If you have curly hair like me, you know how annoying it is to manage and prevent it from turning into a bush. When I was younger, no one in my family had curly hair, so I was unsure how to deal with it. Fast forward a couple years of tying my hair into a ponytail to prevent combing it and only dry brushing my hair, I started looking up articles on how to manage curly hair. Sadly, a lot of these articles would contradict each other, so I had to do a little experimenting to see which method fit me. Of course. this isn’t a guarantee for making your hair perfect, but it is what has worked for me for 6 years and in college!
- Tip #1: NEVER comb your hair when it is dry.
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Why? Curly hair is flat while straight hair is round (surprising, right?) so when you comb your hair without any moisture, it basically undoes your curls, creating bushy hair instead of your natural curls. I usually take a shower and then comb my hair. I used to comb it in the shower, but if you have weak hair it does create a little problem. You don’t have to completely shower to comb your hair, however! Just make it wet by even using a sink and put a towel under your head to prevent your clothes from getting wet!
- Tip #2: If you shower at night, dry your hair as much as you can (by gently patting), comb it, and then put it into two braided pigtails to maintain your curls.
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If you shower in the morning, you can do this as well to make your curls extra bouncy! Just leave it in for a few hours, and you are good to go!
- Tip #3: Make sure to use shampoo and conditioner that does NOT contain sulfates.
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My choice of shampoo and conditioner is OGX’s Quenching Coconut Curls. I also recommend trying Cantu’s leave in conditioner if you have the time to do this!
- Tip #4: Keep it short!
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I personally enjoy having my hair short and not past my shoulders because it makes combing and taking care of your hair a lot easier.
- Tip #5: Use a comb instead of a brush.
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If it is a wide-tooth comb, that is even better! If your hair tangles easily like mine does, I do this trick: Take the knotted strand of hair, hold the top of it to prevent you from feeling the pain of combing, and comb it at the bottom to try your best to get the knot out.
- Tip #6: Make sure you brush your hair at least every week to prevent your hair from matting up.
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It is annoying to comb your hair, especially when it is curly and tangles easily, but don’t skip on combing even if you are feeling lazy. Otherwise, you might end up with a big chunk of hair that won’t separate because it is completely knotted. This happened to me when I was too lazy to comb the back part of my hair and it took 45 minutes, a lot of tears, and a tiny bit of snipping to tackle that problem! It’s always better to be proactive than reactive in these situations!
Overall, curly hair can be annoying and a hairful to take care of, but at the end of the day, it never disappoints!