I’m so excited to share be continuing this series where we cover curly hair styling tips. I think this series is really going to help you party curly hair!
Last time, I covered the challenges of naturally curly hair as well as products to use.
Today, I’m sharing my curly hair styling tips.
But first, there are 2 important guidelines to follow when dealing with curly hair.
1. Don’t brush your curly hair. There are a couple of reasons for this. First of all, the dryness of curly hair makes it more prone to breakage. Also, there is a propensity to frizz up. We don’t like frizzies. You can use a wide-tooth comb in the shower when your hair is full of conditioner. Never brush your hair when it is drying.
2. Don’t blow dry your hair. Of course, you can blow dry your curly hair if you intend to straighten it, but if want it to have your natural curl shine through, you need to unplug the hairdryer. I for one do not like looking like a wet dog but a blow dryer will just cause your hair to frizz and poof up. (it can also damage it) When you see how I recommend styling, you’ll realize why a blow dryer is your enemy. One thing though, *if you really need to speed up your hair drying* use a defuser and try not to blow your hair around.
There are 2 basic routines I follow for my hair.
1st Up *Wash* Days
Wash Hair With Conditioner. I talked a little about how to wash your curly hair WITHOUT shampoo here. Remember this is the time to comb your hair (when it is full of conditioner). Most of the time I just use my fingers but, again, you can use a wide-tooth comb. When rinsing your hair, you want to leave a little bit of conditioner in it. This helps with frizzies and dryness.
Remove Excess Water. After you have rinsed, you are going to squeeze the excess water out by scrunching your hair. I grab a large section of hair at the end and scrunch it up towards my scalp. All the while, you want to squeeze the excess water out. This helps to relieve weight off of the curls and aid in them going to their natural curly bounce. Next, I wrap my hair in a towel for a few minutes. The Curly Girl Handbook recommends a microfiber turban. I used that for a while but didn’t notice much difference from my regular terry cloth towel.
The main thing to keep in mind is you don’t want to work with overly dry hair and the right amount of moisture is important. I try to get my hair out of the towel and fixed while it is still wet by NOT dripping. If it is too dry, it is frizzy and less cooperative for styling.
Apply Oil to Hair. Next, apply Shea Moisture Argon oil onto the hair. This product comes in a squirt bottle, but I find it’s better to just pour small amounts and smooth it directly on the hair. Pay special attention to the dryer areas of your hair (mine happen to be around my face, the hair ends, and the crown of my head).
Apply Styling Gel. After the oil, use an appropriate amount of styling gel (I like Tresemme). Personally, I have very thick, long hair so I need to apply about half of a palmful but adjust as needed. Avoid placing gel near your scalp and instead focus on your hair lengths and ends.
Part Hair. Once all the product has been applied you’re going to section your hair in half. Below is a picture of my hair at this stage. Everyone’s curls are unique this is just to give you an idea of what my hair looks like at this stage.
Twist Ringlets. After parting, grab chunks of hair about 2-3 fingers diameter and start twisting the sections to form ringlets. Alternate the direction of the twisting to get a more random look. At this point, you will be able to tell if there is either too much or not enough gel. Generally, if there is not enough gel, the curls will not hold their shape from your twisting and will un-twist. Apply more gel as needed.
This is how my hair looks after I’ve twisted all the ringlets on the one side.
Let Hair Air Dry. Do NOT touch your hair until it is dry. The more it is touched and messed with, the more frizzy and out of control it will become.
Separate Curls. The look you have going now is similar to Shirley Temple. You may like that, if so, leave it but it doesn’t fit me. So you’ll separate the curls. Here is my hair dry before separating…
And here is my hair dry AFTER separating…
It is a subtle difference, but matters in my opinion.
So that’s it for how to style Day 1 Curly hair.
Now for the Day 2 or Day 3 Hair
BUT FIRST…
If you have long curly hair, and plan on not *washing* your hair the next day, it’s important that you sleep with your curls protected.
You don’t have to get all crazy about it but if your hair is long enough, you want to do a very high loose ponytail so your curls sit safely at the top of your head.
This way the curls are relatively intact the next morning and you can restyle it without having to *wash* hair again.
The next morning, take your hair down…
It’s not terrible…but definitely bedhead.
For Day 2 and Day 3 Hair, I use this product…
Shea Moisture CES (Curl Enhancing Smoothie)
(I PROMISE I don’t own stock in Shea Moisture, I just love all their products that I have tried).
Take a small glob of the CES and smooth it over hair to get tame down any dry or frizzy sections. Some sections of hair will likely need to be re-twisted. Add a little gel and water to those sections and if the CES doesn’t help form those stubborn curls.
After I’m done smoothing out my hair it looks something like this…
At this point, it’s still a little wet and I try to leave it alone while it dries. The end product is this…
On Day 2 Hair or Day 3 Hair, I often use a claw clip to loosely hold my hair back. Some days my curls last and I’m able to wear my hair down just as I do with Day 1 Hair.
For my hair, I *wash* it every 2 to 3 days.
So that is it for my curly hair styling tips. It was a quick run down through years of trial and error.
Part 3 of the 3-part series is next, where I cover haircuts for naturally curly hair.
Blessings,
thanks for the tips on 2nd day hair. My hair is super long, so I have trouble keeping it un-crumpled throughout the night. I’ve found that my best hair days are if I sleep flat on my back with my hair flopped up behind me over my pillow, so I’m putting pressure on the smallest portion possible. But then that bottom layer is flat and frizzy. Ponytails or loose buns usually leave me with a flat top of head, and then a kink near the ends… not cute.
Thank you so much for your tip Jo! I may just give that a try as my hair is getting so much longer and it’s more difficult to not flatten it out.
thank you for doing this, i have the same thick curly hair that i have staightned for 25 years and i’m so over it. i have read all your blogs and i have the answers to get the hair i wont , thanks again
I swear by my spray bottle!
On the days between washes nothing brings bounce back to my flattened or frizzy curls like a good spritz with straight H2O! Then I put in a little product and let it air dry. 2nd day hair looks just as good as freshly showered (or even better) 🙂
I know the picture of your hair up in the bun is just your sleep updo but I love the way it looks. It’s the perfect curly bun that I can never seem to get right despite having similar curls to yours. Could you possibly describe how you put your hair into your updo for me? I’d really appreciate it!
By the way, I have almost the exact same routine as yours accept the oil. I’ll have to experiment with adding oil to mine. Would any argon oil work or would you only recommend the shea moisture spray one?
Oh Melissa….I don’t know what I do. Ha! I try to do a loose top bun without crimping the ends because I want them to lay nice the next day. My hair is quite a bit longer now than in the picture though.
On the Argon oil. I tried a cheaper Garnier knock off with terrible results. I also bought some expensive pure Argon oil and I have to tell you I didn’t that one either. For some reason, the Shea Moisture oil just works perfectly.
Thanks for this! I have curly hair and also had my mom chop it into a boy’s haircut until I was 13 and protested! I’ve spent my entire life trying to figure out what to do with my curls. I love the Curly Girl Handbook and have been “CG” for about 2 years now. Since I still am figuring out how to get good definition and tame some remaining frizz, I will try some of your techniques and products. Thanks for sharing – way to encourage other curlies!
Thank you for your kind comment Sara! I hope you were able to use some of my tips and find them helpful!
Do you have problems with the products in your wet hair fading and ruining your shirts while you wait for it to dry? I’ve ruined a few shirts as I’ve waited for my wet hair to dry. I now just wear my bath robe until it’s dry, and you can see the discoloration on it from the products. Also, something I’ve found that is helpful in cutting down the wait time for my hair to dry is to sit under the ceiling fan in our bedroom. It’s not at all like a blow dryer, but gives enough of a gentle fan of air to dry it in about 45 mins – an hour.
I do!!! It’s pretty annoying isn’t?! I usually wear a wrap over my light colored shirts until my hair is dry.
Thank you for the tips Shaie! Another option to speed up the dry time is to go outside on hot days with a cup of joe.
Hi, I have a question, I have considerably more hair than you, how do I keep it without freeze the next day?? Thank You
I can only make the same recommendations Paola. Curl Enhancing Smoothie and a bit of water is EXCELLENT for frizz.
Love your posts! I have one question though. My hair is really thick and doesn’t dry quickly. I can’t really get up at 4:30 am every morning in order for it to air dry. Is there any way I can style it the night before so that it is dry in the morning? I keep running into this problem and I don’t know how to solve it.
I’m sorry…I’ve been thinking about your problem and I really don’t know what to suggest. But it sounds like a defuser would be the perfect option for you in the morning.
Hi, I tried today the washing with conditioner and sugar. I wasn’t brave enough to just use conditioner. I was very skeptical specially because my scalp gets very stinky and very itchy and I smell everything so I am smelling my scalp all the time if it doesnt smell like fruity shampoo. It was a strange feeling but so far so good. My scalp smells good Julie! and my hair is so soft. I don’t have curls, and my hair is shoulder lenght, i have latino thick and frizzy hair. I just want to tame it a little. After the shower my only concern was that I think I didn’t rinse the sugar that well because the tips of my hair and my neck were sticky. I was wondering if salt would work as well. Next time I’ll do half salt half sugar. I hope it doesn’t have a tragic end. Anyway I think your hair and your website is lovely, I also think that you look gorgeous with the triangle head hair. If I looked like you I wouldn’t be here trying to do something about my hair to start with. Have a wonderful day and thank you thank you for your great blog! I’m very happy I found you.
Thank you so much Alba! You may also want to try the conditioner vinegar rinse. It’s all a learning process isn’t and I’m sure exactly what your hair needs is near. Blessings to you!
I just started using shea moisture shampoo and conditioner and styling products and absolutely LOVE them! I have loose curly hair (half ringlets, half wave) that is relatively thin and all other “curly” products weigh my hair down too much.