It took severe heat-damage to get me to finally appreciate and love my curly hair. My straight-haired friends never understand why I always used to blow it out in the first place. "Why don't you just wear your hair curly?" they'd say. Look, having natural curls is great and all, but what a lot of non-curly girls don't realize is that it takes a hell of a lot of dedication, patience along with a shelf full of products to maintain it. My curls aren't even fully back yet and I already have drawers full of cleansing conditioners and curl creams. So what if you don't have the time or the money to stack up on loads and loads of products?
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So how can you get those soft, frizz-free curls of your dreams without breaking the bank? With the help of a few super simple curly hair hacks that's how. Stop spending all your money on every curly hair product on the market and learn some of these tricks and tips!
Seriously, stop with the shampoo: If I meet one more curly haired woman who uses regular shampoo I'm going to snap. Sulfate and lather are a curly girl's enemy. They strip your hair of its natural oils, leaving curls dry and frizzy. The curly hair method is to co-wash, meaning cleanse with a conditioner or use a sulfate-free formula, like DevaCurl No-Poo ($20).
Don't towel dry: Face it, your hair is a lot more prone to frizz than straight or even wavy strands. The quicker you learn to accept that, the easier it will be to care for your curls. Trade in your towel for a cotton T-shirt. It reduces your chances of frizz of or breakage.
Start from the bottom: Before applying any product whether it's shampoo, conditioner or style cream, start off by applying it to your hands like you would a lotion. Then gently work it into the ends of your hair, finger combing your way up to the roots. This also helps detangle your curls while smoothing out knots.
Scrunch: Make sure you're always scrunching your hair, whether it's to remove moisture or while applying products, this helps maintain your curl structure.
Diffuse: For soft, healthy curls, it's best to air-dry, but if you need to heat-style, always add a diffuser attachment to your blow dry and use warm and low-pressure settings.
Refresh between washes: Um, who says you have to wash and style everyday? Save yourself the time and products and refresh curls the morning after by adding some water to plastic spray bottle. Spritz hair and then work in a leave-in conditioner to smooth out frizz and create definition.
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