Embracing my curls has always been something that was very hard for me to do. I am the only one in my family with curly hair, so I was never really taught how to take care of my curls. My 2023 goal was to not put heat on my hair and this is how I maintain this goal.
- Washing less
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I used to feel the need to wash my hair almost every single day, my hair was definitely feeling bad. The product build-up was starting to show and my hair was becoming more and more oily every day.
I have now started to wash my hair once every five to six days. My curls form more naturally, they shine more and it never looks oily.
- Clarifying shampoo!
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I put a lot of products in my hair, my curl products and ones to slick back my hair. I was still seeing oiliness in my hair after wash day and it was still stiff in some parts after a wash. Even when I was spending an hour and a half in the shower just washing my hair.
When I did research, I realized a clarifying shampoo might be a better option. It attacks products much better than a regular shampoo, and it leaves my hair feeling very light after I shower.
- Oiling my hair
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Oiling your hair can have many different benefits, and the good thing about it is all the different choices you have. You can pick oils for growth, strength, hydration and even for dullness. I will usually oil my roots and slick back my hair the morning before washing it.
- rEFRESHING MY CURLS
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After two days, my curls tend to look a looser, frizzier and not as clean as I like them to look. I refresh them by first putting minimal amounts of my leave-in conditioner in my hair, scrunching, adding water, and then scrunching with my gel.
It doesn’t leave my hair looking perfect, but it makes it look a lot cleaner.
- Slick-back hairstyles
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While refreshing my hair is great, after a few days of doing it the product build-up starts adding up. After a few days of refreshing my curls, I’ll start to slick back my hair. My favorite part of slick-back styles is the number of options you have.
My favorite way to do a slick back style is to do a ponytail so I can still show off my curls.
- Hair masks
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Since I do not wash my hair as often as I used to, every time I wash it I try to do a hair mask beforehand. I find that when I do it, it makes my hair a lot softer and also detangles it, which makes the process of washing it a lot easier.
- sectioning!
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Sectioning has become my best friend on my hair journey, especially when I use it in the shower. This makes it easier to get all the build-up out of my hair and make sure all of my hair is clean.
When applying a product, I section my hair so that all the product can be evenly distributed and all the curls on my head have the same look. Before doing this, I felt that some of my curls looked less curly than others.
- T-shirts
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This one can seem a little silly at first, but I’ve found it to be the most beneficial to my hair. Instead of drying with a towel, I started to use a t-shirt. The cotton creates less tension than a towel and eliminates a lot of frizz I would get when drying with a towel.
- Defusing
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Defusing is definitely my least favorite part because of how tedious and time-consuming it can be, but nothing will compare to the results it gives. It makes my curls so much tighter and is the only way I can completely eliminate frizz.
- Finger curling
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Every time my hair is completely dry I always have a few pieces that are either not as curly or are almost completely straight. The best thing I’ve found to combat this is finger-curling those pieces, and they look a lot better.
These things might not work for everyone, but this is what works for me. The most important thing to remember is that everyone’s curls are beautiful in their own way.