Curlformers Review (Or "How to look like a demented seven-year-old")

Curlformers.. ringlets in disguise... (promo image)

I can't stop singing the theme song to "Transformers - robots in disguise" along with this post.  Annoying eh.

I think I got these about a year ago, and it's taken me up until now to remember that I have them, and that I should try them out and see what they were like.

There are a bunch of different sizes and widths available - at the time I got short-wide and medium-wide ones.  Which are, I've discovered, nowhere near long enough for my down-to-the-middle-of-my-back hair.  No where near long enough.  And frankly nowhere near wide enough as it turned out.  That's fine though, because I thought I'd just use them on the lower ends of my hair anyhow, to give it a "bit of a wave".

Some curl the hair in a clockwise direction, and some in an anticlockwise direction (and they're colour coded so you know which is which - a nice simple touch).  It's a good idea to mix them up a bit, but also try to have the clockwise ones on your right hand side, and the anticlockwise ones on your left hand side, at least those closest to your face, so you get the curls working away from your face, which is generally considered A Better Look.

She's wearing a kind of "you've got to be kidding me" smile (promo image).
I was personally convulsed in laughter...

In terms of using them, it couldn't be simpler - you push the plastic hook through the Curlformer, then thread some hair through the hook and pull it through the Curlformer, then let go of the hair, and move on to the next one.  Simple enough.  Their usage-ability is a major pro.

I have reasonably thick hair and I used about 38 of these (which is fine as I seem to recall there are 40 in a pack).  You leave the Curlformers in your hair until it has fully dried (they're made of a plastic mesh so the air can circulate through them), then remove them by pulling them off each section of hair (they can snag a little, but by-and-large, they come out reasonably easily), and hey presto, curled hair.

Demented uber-curls...
immediately after I took the Curlformers out

Or, as I collapsed in a heap laughing, absolutely demented ringlets, the like of which I haven't seen since I was about seven.  And I do mean demented.  These babies were bouncy.  Way way way bouncier than if I'd tonged them.

I'm not showing you a full shot
(a) no makeup on (b) I have added a foot
to my head size with these curls at either side
(not a good look ;-) )

OK, I thought to myself, I'll just brush them out and I'll have a nice retro-type Hollywood wave.  Nope.  My hair resolutely resisted every attempt to brush-out and quite a lot of the curls persisted in bouncing back to ringlets, albeit slightly less defined ones.  After about ten minutes of firm-but-gentle brushing (the kind necessary to get a wave but not a frizz), I succeeded in down-sizing the Demented Ringlets to Slightly Softer Curls, but I still felt a bit like an escapee from a bad 80's movie...

They were good for one thing: I laughed very very very hard at the result.  Then I put them all back in their bag and I know I will never, ever use them again.  Recommended if you like springy, bouncy, fake-Irish-dancer-type ringlet curls.  Or if you don't mind adding about a half a foot to either side of your head when you try brushing them out.  Otherwise, nope.  Perhaps the extra wide option would be better for producing a less crazed look, but at around €50 a set, I'm not going to bother trying.  If you're a hair masochist, or a seven year old, look here for more info :-)