How to Take Care of Naturally Curly Hair

Curly hair could be a boon or bane, depending on how well you choose to perfect the art of maintaining it. Curly hair is excessively fragile because of all the bends, curves, and coils in the hair. The natural oils of the hair have a tough time reaching the bottom due to the curly texture, which is why curly-haired girls often have low moisture levels in hair.

Curly-haired girls ought to follow hair care regimens that nurture their fragile curls. Below are a few tips that would be helpful for you.

Wash Your Hair Regularly

Over-washing of curly hair leads your hair to become excessively dry. As already mentioned above, curly-haired girls deal with a good amount of dryness already due to their texture. Over-shampooing prevents natural hair oils from seeping back to the hair, which eventually leaves the curls moisture-less. However, shampooing is essential and has to be concentrated more on the scalp as they help in removing built-up dirt, oils, and dust.

Prefer sulfate-free, and alcohol-free hair products as the presence of sulfate and alcohol in hair products dry out your hair at a quicker pace, and avoiding them at any cost is absolutely essential. Conditioners are extremely important to restore the moisture into your curls. Post shower, be gentle with your hair as they are fragile and harsh rubbing of the towel against them could open up the cuticles leading to even more dryness. Though shampooing often is not recommended, washing your hair is an important and deep cleansing of your hair once in a week or month is recommended based on the texture and type of your curls.

Shampoos and Conditioners to Prefer

Hair products for curly hair should be chosen appropriately based on one’s hair type. Curly-haired girls who have damaged, dry, and brittle hair type should opt for products that have an extra moisturizing formula and are sulfate-free. If you have healthy curls, opting for a clarifying formula or anti-frizz formula in a hair product would help you.

Shampoos like L’Oreal Paris Smooth Intense Smoothing Shampoo, Tresemme Keratin Smooth Pro Collection Shampoo, Herbal Essences Totally Twisted Defined Curls Shampoo, Matrix Biolage Smoothproof Camellia Smoothing Shampoo, The Body Shop Truly Nourishing Banana Shampoo, OGX Kukui Oil Hydrate & Defrizz+ Kukui Oil Shampoo, Macadamia Natural Oil Rejuvenating Shampoo and Schwarzkopf Professional Bonacure Repair Rescue Reversilane Shampoo can be used for curly hair.

Conditioners like OGX Coconut Milk Conditioner, The Body Shop Rainforest Moisture Conditioner, WOW Coconut No Sulphate & Parabens Hair Conditioner, Tresemme Keratin Smooth with Argan Oil Conditioner, L’Oreal Paris Hair Expertise Smooth Intense Conditioner, TONIandGUY for Dry Hair Conditioner, Herbal Essences Hello Hydration Moisturizing Conditioner and Garnier Ultra Blends Mythic Olive Conditioner helps in protecting your curls and reduce frizz.

Curl creams are super essential if your hair is curly or if you need to tame your frizz daily. They help in nourishing your curls and add definition to them. A few curl creams available in the market are Afro Sheen Texture Gel Cream,  Amika Curl Corps Defining Cream, Ouidad Curl Quencher Moisturizing Gel, and OGX Moroccan Curling Perfection Defining Cream.

How to Apply Shampoo and Conditioner to Your Hair?

As already mentioned above, go with shampoos that suit your hair type and hair problems. Buy salon products rather than store products as salon hair products have a more concentrated and better hair nourishing formula. Restrict yourself from shampooing every day as they rip out the natural oils of your hair. Prefer co-washing to shampoo. Co-washing is the method of conditioning your hair regularly without the use of shampoos. To avoid products that have adverse reactions on your hair, read the labels that come with hair products. Silicone or ingredients ending with “one” can be avoided as they induce harsh reactions in your hair. Co-washing can only moisture your hair but not cleanse it. Deep condition your hair once in a while if you feel your hair is damaged.

• Apply conditioner to your hair and wear a shower cap as that provides sufficient heat for conditioning.
• Take a shower with the cap still in place.
• Once you are done, rinse your hair.
• For drying, use a microfiber towel or t-shirt.

Trimming Your Hair When Needed

Trimming out your hair, once every 8 weeks, is suggested. But it also depends on the rate of one’s hair growth. However, frequent trimming helps in dealing with split-ends and damaged hair. For trimming your own hair, good quality hair scissors and hand-held mirror is essential. Choose to trim your hair in a place with good lighting and a plain wall. A plain wall helps in letting you see the silhouette of your trimmed hair. Trim your hair only when it is completely dry.

1. One or two days after a hair shower could work as that helps the hair in settling to its natural state.
2. Avoid cutting your hair after straightening or curling as that gives you nonuniform end results because of the artificial state of hair in which it was cut.
3. If the length of your hair is past your shoulder, section them into two halves and bring both of them to the shoulder.
4. Now carefully plan the trimming considering the hair length you want. Place the length that you want to trim between your index and middle finger.
5. Pull your hair forward in sections and cut the hair point that is held between your two fingers.
6. Once the first strand is done, bring the next strand for snipping and use the first strand as a relative snipping measurement to give your hair a uniform trim. Swaying your hair occasionally in back and forth motion gives you a better understanding of how the trim looks on you. Repeat the above-mentioned steps for an even trim.
7. Once you are done with the trimming, shuffle your scalp to see the overall shape of your trimmed hair.

Go for Hot Oil Treatment

Hot oil treatment is done using natural oils to treat, protect, and strengthen dry hair and scalp and bind them with vitamins and nutrients. If your hair has been through a lot of chemical treatments like hair-coloring or if you subject your hair regularly with high temperature, you might require this treatment.

This treatment brings fragile and dry hair to life by acting as a spa and preventing it from dryness and breakage by retaining their moisture. Hot oils penetrate through the hair shaft, thus rejuvenating the hair’s strength, elasticity, flexibility, and suppleness. Excessive exposure to the sun can cause hair to lose its luster and make them weak. The hot oil treatment can restore this.

How to Apply?

• Pour a small amount of oil into a bowl and place the bowl in a larger bowl of water. Heat the water bowl and make sure the oil bowl stays partially submerged without floating.
• Test the oil temperature using your hand. Massage the hair thoroughly through your entire scalp to allow the penetration of oil.
• Leave it like this for thirty minutes, and after that, wash your hair using shampoo to remove the oil in your hair.

The oils that can be used for hot oil treatments are Almond oil, Amla oil, Jojoba oil, Avocado oil, Shea butter, and righteous root oils.

Use a Wide Toothed Comb

Curly hair is extremely fragile and is often prone to knots and tangles. Hence handling them with care is mandatory. Curly hair definitely needs a wide-toothed comb as it is composed of curls formed by a few strands of hair coiling together. A wide-toothed comb that has thicker teeth makes the combing process smoother as it treats the clumped curls as a single unit, whereas a conventional comb detangles the curled unit in the usual way and hence it is unsuitable for curly hair. Conventional combs were designed for people with straight or wavy hair. Using them on curly hair makes it frizzy as it is not suitable for them.

Apply some conditioner to the comb’s teeth, and your hair as this helps you detangle the knots. Finding the comb that perfectly suits your hair can be done by trial and error method. You have to try out different versions to know the one that best suits your hair.

Always invest in higher quality brushes than the cheap plastic ones. Wash them as often as possible as most people don’t realize the importance of keeping their hair tools clean. Always rub a few drops of oil or conditioner in your hair before treating it with a comb. Never use a brush on tangled and knotty hair as they induce stress and hair breakage. Comb your hair in horizontal sections by treating the tip section the first and then working out towards the roots.

Scrunching Wet Hair

This is a simple technique that can be followed to add volume and reduce frizz and should be done only in wet hair. It involves taking your hair into sections and crumpling them like paper. As long as the strands of your hair are handled with care, scrunching isn’t harmful.

Things you would need for scrunching: Hairbrush, Blow dryer with diffuser, Curl-Enhancing Hair mousse for volumizing

How to Scrunch Wet Hair?

• Towel dry your hair and gently apply the mousse all through your damp hair by breaking it into strands and sections.
• Flip your hair upside-down and place your diffuser-attached blow-dryer at your ends and move it upwards towards your scalp. Repeat this process. Now scrunch your hair-ends with your bare hands in the same manner and again repeat this process for a perfectly scrunched look.
• Once you are done with scrunching, stand back erect, and fix your scrunched hair with a hair spray.

How to Dry Your Hair?

Drying your hair seems like such a simple thing to do, but the right process can actually give your hair amazing texture and make you wear your curls proudly. Here are a few hair drying methods for curly hair.

1. Air dry: Air drying is one of the best and easier ways to dry your hair out without using temperature tools. Use a t-shirt or microfiber towel to remove excess moisture. Follow the above-mentioned scrunching steps to dry your hair. Once you are done with the scrunching, make sure not to touch your hair often, as this might lead to frizz.
2. Stretching: While your damp hair is drying, style them into wet Bantu knots or bands. This helps in altering your hair texture without the use of any tools. This also helps in preventing tangles and breakages.

Use a Diffuser When You Blow-Dry Your Hair

A diffuser helps to even out curly hair. A diffuser-attachment in blow-dryer helps in dispersing the air and maintaining the natural waves of hair. Also, some types of curly hair take hours to dry, and hence a diffuser attachment to your blow dryer can help you pace the process. Diffusing your hair in low heat is important to prevent it from hair damage. Section your hair and repeat the above-mentioned steps until your hair is completely dry. Never forget to apply a heat protectant before blow-drying.

Steps to Use a Diffuser on Curly Hair

1. Use a suitable conditioner and shampoo for curly hair in the shower.
2. Post shower, air-dry your hair using a t-shirt.
3. Use a sufficient amount of curl cream in your hair to avoid frizz.
4. Use a wide-toothed comb to detangle your knots before using a diffuser.
5. Always use a heat-protectant cream on your hair before using any styling tools.
6. After this, switch on the diffuser. Once your hair is partially dry, flip your hair upside down as mentioned above in scrunching and cup the curls in the diffuser. Dry each section of hair fully before moving on to the next section.
7. Once you are done with the diffuser, use a frizz-protecting hair spray on your hair to make that look last.

Wear Your Curls Effortlessly

Though curly-haired people wish for sleek hair occasionally, curly hair has never been out of the trend. Below are a few styles to effortlessly pull off curly hair and look like a goddess.

• Buns: If you feel styling your hair is too much work, you can always wear it like a bun. Buns can also be styled as differently as possible, like a low bun at the back, top knot bun, or a side bun.
• Leaving your hair open: Curly hair in itself is a statement look. So leave them open to flaunt your curls. Curly hair tends to dry quickly, so make sure to keep them moisturized by deep oil treatments and conditioning.
• Tying them back: Another easy-to-manage and seemingly effortless hairstyle is to tie it back and knot it.
• Side braid: This yet another gorgeous yet seemingly effortless technique involves parting a small section of your hair and braiding it back towards the crown of your head. Secure the braided section using a pin and pull off the layers of hair at the back to camouflage the pin.
• Half buns: Half buns are still in trend and look the best in almost every hair type. Grab the section of hair till your ears and secure it using a band. Coil the high ponytail into a bun and secure it using bobby pins for a messy yet stylish hair-do.

As already mentioned above, curly hair in itself is a statement look, and it has never gone out of trend. Take time to invest in hair maintenance, and you will be happy with the results you get. Never fail to adore them as they are your precious crown.