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,
My curls are exactly like yours, but my hair is thin and tends to be oily on the scalp. So I’m trapped between trying to moisturize my horribly damaged ends, and keep body at the top (which usually involves some type of root pump and blow drying…which makes my curls frizz). I really want to try the no poo thing, but I’m afraid my hair will be greasy and plastered to my scalp with an inch and a half wide part. Do you have any tips for giving thin curls body without making them frizzy?
I’d highly recommend you ditch you blow dryer and let you hair air dry (or at the very least – use a diffuser) With product in your hair to control frizz, you should be good with that one change. For more body at your scalp, you can fluff you hair at your scalp when it’s completely dry. I do think product and touching hair while wet are the 2 biggest culprits for frizzy hair. Hope this helps!
Hey! Thanks for the tips. We have the exact same hair, lol. I haven’t found a good hair salon in all my years of looking. (i’m only 18, but I care deeply for my hair, because its so high maintenance.) If you know any salons or someone who KNOWS how to deal with curly hair like ours in Fort Smith Arkansas, or close to it, could you please let me know?? UGH! Tired of getting my hair messed up from horrible stylists. =_=. TY!
Also, I never brush my hair unless combing through it with my fingers in the shower, but every hair salon I go to, they always brush my hair while its dry and it makes me so mad! My mom says they have to do that, but do they really??? Btw one last thing, I couldn’t get the website thing to work but if you visit my twitter you can see just how my hair looks in my default pic! https://twitter.com/_lnsatiabIe
Hey I was wondering how you keep your hair dry during your shower on non wash days…I have really curly hair and usually condition every day and shampoo 2x a week…do you wear a shower cap?
I do not wear a shower cap, Nellana. On those days I keep my hair up in a high bun and avoid getting getting my hair wet as much as possible. It’s sometimes nice, if I have crazy morning hair, to have more moisture to work with so I don’t mind if overspray hits my hair. A shower cap would work beautifully though. 🙂
I have hair that is a lot like yours and I’ve found that flaxseed gel is the best Product ever. I put it in and scrunch a bit and then I clean up my bathroom for 5min. Then I schrunch again and let it airdry (about 3 hours). It locks in the curl until it dries then you schrunch it again and it is like you didn’t use any product at all. Try it out you would love it 🙂
Forgot to say I really loved this “haircare regime/tutorial”
Thank you Aaron!
Oh wow! Never even heard of flaxseed gel. Where do you buy it?
Hello! Just found your blog and I’m curious if it is still current. I saw your stylist in FWB; I live very close by, so I plan to call her. My fear is the shrinkage I have when’s layers are cut short. If mine aren’t long, they contract and I end up looking like a basketball head. Is that ever an issue with your hair? Is the cut curl 5 inches or is it pulled straight, cut five inches in length and then allowed to spring back up to less? And, does she randomly pull curls to cut or does she cut and entire row at the same time (like bleachers)? Also, my hair is curlier in the underneath layers (like tiny, tight ringlets) and looser corkscrew ringlets on too. I have an issue with my top layers in back looking thin or like my hair has been cut really short underneath because the hair underneath is so tight and curly. Is this an issue for you and if so, what do you do? Was that the only stylist you tried in FWB?
Hi Brook! We have very different hair so I can’t tell you much. I will say, Danna is extremely professional and knows curly hair. I don’t think you’ll regret going to her one bit and I know she’d be able to answer your questions.
Hi! I have the Curly Girl book and that has helped me greatly with my curly hair. The biggest thing I have a problem with is split ends!! They’re really bad 😛 Do you have any suggestions for how to take care of/get rid of split ends? I would rather not cut my hair because I’m trying to grow it out nice and long. About once a week I do a deep conditioning hair mask with coconut oil, sugar, water, egg yolk and mustard powder, and that definitely is amazing! I wash my hair about 3x a week (including the hair mask) and about every other week I use ACV and baking soda with my non-toxic shampoo. (I tried going no-poo and I wasn’t getting good results 😛 ) Does my hair just need more moisture?
I also deal with split ends Maria. They are frustrating. I’ve been talking to a stylist and she recommends more frequent trims, this is something difficult for me to do though because I prefer my hair long. Her reasoning is that if you let a split end continue to spread your entire length will be ruined. I’m going to pick my gals brain the next appointment I have and I’ll share if I get another answer from her. 🙂
Thank you so much for your post. My hair is similar to your but a little poofier. I’ve struggling with it for a very long time. I have 3 problems with my hair. 1. tangles like a maniac, and I honestly hate it. I love seeing my hair curly, but I can’t handle the tangles. It hurts to take them out. 2. My hair is starting to weigh on my neck. I just noticed that I have to constantly massage my neck when I have my hair down. 3. Hair doesn’t curl too much at the roots. I’ve reached the point where I’m tired of my hair, want to change it but don’t know what to do b/c its curly and I don’t know how it’ll look if it’s short and curly. If I extend my arm, Hair is about an inch away from my elbow. Please suggest something, anything.
Oh Christina…I’m sorry you’re not loving your hair. Have you tried any of my tips? Or did you try getting short layers as I outlined in this post?
Christina,
I just read your post and I have a simple solution! I had to do it as well because my hair was sort of doing the same thing! It also helped the rest of my hair curl better as well! You should ask your hair stylist to thin out your hair! I know it is scary at first, but it will make your hair lighter and reduce the stress on your head and neck. I know I need to get mine done every other time I get my hair done (colored…teaching gave me gray hair in my 20’s).
It was just a thought! I hope you find relief soon!
Hi Julie! Thank you for the tips! Such a life saver!:) I’m currently having bad hair days for the past few wks..i’ll follow your advice and see the result!
Hello!
I have your exact same hair. Have you tried wearing it short? ANd how did it look? I have had it long since I’ve been in about 7th grade and now I’m looking for a change but I don’t want to hate having short hair as soon as I cut it. What do you suggest?
I am currently wearing it shoulder length. I can’t say it’s my favorite. 🙁 But I’d love to have a short cut that fit my personality.
Wow!! I so needed this info, my 4 yr old has horrible dry, frizzy, curly hair. I have tried all kinds of things on it, I never thought of no shampoo. I am going to try it. She loves long hair and it is so hard to manage, but I am going to try this method. Thank You for sharing.