Curly hair can be pretty wild, unpredictable and often frizzy and unruly. A lot of people tend to find it easier to just straighten and smooth it out. The secret to loving your curls lies within your hair care. Finding the right products and using them regularly to create healthy hair means better, more manageable curls. Curly hair is naturally much drier than other hair types and requires a lot of moisture from products like hair masks/treatments. I’m going to share with you what I have found works well for my curly hair and my routine.
Using a treatment once a week or fortnight will help restore moisture (try O&M – Seven Day Miracle Moisture Masque). I wet down my hair under the sink and apply my treatment and leave to soak in overnight, then shampooing and conditioning it out in the morning. I find this gives my hair a great hydration, and isn't weighed down post shampoo. After washing, using products to will preve
nt frizz and even the porosity of your hair creating a more even and bouncier curl throughout the head (try O&M – Style Guru Styling Cream, O&M- Project Sukuroi Smoothing Balm).
Now what is porosity? Porosity is your hairs ability to absorb moisture. Hair with low porosity means it is hard to penetrate and can easily be weighed down, lightweight products are best suited hair with low porosity. Hair with high porosity generally means your hair is damaged and can have difficulty retaining moisture, and is suitable for the use of oils and creams. Knowing this will help yo
u determine what products are best to use in your curls.
Curly hair also requires some form of hold product to define the curls. Hold comes in a few different forms and it is personal choice which you prefer. I personally use a mousse, where some rather a gel or a sea salt spray. I think it is a bit of trial and error to see what works well for your hair. (Try O&M- Rootalicious, O&M- Surf Bomb)
It is important to treat curls with care starting from when you wash your hair. Before you get into the shower, give your hair a good brush through starting from ends working your way to the roots. Getting knots out before wetting your hair
down will make your life a lot easier. Use a professional shampoo and conditioner; look for one without harsh chemicals such as Sulphates, Parabens, MIT and Triclosan (try O&M- Hydrate & Conquer, O&M- Maintain the Mane). When your conditioner is in your hair use wide tooth comb to find you part and brush through any tangles you may have. Once you have rinsed your conditioner gently ring out as much water as you can from your hair. Don’t tie your hair in your towel or rub dry, instead use your towel in a gentle scrunching motion to avoid creating frizz. This is also when you should apply your products.
I like to apply my products using a scrunching method, first scrunching in mousse, then cream, and then re-apply mousse. I then use my diffuser a
ttachment (try Dyson Supersonic hairdryer, Fusion FeatherJet Plus Hairdryer, Parlux Universal Hairdryer Diffuser) to dry my curls, tilting my hair to the side and gently placing my hair into th
e diffuser to bunch the curls to the scalp. I continue this around my head until dry. You do not have to do until completely dry, experiment and see what works for you. Using a diffuser will help to evenly define curl and fix parts that may sit straighter than others. It will also help it hold for longer. If you want to you can use a straighter to finish by smoothing out your ends slightly, and a curling wand to define a few pieces.
When sleeping on curls use a loose wrap hair tie and tie your hair on top of your head in a cute pineapple look. This will help to hold style and limit frizz. In the morning use a water spray bottle to re-dampen the hair and re-apply your curl cream, finishing with your diffuser to refresh curl.
Taylah Martin