Over the last few years, I’ve tried really, really hard to start embracing my curly hair. Especially with the natural hair movement, I’ve felt more support to just let my hair do its own thing. And it’s nice. I feel empowered when I’m not straightening my hair. It makes me feel like I’m being kinder to myself, and I always feel especially good when I see other, younger girls with curly hair take notice of the fact that my hair isn’t straightened. But that doesn’t mean my curls are always super easy to work with.
When I was younger, the biggest reason I didn’t leave my hair curly was that I didn’t feel comfortable or confident with it curly. The natural hair movement really wasn’t a thing until I was in college, so I spent pretty much every single day from middle school to high school with my hair straight. I’d go to the salon and get it done, so I hardly even did it myself, which meant the only time I even saw my own curls was in the span of the few minutes it took my hair dresser to get me from the sink to her chair to flat iron once again.
Now, though, my main deterrent is time, and product. Because keeping your curls happy and healthy takes SERIOUS effort. But I’ve found a few products that my specific hair type really, really enjoys, and it’s made my life SO MUCH EASIER, you guys.
Meet my new friends: NatureLab, IGK, and R&CO.
I think you’re really gonna like them, you guys. They’re super versatile, and can we talk about this packaging? It’s 100% shelfie worthy, and obviously Instagram approved. YES.
My favorite IGK product is their Thirsty Girl Leave-In Conditioner.
I’ve written before about how much I love, love, love hyaluronic acid, and it never occurred to me that it would be so good to my hair. I love this for day-two hair, especially since I only wash my hair once a week.
It’s a great refresher to give my curls some life and keep them hydrated all week long.
When it comes to R+CO, my go-to is their AIRCRAFT Pomade Mousse.
It might sound odd, but, despite having curly hair, I’ve never used mousse. It seems like something that works for less curly hair than mine, like hair that’s more wavy than super tight curls. But this mousse might have single-handedly changed that for me. It just works SO WELL.
I apply it to damp hair when I’m fresh out of the shower (or, tbh, still standing in the shower so I don’t make a mess). I give it a bit of scrunch, and my hair looks so bouncy and lively. It also smells damn good.
When I’m at my laziest, I live for NatureLab Tokyo’s Volume Texture Mist.
Remember how I said I don’t like to wash my hair super often? This stuff gives it life regardless of how dry and kinda gross it really is. It smells like cherry blossoms, which is worth a million heart eyes, and it restores the volume and ~bounce~ I lose when I’m too lazy to really do anything to my hair.
You know how curly hair typically can’t go from a bun to down to back up again? This, somehow, makes it happen.
Curly girls, we’re in this together. Whether you want to wear your hair curly all the time, some of the time, or rarely, it’s always helpful to have some curly hair tips in your back pocket, and these are some of my faves!