Curl Size Matters

When curling hair, what determines the curl pattern? Is it the size of the hair section or the size of the curling iron barrel? “It’s both," says Sam Villa, co-founder of Sam Villa and Global Artistic Ambassador. "However, if you find yourself with only one size (of a curling iron) barrel, you still have many styling options if you vary the size of the section.” Sam Villa - Curl Size Matters

The reality is that the size of the section makes a big difference when you are curling hair. The smaller the section that you are using, the tighter the curl will turn out. Conversely, the larger the section of hair, the looser the curl. 

Here's how Villa creates multiple curl patterns from a one-inch curling iron: 

After prepping the hair with Redken Iron Shape 11 to protect it from heat damage, Villa used just the wand from the Sam Villa Artist Series 2-in-1 Marcel Curling Iron and Wand 1” to produce different sized curls. 

Larger Curls
• Villa took vertical sections one-inch wide by two-inches-long. He combed through the hair and then flat-wrapped it on the wand, pulling the hair up to keep the section flat. Villa mentions not to overlap the hair to ensure that the heat is distributed through the section evenly.  

• Villa wrapped the base of the hair first. He explains that the ends are more fragile and will curl quicker, so he spent more time while curling sections closer to the root.  

• With each curl, he counted to 10 and then released but held the coil until it cooled.

Smaller Curls
• Villa took vertical sections half-inch wide and two-inch-long. He combed through the hair and flat wrapped it on the wand, pulling hair up to keep it flat while avoiding overlapping on the iron.

• Villa wrapped the base of the hair first. 

•With each curl, he counted to 10 and then released but held the spiral until it cooled.

The Results
Using the same one-inch barrel iron with the same flat wrap technique Villa took smaller sections of hair to create a tighter, bouncier curl while the larger sections resulted in a looser curl with less bounce and more space between coils.

“So if you’re traveling and don’t want to pack as many tools or you find yourself in a situation where you need to create multiple textures with minimal irons; know that you have so many options and styles based on the size of the section you take for each curl,” added Villa.

Watch as Villa demonstrates how to get multiple curl patterns from a one-inch curling iron: 

 

Credits - Hair: Sam Villa ArTeam •  Photo: Shalem Kitter •  Wardrobe: P&J Concepts •  Makeup: ML&J (Marie-Laure Larrieu & Joelle Boucher)

X