Those of us with wavy/curly hair are always on the lookout to perfect our haircare and styling routine. However, just like skincare, haircare is not a one-size-fits-all routine, as it’s important to find out what works best for you and what doesn’t. For example, for someone with finer hair, it’s important not to go too heavy on the oils and creams as they weigh the hair and curls down.
The first step before you start putting products in is to have your hair soaking wet. So, if you have your hair up in a microfiber towel, you can use a spray bottle and make sure to wet all the hair. This is important because you want your curls to clump together and the products to be evenly distributed and penetrate well into the hair.
Now, the next thing to do is apply a leave-in conditioner, preferably one with heat protectant in it if you use heat on your hair (like diffusing). There is no rule about using heat on your hair, as some people prefer to dry it quickly by diffusing, and others prefer air drying.
At the end of this article, I have listed all the products, from leave-in conditioners to hair oils, in a variable price range, so you have some options if you do not know where to start!
After this, use a mousse. You can be liberal while applying the mousse because this will increase the volume of your hair. To apply it, you need to flip your hair over and scrunch it into the roots, while not being too rough to avoid any frizz at the roots.
While your hair is still flipped, you apply a gel and scrunch it throughout the strands. It will definitely take a bit of time for you to know how much of each product your hair needs, so it will take some trial and error. After you apply about two pumps of gel initially, you might need some more depending on how you feel. That is the fun part about having curly/wavy hair—you can decide how you want to customize your routine, so feel free to play around with the way you go about your routine, and eventually, you will have it down to a science!
I know what you’re thinking; by this point, your hands may be hurting from all the scrunching, and your neck hurts from having your head flipped over, but I promise you, the results are worth it. But for now, unfortunately, you are going to keep scrunching. When you are scrunching your hair, you should scrunch and pulse in the same spot for a couple of seconds before moving on to another area of your hair.
After this is done and you are totally regretting getting yourself into this, flip your head back straight, slowly so you do not disturb the curls. And DO NOT EVEN THINK ABOUT TOUCHING YOUR HAIR RIGHT NOW. Yes, it sounds dramatic, but all the products are in your hair and you do not want the curls to be shaken out, so leave your hair alone for a second.
Now, if you do want to use heat on your hair to dry it, you can use a diffuser. You definitely do not need a fancy diffuser, any one that has a couple of different heat and fan settings will do. Just make sure your hair dryer has the diffuser attachment. If your hair dryer did not come with it, you can buy a universally fitting diffuser attachment. The hair dryer should be set to a cold air setting first because you want your curls to set with the gel cast. If you add too much heat in the beginning, you will end up with frizz, so tread carefully! I personally like to start from the bottom and I hover diffuse, which means I don’t touch the diffuser to my hair. You can do this, or you can also scrunch the diffuser into your hair. Different people do this differently, so see what works for your hair. The only issue you may have with scrunching the diffuser into your hair is that the curls might set a little wonky and have a weird shape. Following this, you can focus on the roots and here you can touch the diffuser to your scalp and make sure the roots are dry.
After diffusing on cold air for a while and seeing that the gel cast has set a bit but your hair is still wet, you can increase the heat to speed up the process because fully drying can take a while. At this point, you may be freaking out about how crunchy your hair is. Do not worry because the crunch is important to get soft curls, for which you need the last and final product: hair oil. You can opt for a lightweight oil so your hair does not look greasy. Just scrunch the hair oil to the bottoms of your hair, and then, I’m so sorry, but you have to flip your hair again, one last time, to scrunch the oil into your roots. The reason why we are scrunching so much is because we want volume. While applying the oil, you can be a little aggressive and shake out your curls to make your hair look fuller.
Now, you can look in the mirror and find yourself with beautiful, soft curls/waves, and that is it!
As promised, here are some options for each of the products you may need in your routine:
Leave-in conditioner
- The Not Your Mother’s brand is very popular in the curly hair community, so this is a good one for a beginner who is just looking to start a routine.
- The Fenty Hair Protective Type 5-in-1 Heat Protectant Styler is not exactly a leave-in conditioner, but it practically does the same thing, and is very good at its job.
- This one is for the more curly hair girlies, and it’s the Blueberry Bliss Reparative Leave-In Conditioner. It’s great to get soft curls and has heat protectant in it, too!
Mousse
- The Curlsmith Bouncy Strength Volume Hair Foam is a great mousse that helps with frizz and enhances volume. Plus, it smells really good!
- Living Proof is an amazing option for any hair-related product! It is a more expensive option, but the quality of the products speaks for itself. (I have their instant de-frizzer, and it works very well!)
- Just like the leave-in, the Not Your Mother’s mousse is worth it. It’s a more affordable option, and despite its low price, it does its job very well.
Hair gel
- Miss Jessie’s Jelly Soft Curls Hair Gel will ensure you have soft curls with all the definition and none of the crunchy texture.
- The Amika Curl Enhancing Gel is on the pricier side but gives amazing results.
- The Curlsmith Hydro Style Flexi Jelly is another Curlsmith product that is great for both wavy and curly hair.