Perfecting your curly hair routine

It took me a long time to love my curly hair. While my friends brushed through their pin straight hair at elementary school sleepovers, I was left putting my frizzy mane into messy ponytails and lopsided buns. In middle school, my dance coaches and theater teachers asked me to straighten my hair (a process that involved an hour or two in a salon chair) so that the performances looked “uniform”. While I was constantly told, “people pay so much money for hair like yours,” I was rarely satisfied by what it looked like on a regular basis. In high school, I was determined to find a routine that made me love my curls. Now, I’m confident in my hair and have learned to love it. (I even wear it curly for special occasions, which might surprise younger me.) Everyone’s curly journey will be different, since everyone’s curls are different. But here are some of the tips that helped me get there and hopefully you can use some of them too.

Invest in a diffuser

My hair was revolutionized when I started using a diffuser. It is an attachment with prongs that goes on the end of a hair dryer. I don’t think the brand matters that much, just get one that fits with your current blow dryer. Flip your head completely over and dry your entire head after you put product in. Then go through and scrunch your curls with it on high heat. Even if your whole head isn’t completely dry, it will make your curls much more defined and voluminous. Plus, it ensures you don’t have to walk to class with sopping wet hair during Syracuse winters. 

Find your holy grail curl cream

Curly hair routines require quite a bit of trial and error. Everyone’s curl patterns and hair textures are different, so there is no one-size-fits-all. But, try to find a single product that gives you the look you want and can be used regularly when you don’t have so much time to dedicate to your curls. For me, it’s the Shea Moisture “Curl Defining Smoothie”. For special occasions, I use a gel and a leave-in conditioner and a curl cream. But I know on a normal day I can rely on my Shea Moisture cream. It’s nothing fancy; I can buy it in the CVS on Marshall Street. But I know it gets the job done all by itself for my everyday look.

Save those ratty T-shirts

If you’re anything like me, you have an overflowing drawer filled with those free T-shirts you accumulate from 5Ks, high school activities, Welcome Week events, random vacations and nostalgic bar/bat mitzvahs. Believe it or not, those shirts could be the key to your curly hair routine. Immediately after I finish putting in my product, I put my hair up in a T-shirt to help it dry before I diffuse it. The T-shirt fabric keeps it from getting frizzy and is much better for your hair than using a towel. It’s also much more affordable and accessible than investing in a microfiber cloth.

Try a silk bonnet or pillowcase

When you put so much energy into your wash day, you want your curls to last as long as possible and tossing and turning in your Twin XL can be detrimental to the style you worked so hard on. Using a bonnet or silk pillowcase can help protect your curls against overnight frizz. Plus, maybe the silky fabric will make your dorm feel a bit more luxurious when you climb into bed after a long day of classes. 

Simplify your routine

Curly hair care can be expensive, and when you use a lot of each product every day, it can really add up. I won’t admit to you how many containers of curl cream I’ve gone through since I moved in in August. Try to find products that can fit multiple purposes so you can cut down on the amount of products you have to use, saving money and closet space.

Don’t be afraid to learn from TikTok

My Instagram “Saved” folder is full of endless curly hair routines and curly “get ready with me”s. I learned how to diffuse my hair from a TikTok video. If you don’t have someone teach you how you handle your curls, it can be pretty daunting. Social media has its disadvantages for sure, but it can be an invaluable tool for entering into the curly hair space and figuring where to start or next steps to take. It’s an easy way to learn about the best products, see which routines you can copy and get ideas for new hairstyles to try out.