Do you have frizzy hair after blow-drying? Is it fluffy and has waves at the ends? Well, if that’s the case, then you may have curly hair. I struggled greatly with my hair growing up (mostly when I didn’t understand that you couldn’t treat textured hair the way you treat straight hair). Whether you’re a beginner or just want to learn a new perspective, I’ll be taking you through a curly girl wash day and hopefully the tips/advice will be helpful.
Shower Products
Now this next step is better suited for at home in your own bathroom (it’s also optional) and it’s to put in your curl products as soon as you finish showering (yes, putting products in sopping wet hair). My hairdresser taught me this trick, and it did wonders for my hair. However, due to living in a dorm at the moment, I can’t exactly do it immediately after showering.
Bring the basicas when going to the shower, including shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and other little things. Ugh there are so many options! For curly hair I like to use Dippity-do Girls with Curls Shampoo & Conditioner. I know some folks such as myself may also suffer from naturally dry scalps so you may have a lot of dandruff. I highly recommend using Sephora’s Apple Cider Cleansing Scalp Scrub. This works like a charm (also pretty cheap for a Sephora product). Now, once in the shower you first put the conditioner so it can set in your hair. Then add the shampoo(s) and do the rest of your shower routine normally.
Styling
I haven’t used this in a bit, but run SheaMoisture Coconut Hibiscus Curl & Style Milk through your hair. It’s very hydrating and does wonders for your hair. Honestly, it’s 100x better than the Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie. That stuff just weighs down my hair (I’ll talk more about this later). Next, mousse. This is great for reducing frizz and giving your hair a bit of protein. I personally really like the Not Your Mothers mousse. I’ve tried ones that are pumps instead of in Arisouls and they don’t work as well (likely a recipe issue more than the way it comes out of the bottle). You only need a handful of it to run through your hair. The last part is tricky.
Gel is not something you should be using forever. It is simply a way to shape your curls if they haven’t formed yet. I used mine for much longer than needed. Don’t be me. I used the ECO gel as it was cheap, but worked (it’s extremely thick but affordable). Due to dorm life, I’ve felt my hair hasn’t been adjusting well to the school water so I picked myself up Garnier Fructis Curl gel. What you do is run some through your hair. Then you can create curls using your fingers (video). When you’re done curling, I like to scrunch my curls with a shirt. If you do it with your hands, it could make your hair frizzy (you don’t want wet frizz, trust me). After all those are done, you can plop your hair into a t-shirt and let it sit for about 15 minutes.
drying
Now the most annoying part of this process- blow drying. First step is making sure you have your diffuser attachment so you can put it onto your blow dryer (if you threw it out or something then… tough luck. Get a new dryer). I put my blow dryer on medium heat, low-med pressure. I first like to dry my roots then dry my curls, a few inches a way from my head. I tend to move my head in many different directions so my hair doesn’t dry flat. Brad Mondo has a good Do’s and Don’ts of drying hair (also a demonstration which is always needed).
I tend to dry my hair for about 15-20 minutes, making sure that there are no cold spots because that means your hair is still wet.
Final touches/post wash day
Once my hair is finished drying, I pump a couple of drops of coconut oil on my fingers and massage my scalp. This is partially to move around my hair and add some volume, but it’s also so my scalp isn’t dried out. And then your wash day is done.
In regards to maintaining your curls, you can do a couple things which work well for me. 1st one is to wear a bonnet to bed. People with all hair types can do this but it’s a good way to prevent split ends. Another thing I like to do is spray my hair with some water. It’s nothing crazy, but just a good way to add life to your hair.
Hopefully those starting their journeys or simply revamping their hair got something out of this. Hair is something I hated growing up. I was very insecure about it, but now it’s become a therapeutic and a good way to recenter myself. Very similarly to skin care, both are important to your overall physical and mental health and have helped build my confidence.
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