15 Medium Knotless Braids With Curls
Fifteen medium knotless braids with curls, and the technique only this braid count allows — stagger the release height across the set and the transition from braid to curl stops being a line at all.
In this article · 22
- What Makes Curly Medium Knotless Work
- How to Choose Yours
- The 15 Curly Ideas
- 1. Staggered French Curl
- 2. Uniform French Curl
- 3. Curly Ends Only
- 4. Deep Wave Medium Knotless
- 5. Water Wave Medium Knotless
- 6. Tight Spiral Ends
- 7. Shoulder-Length Curly Medium
- 8. Waist-Length Staggered Curl
- 9. Curl Released Only at the Back
- 10. Honey Blonde Curly Medium
- 11. Ombré Into the Curl
- 12. Curly Medium with a Centre Part
- 13. Half-Up Curly Medium
- 14. Curly Medium Over One Shoulder
- 15. Curly Medium at Week Five
- Styling and Upkeep
- Mistakes to Avoid
- FAQ
- Final Thoughts
Curls on medium braids are usually described with the same advice given for larger sets — pick a curl pattern, pick a release height. At this braid count there is a better option.
Stagger the release height across the set. With eighty to a hundred and forty braids, letting the curl begin at slightly different heights means the transition never reads as a line. It reads as texture. A forty-braid set cannot do this — the variation is too visible.
What Makes Curly Medium Knotless Work
The braiding is unchanged. Same sectioning, same knotless feed-in. Only the hair going in partway down changes.
Staggering hides the boundary. Vary the release by an inch or two either side of your chosen height and the horizontal line disappears entirely.
Each curl section is thinner. Less mass per braid means tangles stay small. On a large set a single matted transition can need cutting out; here they stay separable.
Density carries the curl. With more braids releasing, the curl reads as a full mass rather than as individual curled tails.
How to Choose Yours
Choose a release zone, not a release line. Tell the braider "around mid-back, varied", not a single measurement.
Pick the curl pattern for upkeep, not for the photo. A loose wave separates with fingers. A tight defined spiral looks better on day one and needs handling daily.
Keep the curl section shorter than you think. The last few inches gives most of the softness for a fraction of the work, at any braid size.
Choose human hair if you intend to wash the curl. Synthetic curl loses its pattern once worked wet and does not recover.
The 15 Curly Ideas
1. Staggered French Curl
Release varied around mid-back. The version this braid count exists for. Eighty to a hundred and forty braids gives enough variation to hide the boundary completely, which a forty-braid set cannot do.
2. Uniform French Curl
One clean release height across the set. Graphic rather than natural. A deliberate choice rather than a mistake, but be clear you are asking for a visible line.
3. Curly Ends Only
The last few inches. Lowest upkeep on this page by a distance. Almost all of the softness for a fraction of the daily separating, which is why it suits a first curly set.
4. Deep Wave Medium Knotless
A defined S-wave. Reads as texture rather than ringlets. The wider pattern also separates more easily by hand, so it survives a week better than a tight spiral.
5. Water Wave Medium Knotless
Looser and irregular, which suits a staggered release particularly well. Irregular pattern plus irregular release height means there is nothing regular anywhere for the eye to catch on.
6. Tight Spiral Ends
Small defined spirals on the final inches. High impact, daily handling. A tight spiral has more surface in contact with its neighbours, which is exactly what makes it mat overnight.
7. Shoulder-Length Curly Medium
Short overall, so the curl section is short too. Very easy to live with. Length of curl is what drives the daily work, so a short set is the least demanding version of this style.
8. Waist-Length Staggered Curl
The longest version, and where the staggering matters most. A single release line across waist-length hair is a long horizontal band, and it is impossible to miss.
9. Curl Released Only at the Back
Braids kept smooth at the front, curl behind. Subtle from the front. Useful if you want the texture without it framing your face, and it halves the section you have to separate daily.
10. Honey Blonde Curly Medium
Warm colour, and curl shows a shade far more than a braid does. A curl presents its surface from many angles at once, where a braid shows a narrow face, so the same shade reads brighter.
11. Ombré Into the Curl
The curl section lighter than the braid. Colour change and texture change together. Putting both changes at the same height means one boundary rather than two, which reads cleaner.
12. Curly Medium with a Centre Part
A clean grid above, loose texture below. The contrast is the point — a sharp parting makes the loose curl below read as deliberate.
13. Half-Up Curly Medium
Gathered at the crown, curl falling free below. Gathering only the top keeps the curl mass out of the tie, which is where curl gets crushed.
14. Curly Medium Over One Shoulder
Everything to one side, where curl gathers best. Curl fills out when it is bunched together, so one shoulder reads fuller than the same hair split across two.
15. Curly Medium at Week Five
Curl softened, transition still invisible. What staggering buys you. The curl loosens gradually rather than all at once, and a varied release means there is no line to soften unevenly.
Styling and Upkeep
Separate by hand daily. Fingers through the curl, from the tips upward. Two minutes, and it is the whole maintenance routine.
Never brush. A brush pulls the pattern out of synthetic curl permanently and drags at the release points.
Mist rather than wash. Water and a light leave-in on the curl only, keeping the braided length dry.
Pineapple the curl at night. Loosely, on satin. Curl against a pillow mats in one night at any braid size.
Expect five to six weeks, not eight. The curl gives out before the roots do, even though medium roots would happily go longer.
Mistakes to Avoid
Asking for one release height. It produces a visible horizontal line that a staggered release avoids for free.
Brushing the curl. Permanent on synthetic hair.
Choosing a long curl section without the daily time. Length of curl, not braid count, is what drives the work.
Washing synthetic curl and expecting recovery. It does not come back.
Stretching to eight weeks because medium usually allows it. The curl sets the limit here.
FAQ
What is a staggered release? Curl beginning at slightly different heights so the transition never reads as a line.
Do medium curls tangle less? Per braid yes — thinner sections, smaller tangles, nothing needing to be cut out.
Where should the curl start? Around mid-back for the full look, or the last few inches for a soft finish.
Final Thoughts
Ask for a release zone rather than a release height. It costs the braider nothing, it is only possible at this braid count, and it is the difference between curl that looks grown and curl that looks installed.
For curl left outside the braid entirely see boho medium knotless braids, and for the full range see 25 medium knotless braids ideas. More in Braids & Protective Styles.
