There’s nothing like a head full of stunning, bouncing curls. Whether you’re walking around with hair that’s naturally curly or you twist your locks with a hair curler keeping spirals pretty and frizz-free isn’t always easy.
The good news? If you take the time to make it happen, you can have hair that everyone else will be totally envious of. How?
Hydrate Your Hair
Curls tend to be more dry than straight hair so that equals a lot of frizz and easy breakage. Shampoo and conditioner for curly hair are supposed to help condition the hair without putting in heavy products that can weigh it down. Try one of the conditioners from Amika, which has a whole line of products for curly hair, too.
Dry Properly
After you’ve washed your hair, it’s important to dry it properly. Instead of rubbing it in the roughness of a towel, which is too harsh and can cause breakage. Blot your hair dry with a microfiber towel or even an old t-shirt you don’t need anymore.
Minimize Styling
It’s also a good idea to keep styling to a minimum. Once your hair is washed and ready for conditioner, use a wide-tooth comb or your fingers to gently detangle. Detangling your hair in the shower is really essential to reducing breakage, and in turn will help your hair stay perfectly curly and fluffy all day.
If you’re planning to style your hair, a curling iron is fine, but only if it allows you to change the heat settings to avoid frying your hair. Then, and maybe even more importantly, be sure you use heat protectant spray. If you really, really want to style your hair, a curling iron is probably not the best thing, but you can definitely use it if you have the option of changing the temperatures to save your hair from burning. But and this is really important, use a heat protectant spray.
Love Deep Conditioning
Deep conditioning your hair once each week is non-negotiable. In other words, your curls need a weekly spa day. A conditioning mask should contain hydrating ingredients like shea butter, coconut oil, or some type of keratin that will make your hair really shiny and strong. And on the days you’re not masking, you can use a lightweight leave-in conditioner or a curl cream.
From the health side, using a mask — food for your hair — will make it really easy to style those curls, but aesthetically, it will also soften and silken the hair and make it really easy to style without any frizz or breakage. Scrunch your hair as you go to help encourage your curls to form. Just be sure not to apply too much, or your hair will look greasy and weigh down your style.
Protect Your Hair
Do you know you can protect your hair? Sleeping on a cotton pillowcase is a fast ticket to broken hair, frizz, and an undefined curl pattern. Instead, use one made of satin or silk or even wrap your hair in a silk scarf before bed.
To avoid breakage and to keep your natural curl pattern in tact, try to get a trim every 8-12 weeks. If you cut your hair every so often, you will have a freshness with definition to your curls smooth and stop breakage from traveling up the hair shaft.
Embrace the Power of Natural Oils
Hair love oils and natural oils are a curly head girl’s best friend. Some fabulous oils are argan, jojoba, and sweet almond oils.
They are ultra-hydrating, make your hair more lustrous, and fight frizz. Just rub a little bit in your hands and rub over your hair (be sure to get the ends!) so that you’ll have your lovely curls under control and not frizz-o-riffic!
Diffusers Work Wonders
A diffuser is an attachment one puts on their hair dryer so that the hair dryer does not blow the curls out but dry it by diffusing the dryer and frizzing that ugly crinkles hair. When you use it, try to put your hair dryer on low heat or medium heat so that your curl will be there.
Think about Protein Treatments
Curly hair, while fragile, can be souped up by using a protein treatment once in a while. A great product to buy is one with hydrolyzed proteins in it because they let the protein really get into the hair strand. But don’t use too many protein treatments or your hair strands might start breaking.
Other Tips to Consider
- Sometimes, the best way to deal with a bad hair day is to use a water hair spritz and a little leave-in conditioner to style your curls.
- Headbands and hair clips are the best way to show off your curls in a fabulous way when curls will not cooperate.
- If you color your curls, say an extra prayer.
- Coloring your hair can cause extra damage to your curls.
- It’s best to use color-safe, sulfate-free shampoo and conditioner.
- Your hair will need special treatment to coddle and care for your curls so get used to spending hours in the bathroom on wash day.
- You can always just spritz your ringlets with water and rub down a little bit of leave-in conditioner to style them up.
- A balanced diet with vitamins and minerals is one of the biggest factors in growing soft, long, curly hair
- Water is an ally. Get a spray bottle to soften your curls so you can style it easily.
To have happy, healthy curls, you need devotion to your products and patience.The point is to be consistent with your hair regimen, and in no time, you’ll witness growth, softness, and shine with summer’s most beautiful curls.