The opinions expressed in this article are the writer’s own and do not reflect the views of The University of Scranton.
It took me a long time to get comfortable with my curly/wavy hair. Growing up, my habit of straightening my hair out of convenience damaged my curl pattern and left me feeling insecure about my natural hair. I also had no idea how to style it! After day one, my hair would look, as my mom would so eloquently describe it, like a bird’s nest. If I brushed it, it lost all structure and got frizzy. If I didn’t brush it, it tangled up in knots. I had no knowledge about how to take care of my hair, and it wasn’t until I went to college that I found a community online that encouraged me to embrace my natural wavy/curly hair. Here is what I have learned throughout my curl journey, as well as my current curly hair routine:
On wash day, I start in the shower by double-cleansing my hair. This is super important because of the heavy products I use to style my hair. First, I use LUSH’s BIG shampoo that has sea salt. I find that salty products help my curls similarly to the salt from the ocean water at the beach! The second shampoo I use is the Not Your Mother’s Naturals Tahitian Gardenia & Mango Butter Curl Definition Shampoo. This is a super hydrating shampoo that helps moisturize your curls throughout the week. It’s important to use alongside the LUSH shampoo because the LUSH shampoo might dry your hair out a little bit.
For conditioner, I use LUSH’s Glory conditioner, which smells amazing. This is a super hydrating conditioner that makes your hair feel silky smooth.
For hair masks, I tend to use Cer-100’s collagen coating hair protein treatment most often. I find that the bottom layer of my hair struggles to hold its curl, which means that my hair lacks protein. I use this mask once a week/every other week and it helps revive my curls when I feel as if they are falling out.
I make sure to only brush my hair in the shower so that it detangles but is not flattened too much once I start styling. I struggle with volume sometimes, and I’ve found that not specifically brushing or parting my hair right out of the shower helps prevent flat roots. Also make sure that your hair is soaking wet and dripping with water when you begin to put products in. If it doesn’t squish as you are scrunching, that means you should start spraying with water!
To start styling, I pull my hair to the front and scrunch with clean hands for a couple of minutes to get my curl pattern established. Throughout the scrunch process, I push my hair around in a million directions, flipping my head upside down, to the side, all the way back, etc., to help form as many curls as possible.
Next, I start with a curl cream or mousse depending on the kind of style I’m going for. If I want softer and gentler curls, I go with Miss Jessie’s Pillow Soft Curl Cream. If I’m looking for more voluminous and wild curls, I use Not Your Mother’s Curl Mousse. With the Pillow Soft Curl Cream, I put about a quarter-size amount in my palm (per side of my head) and evenly disperse the product in a scrunching motion throughout my hair. I make sure to spread the product through the mids and ends of my hair but avoid the roots; applying cream directly to your roots can cause your hair to look greasier faster. With the curl mousse, I fill the palm of my hand with the product and spread it around both hands, then evenly scrunch it throughout my entire head of hair. I make sure to get lots of mousse in my roots as well, and scrunch with my hair upside down, to the side, etc. as mentioned. This will significantly help with volume!
I cannot emphasize this enough: you must scrunch, and scrunch, and then keep on scrunching until your arms are tired from scrunching for so long!
Next, I use curl gel (specifically Not Your Mother’s Curl Gel). I’ve learned that too much gel can weigh my hair down, so I start small with about a pea-sized amount per side of my hair. I spread the product all over both palms and then pat the outsides of my hair, coating it with the gel. Then, I scrunch with the remainder of the gel. I do this on both sides of my hair.
Again, keep scrunching!
After scrunching, I use a cotton shirt to scrunch my hair some more. This helps remove some of the excess water before diffusing.
To diffuse, I use the DivaCurls curl diffuser attachment on a basic hairdryer. I always start with a heat protectant spray, although usually, hair dryers are not hot enough to damage your hair. Then, I flip my hair upside down and diffuse with a warm and low fan setting on my roots. I let the diffuser hover above my roots until they feel about 80% dry. Then, I move to my mids and ends. Still with my head upside down, I scrunch sections of hair to my root with the diffuser, drying the curls in a scrunched position. I hold the scrunches for about 10 seconds before moving to the next section and continue this until my whole head feels about 70-80% dry.
At this point, my hair feels slightly crunchy from the gel cast; this is when I go back in with more gel. I put about a nickel-sized amount of gel in my hands and use the same method as before across my whole head (this amount of product for my whole head of hair). I make sure to get lots of gel in my roots to help with volume. This helps hold my nearly dry hair in a state that I know I will like.
Next, I keep diffusing upside down, focusing on my roots first and then scrunching my mids and lengths. When my hair is completely dry, I flip my hair back up and observe how my curl pattern is looking. If I don’t like how certain pieces dried, I’ll re-wet them and re-diffuse them.
Last, I use a hair oil (I like the Olaplex hair oil) to scrunch out the curl cast (the crunch in your hair) from the gel. Because my hair is quite fine, I don’t use too much so it doesn’t get too greasy. I scrunch until my hair becomes soft again.
It took me nearly four years to master my curly hair, so if you’re feeling discouraged, please know that sometimes it just takes time to figure out what works for you. The same way other people’s curl routines never worked with my hair, my curl routine might not work with other’s curls, but sharing what works for me might help push you in the right direction.
My advice is to not overdo it with products or break your bank account for expensive luxury products that you don’t know will work. Most quality brands can be found in supermarkets and drugs stores for under $15. Trust your gut and look for people that have similar hair to yours instead of people whose hair that you want. Your hair is beautiful and perfect as it is, and as soon as you begin embracing it, you’ll never be happier!