Afro-curls on short hair attract many girls with their unusual, bright look. The popularity of such a perm is growing every year, and multiple photos show countless hairstyle variations.
African women do not have to make much effort to create a curly head, while girls with a European or Asian appearance work for more than one hour to achieve a similar result. In order for the curls to turn out quickly and last for a long time, as well as to fit the girl's appearance, there are several ways to select a curl.
What are afro curls
Afro curls are a fluffy hairstyle made up of many small spring curls. The hairstyle acquires a magnificent look due to the large number of curled strands. One of the reasons why this type of curl has gained its popularity is that these curls do not require regular adjustment.
The hairstyle is versatile - it is appropriate for both special events and daily looks. The process of creating afro curls differs from classic curls in that the hair is wound straight from the roots.
In the usual case, large curls start from the middle of the hair length, but here small curls begin to curl along the entire length. The advantage of this method is that the hairstyle is able to correct the shape of the face and give the image a playful and relaxed look.
Is it possible to make afro-curls for short hair myself? What is required for this
Afro-curls for short hair (the photo shows ways of curling on hair of different lengths) look advantageous. Small curls can help change a serious casual style for a lighter or even rebellious one. A similar perm can be done by contacting a professional hairdresser, or at home.
Different tools are used for curling:
- ceramic coated curling iron;
- hair curler;
- bobbins, papillotes;
- the pencils;
- and even threads.
The type of curls, their frequency, splendor and the size of the spiral depends on which curling tool the girl chooses. It is important to pay attention to your face and hair type before deciding on a way to achieve a successful end result.
Hair type | Advice |
Straight and coarse hair | Apply protective agents for hot styling. Hair dry well before curling. The temperature of the curling iron or ironing is selected individually. |
Obedient straight hair | Dry your hair thoroughly, use thermal protection. The temperature of the curling iron or iron is chosen no higher than 180. |
Curly hair | The easiest way to style this hair is in afro curls. Use protective equipment when working with a heat wave. The temperature of the instrument can be selected as minimum. |
Damaged and brittle hair | Use cold styling so as not to injure the hair even more. They do it carefully, because when curling, cut hair may not look well-groomed. |
It is important to remember about protecting your hair when curling with a curling iron or iron. High temperature damages the hair, so it is pre-protected with special means. The most common and effective way is to apply foam to your hair.
Varnish, on the other hand, makes the hair even more sensitive when exposed to temperatures. It is also important not to use a lot of foam, otherwise the hair will become heavier and the hairstyle will not be fluffy enough. The modern market for beauty products offers other options to protect hair from high temperatures - oils, aqua sprays, and more.
How to shape afro curls for short hair
Afro-curls on short hair lengths (the photo shows how the hairstyle changes with different hair lengths) can sometimes turn out to be not entirely successful. It depends on the shape of the face, the type of appearance, the style of the girl, and also the length of the hair. Small curls on a "boy's" haircut will last a long time and will not require additional fixation or styling.
This hairstyle is able to last throughout the day, regardless of weather conditions. This hairstyle option is suitable both for social events and in combination with everyday clothes. Afro curls work well for girls with very short hair (boy haircut).
The most advantageous option for afro-curling for girls of slender physique, with an oval face and a thin neck. In other cases, such a hairstyle will attract not only its unusualness, but also draw attention to the obvious flaws in appearance.
Therefore, girls with a round face oval should choose more careless curls.
If the haircut is a square, then the result may not always be as desired. Therefore, you should choose the type of curling with care. When curling, the length of the hair is shortened, and with Afro-curls, the hairstyle can even take on a triangular shape.
It is worth abandoning curling on papillotes and giving preference to larger rings. When cutting a square, curling is done in a spiral or vertical way. At the same time, the hair on the back of the head does not curl at all, so that they do not lift the hairstyle.
To get a neat hairstyle on short hair, it is advised to use materials that make curls smaller - papillotes, cut pieces of paper, and so on.
If the hair is short, it must be wound vertically. If confused and rolled horizontally, the curls will be laid down, which looks a little messy on a short length. It is important to remember that afro curling shortens the usual hair length (by 10-15 cm).
Temporary Afro styling techniques
Correct styling in the Afro style is considered by many to be the standard of sexuality, daring style or, at least, bright appearance. To create such a hairstyle, you can use tongs, an iron, a curling iron. Of the cold methods of curling, weaving braids, papillots, bobbins and other items are used.
Regardless of how long a girl's hair is, there are a few rules to keep in mind when curling afro curls:
- If the hair is wound horizontally using the bobbin technique, then the curls will lie randomly, without a general direction. If you wind your hair vertically, then the finished curls will lie down. Hair with a length of 30 cm or more can be wrapped in any way, because due to the length the result will be similar.
- When curling on bobbins, remember to wind the ends of the hair, otherwise the finished hairstyle will look sloppy.
- In order to make the process easier, the thickness of the strands is reduced.
- The stiffer the hair structure, the less the styling lasts. Curls can straighten even faster if the girl has thick hair.
On hairpins
Afro curls for short hair (the photo shows how to wind a strand on a hairpin) are faster and more elastic than long curls when using a hairpin. Try to start curling the strand of hair as close to the roots as possible. Take a thin strip of hair, slightly moisten it with spray or water and wind it around a hairpin.
The winding method resembles a "figure eight". Then they fix the tail of the strand and proceed to the next one. This is how the hair is left on for several hours or overnight for best results. After a lapse of time, the hair is removed from the hairpin and the result is fixed with a fixative spray.
Straight curls of the hairstyle can be made lush styling. To do this, a massage comb is passed through the hair. But do not do this for a long time, otherwise the curls will lose their appearance.
On thin curlers
Afro-curls for short hair (the photo shows an example of curling hair) can be done by winding curls with curlers. This method differs from the traditional only in the thickness of the curlers themselves. The less the strand is wound, the clearer and neater the spiral of curls comes out.
If you save curlers and wind up large strands or of different sizes, then the hairstyle will turn out to be untidy and will not last long. A similar way is to use papillotes. Many people prefer to use this particular material, since the curls are more elastic, and the papillote itself does not harm the hair structure.
Hair is pre-washed and dried.
Hair can be wrung out with a towel, but it must remain damp. They take a thin strand, treat it with foam and then wind it on a papillote or curlers. On average, it takes about 3 hours to curl in this way for the hair to finally dry out and take shape. If the hair is unruly and difficult to curl, then this method can be used at night.
On flexible tubes or pencil
One of the most popular techniques among girls is to curl afro curls with a pencil or straws. This is not entirely convenient, but one of the most effective ways.
- Hair is washed and lightly towel dried. They must stay moist.
- A small strand of hair is separated and wound on a pencil from the roots along its entire length.
- Pass through the hair with an iron.
- The hair is removed from the pencil, a curly spiral is obtained. This is done with the rest of the hair.
Spiral curling iron
There are special curling irons in the beauty industry for creating afro curls. There are also curling irons with removable nozzles, which include a special spiral element.
In most cases, these curling irons are coated with a special ceramic layer, which reduces the risk of injury to the hair structure. Nevertheless, it is necessary to additionally apply thermal protection, regardless of the presence of a ceramic layer.
- Spray protection is applied to clean, damp hair.
- A small amount of styling mousse or foam is evenly applied to the strands. These products add volume and fix the frizz.
- Hair is dried with a hairdryer.
- A small, thin strand is separated and wound on a spiral curling iron.
- Withstand 5-10 seconds, release the strand.
- You can split the section straight away with your hair or a fine-toothed comb.
- Repeat the procedure with all hair.
Curling iron-corrugated
Afro-curls for short hair (the photo shows curling irons with attachments) using a corrugated curling iron is easier and faster to do than other methods. The "corrugated" nozzle can be removable in the ironing set or be a separate curling iron. PBefore you start curling your hair, wash it and dry it thoroughly.
- Thermal protection is applied to dry strands.
- In order to have small curls-corrugation along the entire length, the curling iron is placed on the hair at the roots and gradually move towards the ends.
- Keep the curling iron in one place for no longer than 10 seconds, but press it tightly.
- The thinner the strand, the more distinct the curls are.
Thread
In order to curl your hair into African curls with a thread, you will need any dense thread, preferably with a natural composition (cotton). If you choose threads with the addition of silk or synthetics in the composition, they can begin to slide through the hair and it will be difficult to fix them.
They take a thin strand of hair and wrap it in a ring. A ring is tied with a thread at the roots of the hair.For a better result, leave such a perm overnight, but if there is no way to wait, then the rings are slightly moistened with water and then dried with a hairdryer. After that, the rings are dissolved and passed through them with a massage comb to add volume.
Afro-curls with a perm. Twisting technologies and step-by-step instructions
Afro-style curling is also available at home, but it will not last long - at most until the next shampoo. If a girl wants to keep her lush hairstyle for as long as possible, her option is permanent perm using chemical compounds.
In this case, it is important to find a good master, because the composition that is used for curling has a strong effect on the hair structure. If the master is not experienced enough in this procedure, he can damage the hair and make it brittle.
A standard salon procedure for obtaining afro-curls is performed using small sticks - bobbins. The hair is wrapped in small strands on these sticks, treated with a special chemical composition that strongly fixes the hair and gives it a spiral shape for a long time, but at the same time affects the hair, making it weaker.
There is a more gentle procedure, which is carried out in a similar way to a perm. In this method, instead of a powerful chemical solution, a more gentle composition is applied. This procedure is called "carving".
Any of the above procedures will allow you to wear a curly hairstyle for longer than 1-2 days, but it will not last forever either. How long the curls last depends on several factors: the structure and thickness of the hair, its density, as well as how dry or elastic the hair is.
With a perm, the hair retains its curly shape for up to 4 months, and the volume even longer - up to six months, until the length grows from the roots. If you curl with carving, then the period of curling is slightly less - 8-10 weeks. After that, the girl herself decides whether to repeat the procedure or leave her hair for restoration.
If you take care of your hair incorrectly after a perm, then its duration will be reduced to a couple of months.
The cold permanent, which allows you to wear the curl for as long as possible, is one of the following drugs - matrix (for bleached hair), thioglycolic (for hard and gray hair), highly alkaline (for soft and colored hair).
The rest of the preparations of a more gentle content, such as a low-alkaline or bio-acid composition, are not suitable for giving elasticity to curls. They are used for carving, which gives the appearance of wavy curls, but not a spiral.
Before starting the curling process, the master must carefully examine the scalp for wounds or inflammation. If any are found, the curling process should be postponed so that the chemical composition does not cause further injury.
- Wash your hair thoroughly, preferably with a deep cleaning shampoo.
- The hair is towel dried but left slightly damp.
- The hair is divided into strands and wound on bobbins. They begin to work with the hair on the back of the head, remove the rest so that they do not interfere. The hair is divided into strands no thicker than 1 cm. The bobbins begin to be attached as close to the root system as possible, so that during the curling, no creases are visible and the hair grows back curly as long as possible. For this, many craftsmen use special bobbins with a hole inside for hair. A strand is threaded inside the stick and begin to wind, constantly pulling the hair.
- The hair is treated with a chemical solution and allowed to brew for the specified time (noted by the manufacturer of the solution).
- The solution is washed off without removing the bobbins, then a neutralizer is applied.
- The bobbins are removed and the hair is washed, rinsing off the neutralizer.
It is important to remove the bobbins with this method of curling very carefully, not stretching the hair, but unwinding. Otherwise, instead of elastic curls, you will get the effect of a slight "wave" curling.
Each time, washing off the preparation, you do not need to rub the hair itself, use only warm water. Immediately after such a curling, styling is done using a hair dryer with a diffuser attachment. After curling, you can wash your head every other day.
How to care for afro curls
Regardless of the way in which the girl chose to perm the afro-curls, such a hairstyle will require special care. If you do not, then the styling will last much less than you wanted. Each curling method involves a different way of hair care.
After a perm
After the hair has been exposed to a highly alkaline or thioglycolic formulation, it needs deep hydration. To avoid regular stratification of the hair structure, it is necessary to use special oil-based care products.
Oils are best suited: argan, sea buckthorn, castor. Products based on these oils are able to heal damaged areas of the cuticle and seal the opened hair scales. It is important to remember that when applying these products, the area of the hair roots should be avoided, they are applied only to the length of the hair.
After curling with hot tools
Hot curling, especially without the use of protective agents, can injure the hair structure. The scaly layer is damaged, the hair becomes brittle, lifeless, dry. Often, due to the regular heat exposure of the hair, the ends begin to split.
In order to prevent or stop the hair dissection process, oil-based cosmetics are used. Products that are used to care after a cold wave will also cope with the protection and restoration of hair after heat exposure.
After weaving artificial curls
Unlike cold or hot curling, this method does not require special hair care, since it does not directly affect the hair structure. If the girl chose the elements of weaving artificial hair, then when washing your hair, it is not recommended to use a balm or conditioner.
After applying the balm, the hair becomes silky, from which the artificial hair can slide off the natural one. This hairstyle dries much longer than other curling methods, so weaving is more popular in the warm season.
The advantage of this hairstyle is that the curls are well defined, which helps create visible root volume. The only drawback is that these curls will not be durable for all styling methods. Every girl can diversify her appearance at home. Perm will allow you to add this variety for a longer period.
Afro curls on short hair, as shown in the photo, are a stylish way to diversify your hairstyle. The fashion for this method of curling came from the inhabitants of hot countries, whose appearance is distinguished by brightness.
There are many ways in which you can get the desired effect of a fluffy and curly hairstyle. Most of them help to keep the hairstyle almost until the next shampooing, with the exception of cold curling methods using a chemical solution.
Helpful Videos on Different Ways to Create Afro Curls
Afro-curls without curling iron and ironing:
Afro curls with iron and sushi sticks:
A couple of times I did this hairstyle in the salon! Delight! Now I will definitely try one of the described ways to do it at home!