoy

On break
@BlackMasterPiece , do you still use these and like them? Would you mind PMing where you got yours?

@YvetteWithJoy , would you mind saying where you got yours as well? Did you lose hair on the install?

When I get back home tonight, I'll go to my eBay account and get the seller name and link.

I lost no hair! I have figured these mugs out! Lol. (If only I could figure out which product to use for my hair type!)

When I post tonight, I'll share in detail the tiny things I do that render installation free of hair loss.
 

Alma Petra

Well-Known Member
Nice set! I don't know maybe comb the hair more thoroughly before installation and make sure it's taut and has no room whatsoever to shrink inside the curl former?
 

YvetteWithJoy

On break
Nice set! I don't know maybe comb the hair more thoroughly before installation and make sure it's taut and has no room whatsoever to shrink inside the curl former?

Thanks! Those are good thoughts.

So, I detangled each section with a brush then wide-toothed comb then fine-toothed comb before pulling the section through as tautly as I could. There is nothing to keep the section from drawing/shrinking up a bit.
 

Alma Petra

Well-Known Member
Thanks! Those are good thoughts.

So, I detangled each section with a brush then wide-toothed comb then fine-toothed comb before pulling the section through as tautly as I could. There is nothing to keep the section from drawing/shrinking up a bit.
So it's rather roomy in there? Because this would defeat the purpose, unless you are setting on blow dried or flat ironed hair. Hmmm I have never seen these tools before so I can't quite imagine what working with them is like but really they should physically deter and prevent the hair from shrinking.
 

imaginary

Well-Known Member
Sorry for the thumbnail pics. My laptop is on the blink and I can only update from my phone.

My 4a coils didn't want to go smooth. ;)

To enlarge, please click.

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Great set! Have you tried smoothing your hair while soaking wet with a fine tooth comb or tangle teezer? For me, my sets always come out smoother the wetter it is. I hope I can find these curlformers when I'm ready to buy :pray:
 

YvetteWithJoy

On break
So it's rather roomy in there? Because this would defeat the purpose, unless you are setting on blow dried or flat ironed hair. Hmmm I have never seen these tools before so I can't quite imagine what working with them is like but really they should physically deter and prevent the hair from shrinking.

Maybe I should put more or less hair in each curlformer. This is my first attempt to fully dry. I'm probably going to need to practice, try different amounts of hair, try different products, etc. before my set looks great.
 

YvetteWithJoy

On break
Great set! Have you tried smoothing your hair while soaking wet with a fine tooth comb or tangle teezer? For me, my sets always come out smoother the wetter it is. I hope I can find these curlformers when I'm ready to buy :pray:

Thanks. My hair is very elastic and coily. It doesn't smooth with product and tangle teaser usage. I've watched that phenomenon on YT and tried it. I smoothed my hair with gel once and thought, "I did it!" Ten minutes later I had a 'fro again.

It might be that I just don't know how to do it right, though. Maybe someone else could achieve it on my hair. I'll keep practicing! :yep:
 

BonBon

Well-Known Member
@YvetteWithJoy

Thanks for the pics. Would you say this is good just for stretching.? I don't actually want to acheive smooth waves but I need something that will make my extremely shrikage prone hair easier after washing!
 

imaginary

Well-Known Member
Thanks. My hair is very elastic and coily. It doesn't smooth with product and tangle teaser usage. I've watched that phenomenon on YT and tried it. I smoothed my hair with gel once and thought, "I did it!" Ten minutes later I had a 'fro again.

It might be that I just don't know how to do it right, though. Maybe someone else could achieve it on my hair. I'll keep practicing! :yep:

Oh no, you misunderstand me. We have similar hair textures actually, yours is a bit looser than mine. What I mean is that you have your hair wet (or close to it) when you're applying the curlformers. So spritz it then smooth it with the tangle teezer or fine tooth comb and then apply the curlformer. I doubt the set will last without a holding product, but your hair will be much more uniform in the tool.
 

YvetteWithJoy

On break
Oh no, you misunderstand me. We have similar hair textures actually, yours is a bit looser than mine. What I mean is that you have your hair wet (or close to it) when you're applying the curlformers. So spritz it then smooth it with the tangle teezer or fine tooth comb and then apply the curlformer. I doubt the set will last without a holding product, but your hair will be much more uniform in the tool.

Ah! Gotcha. I'll try it, especially based on your description of your hair.

Should my hair be sopping, soaking wet?
 

Alma Petra

Well-Known Member
@YvetteWithJoy

Thanks for the pics. Would you say this is good just for stretching.? I don't actually want to acheive smooth waves but I need something that will make my extremely shrikage prone hair easier after washing!
I always found bantu knots to be amazing for stretching. I mean thanks to them and combing out, I never even knew that I had curly hair and I had been natural almost all my life. I only relaxed after I graduated from uni. And all that time I had no idea my hair can curl.
 
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