If you’ve got curly hair, summer probably usually means deflated hair and frizz galore. Cut that out, you!
I’m here to tell you how to embrace your curls, have healthier hair and channel Zendaya while doing it!
Here some basic, general tips you should always follow:
1. If you must blow dry, never go above the medium heat and use a diffuser.
2. Sulfates and silicones in your products? Don’t even think about it!
3. Try not to wash your hair every day. Once every couple days is perfect, trust me.
Disclaimer: I have type 3A hair (not sure what this is?), so if you have wavier hair or more tight coils (3C – 4 type hair), then please pick and choose from my tips. Some of this might not work for you, so please keep that in mind. Here are some YouTube channels I recommend for all hair types: Type 2 hair (here), Type 3 hair (here) (here), and Type 4 hair (here).
The products
Just to reiterate, don’t ever use sulfates. There are tons of sulfate-free products on the market that are extremely affordable, so it’s very easy to avoid them. Silicones are something else I would try to avoid if possible because they coat the hair and, in the long run, prevent moisture from affectively getting to your hair strand and doing what it’s supposed to do.
Great sulfate- and silicone-free shampoos I can recommend:
1. Cantu Shea Butter Moisturizing Cream Shampoo, Target/Walmart
2. Desert Essence Italian Red Grape Shampoo, natural grocery store
3. HASK Cactus Water Shampoo, Ulta
Great sulfate- and silicone-free conditioners I can recommend:
1. HASK Cactus Water Conditioner, Ulta
2. Cantu Shea Butter Moisturizing Cream Conditioner, Target/Walmart
3. Texture ID Deep Treatment Masque, Sally’s Beauty
This changes depending on the way your curls behave, but as a general rule, you want to have at least one leave-in conditioner and at least one styler as part of your routine. I like to wash my hair upside down, and then scrunch my products in while my hair is still wet.
Then, I plop for an hour or two and then let my hair air dry. Once dry, I scrunch out the gel. All done!
Here are the products I like to use:
1. Mango Dip Detangling Slip, Soulnaticals.com
2. The Mane Choice Heavenly Halo Herbal Hair Tonic & Soy Milk Deep Hydration Serum Oil Mist, Target
3. Miss Jessie’s Leave-In Condish, Target
4. Miss Jessie’s Pillow Soft Curls, Target
Then, for second or third day hair, I mix Alikay Naturals Lemongrass Leave In Conditioner with water in a spray bottle, misting my hair and scrunching it back to life.
What if you need to get your hair out of the way? Depending on your hair length, there are tons of different ways to keep your curls from getting sweaty and gross during the summer months. For all lengths of hair, I’d recommend a cute cloth headband that’s nice and wide.
If you’ve got longer hair, there’s nothing like a big messy ponytail or bun. Scrunchies only, though! Normal hair ties are disastrous for any hair type, especially curly hair. Short hair can be easily tamed with bobby pins into a disheveled look!