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Growing up, my hair was one of my biggest insecurities and it wasn’t necessarily because I hated the color or texture, but because I didn’t know how to handle it. I looked like Hermione from the Harry Potter movies, with my hair being a huge frizz ball, and I even started pulling my hair back in a tight ponytail just to have it a little under control, but that only lead to my hair being more damaged and irritated than it already was.
It wasn’t until my freshman year of high school that I started trying to actually take care of my hair, and it’s still taken me a couple years of trying different products and styling combinations to get where I am now. Eventually after figuring out what worked and didn’t for my hair, I was able to nurture that frizz into definitive curls. Now that I know how to take care of it, I LOVE my hair and want to help other’s in their journey to figuring out what works for theirs.
So here is my curly hair routine that could help you gain better control of your beautiful curls.
In the Shower
It all starts with a clean slate! Make sure that when you are rinsing any hair products, that you do so with your head upside down to avoid back acne.
Step 1: Wash Hair with Clarifying Shampoo
Massaging it into your scalp will help get rid of all that build up in your roots! I personally use Curlsmith’s Vegan Clarifying Shampoo. After rinsing, you can add in any other shampoos like scented or medical ones and then rinse again. For my dry scalp, this is where I would add my Nizoral Anti-Dandruff Shampoo.
Step 2: Condition ONLY the Ends of Your Hair
It’s important to make sure you aren’t applying any of the product near the scalp of your head, because it could cause unnecessary build up that you just got rid of with the clarifying shampoo. Make sure you let the conditioner sit in your hair for 2-3 minutes before rinsing it out. For conditioner, I purchase from the same company as the shampoo listed above, so I’ll leave the Amazon link for it here.
Step 3: Comb Through with Wide Tooth Comb
This step is pretty self explanatory, I just use any wide tooth comb. Make sure to brush out all tangles and remove all loose hair from your head. Remember! Clean Slate!
Step 4: Apply Any Needed Products
If you want to, you can ring out your hair to keep it from dripping, but make sure to apply the following products while it’s still wet. I like to flip my hair upside down and use 10 sprays of both Aussie Hair Insurance Leave in Conditioner and Aussie Miracle Curls Refresher Spray Gel along with 1 pump of Aussie Miracle Moist Intense Hydration Oil. I got all of these from Target, but you can also find them on Amazon. After applying, take an Insta-break to follow us @hercampusucsb and let these products sit in your hair for 10-15 minutes to ensure that your hair soaks it all up.
Blow Drying
After waiting the 10-15 minutes, it’s time to blow dry your hair. I highly recommend you use a diffuser attachment to help with drying your hair into definitive curls.
Step 5: Blow Dry from a Distance
Use the hottest and fastest setting on your blow dryer to dry the outside part of your hair. The distance will help to stop your hair from dripping water while avoiding damage from close heat.
Step 6: Blow Dry Sections
Once your hair feels like there is a sort of crispy outer layer, switch the settings on your blow dryer to the coldest and slowest settings. You’ll then want to begin taking sections of your hair, putting it in the diffuser part of the blow dryer and scrunching it up towards your scalp. I like to split my hair into an upper and lower part so that I can work on drying the upper half of my hair first. After going around my head, scrunching and drying the upper half of my hair, I move on to the lower. This will help to volumize the upper half of your hair and prevent it from being flat on top.
Step 7: Apply Any Finishing Products
Once your hair is relatively dry, feel free to add any other finishing products like hairspray or frizz ease. I use Trader Joe’s Hair Serum, but feel free to use any other type of product to help prevent the frizzy halo.
Step 8: Enjoy Your Curls :)
Everyone’s hair is a little different, so feel free to add, take out, or adjust any of these steps because in the end you’ll know what’s best for your hair. Regardless, I hope you found at least one part of my curly hair routine useful and I wish you all the best of luck in finding what works for your hair and achieving those beautiful movie star curls.