Are you tired of dealing with freeze hair? Don’t know how to style your curls? Are you tired of trying countless products and still can’t find something that works? In this article, I talk about how to care for your curls and steps you can take at home and how to pamper your thirsty hair.
It turns out that the product is not the one to blame. It’s only one factor in a bigger picture. The product is just the tip of the iceberg. To start, you need to stop treating your hair how we learned to do when we were little, the chances are that our mothers or fathers had straight hair and didn’t know how to take care of it properly, or they had the same problem we are facing right now with their hair. Straight and curly should not be treated the same way!
For some women (like me), grew up with the notion that the only solution to tame or take of my hair type is to straight it with blowouts, flat irons or with chemical straighteners like relaxers, keratin treatments, Japanese straightener, Botox, Brazilian Blowouts, Escova or Escovinha, etc. It turns out that this is not true! It is only one way to take care of the “problem,” and it’s not permanent. The best thing you can do is to embrace your natural hair texture.
Doing all these chemical treatments to your hair is only taking care of your “old hair,” all the new hair is going to come back curly. The never-ending cycle of upkeep is tiring and expensive. So, why not learn how to properly take good care of your curls and understand what it needs?
Keep scrolling to read about how to care for your curly hair.
Shampooing and Conditioning
Yes, this is a significant step. Using a good conditioning shampoo and conditioner is vital for your curls. Cheap shampoos are suitable for the pocket and convenient when traveling but very damaging for your color and hair texture. You have to think about it as an investment. Your hair deserves it.
Using a shampoo with a neutral PH balanced, sulfate-free, silicone-free, and sodium-free are useful for not striping the natural oils in your hair and scalp and will delay the color from fading if you color your locks. You also have to learn to read the labels because sometimes the product might advertise it, but it’s still listing in the ingredients. Focus on the first five ingredients listed, because they are the ingredients with higher amounts.
Shampoo
Look for these kinds of ingredients when looking for shampoos:
- Lauryl Hydroxysultaine
- Cocamidopropyl Hydroxysultaine
- Sodium Cocoamphoacetate
- Sodium Lauroamphoacetate
- Cocamidopropyl Betaine
I recommend using a Co-washing or a conditioning shampoo. These products help retain moisture and minimize dryness. It cleanses the hair, locks moisture, and keeps curls nourished. One product I like is Carol’s Daughter Hair Milk.
Also, you should not be washing your hair more than two to three times a week. You can get it daily, but no shampoo; your natural oils in will help keep the curls under controlled,”
Conditioner
You want moisture, but you need to learn to read your hair when it needs it needs extra moisture when you can get away with just a daily conditioner. Also, hair porosity plays a significant role when moisturizing. Where you sit in the porosity level also matters.
Low Porosity
The hair cuticle is closed. It hard for products and color to penetrate.
Medium Porosity
The hair cuticle is a bit raised, allowing moisture, product, and color to penetrate and stay.
High Porosity
The hair cuticle is entirely open due to the over-processing of color, heat, and harsh shampoos. Product and color penetrate fast but leaves the hair just fast.
Too much moisture can also be a bad thing. For example, it’s good to leave your deep conditioner in for a few hours, but you have to make sure to rinse it all out because it can create build-up, which can lead to breakage, dullness and lack of volume.
Also, keep in mind that if you are using a high-protein treatment, not to overdo it due to the same reasons.
Stay away from silicones, which only cotes not allowing water to penetrate in the hair and builds up over time. Use moisturizers with kinds of butter like shea butter or natural nut oils like coconut oils and castor oil.
I like Shea Moisture Coconut Hibiscus Curl Enhancing Smoothie and Briogeo's Don’t Despair, Repair! Deep Conditioning Treatment
Drying
What steps are you taking to dry your hair after you shower? The fabric of the towel causes friction that can lead to frizzy hair later. Don’t rub the towel between hair and your hair. Instead, pad dry.
Microfiber towel
Using a microfiber towel to pad dry your hair, it reduces the friction of the cloth on your curls by only absorbing the excess water. Start from the ends tips, working your way up like when you are scrunching your hair when styling it.
What kind of products works best?
Try products that don’t contain silicones, just like in conditioners you want butters and nut oils instead of synthetic ones.
Mousse
The alcohol in the mouse in most products is drying. Look for more mild alcohols like:
- Lauryl alcohol
- Cetyl alcohol
- Myristyl alcohol
- Stearyl alcohol
- Cetearyl alcohol
- Behenyl alcohol
I like Ouidad VitalCurl + Soft Defining Mousse and AG Cloud Air Light Volumizing Mousse.
Gel
Same as with the mousse, make sure it is free of alcohol or mild alcohol. Also, look for moisturizing gels instead. I recommend using tgin Curl Bomb Moisturizing Styling Gel or
Ouidad Curl Quencher Moisturizing Styling Gel
Styling Creams
For me, this is my favorite. My hair reacts better to styling creams than other types of products. I like Ouidad Curl Quencher Hydradusion Intense Curl Cream and TIGI Catwalk Curl Amplifier.
Application
When applying the products, start from the bottom up in a scrunching motion. Start with a little and build up little by little; that way, you can ensure enough coverage and not over-saturation.
Do not brush! If you need to detangle the hair, my best advice is to use your fingers or a wide-tooth comb while you apply your conditioner and is still wet.
After that, don’t brush it or comb it just towel dry.
How to style your curls
This step is essential just as the products you use. Here I go over some tricks and steps on how to style those amazing curls of yours properly.
Towel Dry
After your shower, use the microfiber-towel to get the excess water from your hair.
- Start by NOT twisting, wrapping your hair in the towel, but instead use the towel as if you were scrunching your hair (like when you apply the product).
- Keep working with the scrunching method until the water stops dripping.
- You can set the pattern or direction of the hair you want your curls to dry while you are scrunching the water out.
Diffuse it
When your hair is toweled dry, attach a diffuser to your hairdryer. The reason why it is essential to use a diffuser is that the air flows in even directions allowing your curls to dry in its natural form.
- Set your dryer to medium or low heat.
- Set the velocity to medium.
- Start from the ends tips, working your way up the scalp.
- Use the Cool setting on low to set the curls when finish drying.
If you desire volume of a little light at the roots, work with gravity.
PRO TIP: Put your head upside down and dry your hair that way. Also, turn your head side to side, so it also gets the sides for even distribution.
What is the most efficient haircut for your curls?
Whoever tells you that you can’t rock short styles or layers, they don’t know what they are saying. The truth is that YOU CAN! You just need the right one and a good stylist that understands curls.
When cutting curly hair, your stylist understands that curls up to 50% of its actual length when it is dry. So, she or he can calculate how much to cut, and you can also predict how long you want it.
Keep this in mind before you asked for a new hairdo.
Adding layers is an efficient way to add shape and volume to your styles. So, if you don’t like big hair, don’t go too short with those layers. Ask for long layers instead, and have a thorough consultation with your stylist.
If you have natural hair (meaning no chemical treatments, like color, highlights, relaxers, and hair straightener or freeze controllers), I recommend having a trim or haircut every 8-12 weeks, depending on your hair growth. And if you use this chemical mention above, I recommend seeing your stylist for trims every 6-8 weeks.
What to Avoid
Too much thinning (taking bulk out) with thinning methods can go to the other side and cause your hair to look thin and fussy. You want a little bit of it to blend the layers but avoid too much of it.
Some people’s hair doesn’t do well when stylists use razors on their hair. I think the problem is that they are not using a brand-new razor. The razor blade needs to be very sharp when using this method of cutting.
What to do when you are sleeping
Don’t like waking up with the hair of a lioness? Well, it turns out that when you are sleeping, you are tossing and turning in all directions creating friction between your hair and your cotton pillowcase. This effect makes your hair freeze and can even tangle your hair in the process of good night sleep. So, what to do?
Silk Pillowcase
Slip your pillow into a soft-silky pillowcase. This way, the fibers of the silk will caress your hair instead of beating it with friction.
Wrap your hair
One trick I learned when I was little was to wrap my hair. You can brush it and twist your hair around your head and pin, and you go, so the hair doesn’t come undone. But that only works well if you have straightened your curls that day and can handle the pins at night.
Another thing you can do is to wrap it in a silky scarf to prevent the friction between the pillowcase in case you can’t get the silk pillowcase.
Braid it
Braiding it is my go-to trick now, especially if I am away from home and couldn’t bring my pillowcase or silk scarf.
Separate your hair into two parts and do a French Braid or Cornrow starting at the front, working your way back and down. If you can’t do that, just do a simple braid from where you can. This way, you can prevent your hair from going in all sorts of directions, which will prevent unwanted tangles and minimize freeze.
To Conclude
To recap, you know about the kind of alcohol and sulfides to get when choosing a product and which ones to avoid. You now have some suggestions on shampoos, conditioners, and styling creams and gels if you want to give them a try. You now know about what to ask when you’re having your consultation with your stylist. And finally, you can apply some of the tricks of how to dry your curls properly, so they don’t get fuzzy and freeze.
I hope this advice on how to take care of your curls helps you as much as it helped me. Now that I know all these hair tips, there is not a day that goes by that I don’t love my curly hair. My wish is that you start loving them too. Now you are equipped with the tools to work with your natural hair texture and not against it.
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