Natural Tips For Curly Hair

Curly hair is a beautiful thing. A beautiful thing that can sometimes have a mind of its own.

The best way to get advice on how to tame it? Turn to fellow curly-haired beauties who have effortless beauty down pat. Like my girl Stephanie. This beauty is the type of girl who is natural and effortless in every sense – and she just so happens to have one of the most gorgeous sets of curls I’ve ever laid eyes on. Take it away, Steph!

curly hair tips

curly hair tips

1. I wash my hair every other day. Well. Sometimes every other other day. My hair loves Trichomania, a hydrating solid shampoo from Lush that smells like coconuts and actual heaven. It’s so kind to curly hair!

2. Use a nice thick deep conditioner. Always. I leave conditioner in my hair for 3-5 minutes and use a very wide tooth comb to detangle and distribute the conditioner evenly through my hair, combing from ends up.

curly hair tips

curly hair tips

curly hair tips

 

1. Wring your hair out with a cotton t-shirt or microfiber towel. This is probably my favorite curly hair saver! When I was in high school, I figured out wringing my hair out with a gentler material as opposed to rubbing my hair vigorously with a bath towel after a shower made a huge difference in the shape of my curls once they dried.  Which speaking of drying….

2. Air-dry whenever possible! I avoid heat as much as I can. But sometimes, I sleep through alarms. So a little heat help becomes necessary. When it does I…

3. Blow dry with a diffuser. Usually only about half way and then let the rest air dry. The goal is to work with my curls because fighting them or trying to do anything other than embrace their wild nature is an uphill battle. One of my favorite things to do in the free spirit of owning curly hair is….

4. Flip your head over and blow dry (with a diffuser) upside down. Holy volume!!! I love big giant hair and this trick gets me like no other.

curly hair tips

curly hair tips

curly hair tips

1. Moroccan oil and post-shower conditioner are my ride or die. If my hair is wet, I go with oil. If my hair is dry and just needs a little oomph, I take the tiiiiniest bit of conditioner to my palms and scrunch it into my hair. Sometimes, I’ll fill a spray bottle with water and a little conditioner, shake it up, and spritz my hair all over if I have that kind of time.

2. Bobby pins + claws instead of elastics! My hair just looks and feels happier when it’s not all knotted up with a hair-tie. Like it gets a bonus bounce when I let it out of the pins instead of falling kind of limp when I let it out of an elastic choke-hold. My hair game also took a giant level-up when I recently learned bobby pins should be inserted wavy side down. Doh! Never knew.

3. Curling wands can transform your life. Seriously. If any part of my hair looks lifeless, I’ll wrap a little bit of hair around a curling wand for a few seconds, let go, and separate the curl so it blends in with the rest of my hair. I don’t do this to my entire head because this random styling creates a naturally fabulous look that I’m in love with.

4. Mid-day scalp massages rule everything around me. I like to flip my head over and use the pads of my fingertips to massage my scalp when my hair starts to feel heavy or like it needs to be woken up. I try to avoid touching my curls throughout the day but always make an exception because when I flip my head back over after giving my head a little massage, I feel so refreshed + my hair looks & feels revived.  :)

curly hair tips

curly hair tips

A huge thank you to Stephanie for sharing with us her hair, her face, her words… and that adorable illustration you see above!

Follow Brigette on Instagram, and have a look at her blog and Etsy shop!

More beauty tips from the BLDG 25 Blog.

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9 years ago

Lol oh this isn’t really for people with kinky curly hair. I guess I’m not surprised.

September
9 years ago

This is what I needed! My hair has been so dense and curly lately I have to blow dry it before I go to classes and then I have an afro to deal with!

JerseyJ
9 years ago

Actually, some of these tips could work for kinky hair. One person’s routine isn’t going to work for everyone, but one person’s routine could inspire you to improve or change your own. My hair texture is not like Stephanie’s (it’s super huge, fine, frizzy and dry with at least 4 different curl patterns) but the gist of her routine is that she is always adding moisture to her hair. I do scalp massages myself, for headaches and to try to move some of the oils from my scalp through my hair. When reading posts such as these, it’s always good to have an open mind :)

9 years ago

Love reading other women’s tips for curly hair, I always hope I’ll find some secret that will magically transform my side-show bob type mane of hair. While not the most natural product, I swear by DevaCurl for washing, it’s seriously changed my hair. Jojoba Oil is also amazing, way better for me than coconut oil as it’s less heavy.

9 years ago

I love this- I already use much of it but I love the thought of using conditioner post-shower. Definitely a must try!

Warm regards,
Alexandra
http://www.littlewildheart.com

Eva
9 years ago

Yes! I have curly hair and it does have a mind of its own. I am definitely going to try the shampoo I’ve never heard of it. I agree when the oil regimen I do that now and it works wonders for me. Thanks ladies!

Erin
9 years ago

So grateful for this curly-hair sister!! I’m so glad I’m not the only one who likes when my hair is giant. Thanks so much for sharing!

9 years ago

Gorgeous, gorgeous hair!
I absolutely love big hair.
I am definitely going to adopt that midday scalp massage!

9 years ago

JerseyJ, thanks for implying that I’m being close-minded. While some things work for girls with hair like this, some don’t. Plus, this article should be a lot more in-depth if it is meant to be helpful.

9 years ago

1. this article was extremely helpful. free people always has my back.
2. by chance where are those amazing high waisted levis from? could i be linked?

Kellyn
9 years ago

So appreciate this, agree with everything! Need to make a little trip to Lush now.

debra
9 years ago

It has only been the last few years that i have been able to properly take care of my curls, instead of straightening them with a flatiron. I owe that to naturallycurly.com for all their advice. I now use JESSICURL.com styling products on my hair…..and sometimes some argan oil. Deep conditioning is a must, and the less you wash it the better as curly hair tends to be dry. Thank you for posting the beautiful photos!

Gabi
9 years ago

I’d love to see natural tips for fine hair please!! <3

Bonnie
9 years ago

I’m with Gabi, I’d love to tips for fine hair! Thanks FP!!!

9 years ago

Awesome tips, gorgeous pictures :)!

xx

9 years ago

good tips, but if you have curly but fine hair, use aloe vera instead of conditionner to “sculpt it”, it weights them down a lot less and moisturizes them at the same time (or so i find). Otherwise, the above tips work for fine hair with curls too :)

9 years ago

Gorgeous hair and great tips! I’m going to try the solid shampoo, sounds interesting.

Jennifear
9 years ago

I’m a yogi with baby fine soft ringlets that fall to the middle of my back. I dye my hair every 2-3 months. I needed my routine to include washing every day because I’m very active. I also use all salon brand products and find it makes a huge difference. I brush my hair before I shower. I find it causes less breakage.

1. I swap back and forth between a moisturizing shampoo/conditioner and a protien based one. Protien tends to dry it out but help it grow longer.

2. While washing, never wash the length of hair below your chin. I have to part my hair into two sections to achieve a good scalp wash. Do this by running your finger from the top of one ear, around the back of your head, and to the other ear. You can scrub your shampoo into your scalp much easier without getting any on your lengths. Simply squeeze any suds through your hair lengths and rinse. I can wash my hair every day using this method and it’s crazy gentle. :D
While conditioning, only rub conditioner on the top outside layer of you hair and fully saturate all the length of hair below your jaw line. At this point you can wet comb if you like. I dry brush before my showers.

3. Squeeze any water out that you can with just your bare hands. Flip your head upside down and swing your head gently to help your hair from being stuck to the back of your head. You can squeeze out more water at this point too. Now either wrap a towel gently around your head while you are still bending over and your curls are hanging forward and let it sit for 5minutes (don’t worry, you can stand back up straight once the towel is on! :3) OR, lower curls into a t-shirt if you want to do the plopping technique. (Check youtube for curly girl plopping, it’s amazing) After allowing your hair to dry a bit, use a spray leave in conditioner then squeeze in oil over it to help seal the conditioner in. At this point I usually finger shape a few curls around my face , 2 on each side. You can pin them back if the curls get in your face but you may have to experiment with pinning it. I’ve had some funky curls come out of pinning while wet! Haha

Tallie
9 years ago

I have thick curly red hair that expands as the day goes on, especially in humid climates. I met a great curly hair stylist that suggested I stop using shampoo because the sulfates were drying out my hair. So now I just use conditioner and skip the shampoo and my hair has responded well. I was hesitant at first because I hike, bike and do hot yoga, but she explained that sweat is water soluble and that I would still get clean hair by just conditioning and rinsing. Everyone with curly hair has to find their own way to cope with it and skipping the suds has done wonders for me.

Mallory
9 years ago

Wow I have struggled so much with my curly hair sometimes I just wanna give up. But, I am gonna try this shampoo that you use. I just wish someone could tell me what to use on my hair. I have never used oil on my hair either. I have super frizzy, poofy, natural curls and I don’t know how to handle them.

Keo
9 years ago

I’ve read a lot of articles and posts about how to handle naturally curly hair and I’ve found that the best thing to do is to keep experimenting. You’ll never know what works best for your hair until you’ve actually tried some of these methods. I recently started drying my hair upside down with a diffuser which has made a big difference in the shape of my curls. They are lighter and bouncier since they haven’t been weighed down by water/gravity. I would love to let my hair air dry but I find that the curl doesn’t form as well. The tshirt trick has worked like a charm. But if I use any sort of leave-in conditioner or oil, it works against my curls. No one set of rules will apply to all unruly hair. Don’t give up and keep playing with different tricks and tips to see what works for you!

Emme
9 years ago

First, and foremost, find a hairstylist that will cut your hair dry! There’s no point using all the right products if your hair has not been shaped properly. Personally, I go to someone who has been trained in the Deva method. I’ve also heard good things about Ouidad stylists.

Second, I agree with those who say that no one method will work for everyone. You have to experiment with products and methods to find the ones that are best for you. Example, everyone raves about coconut oil, and while my skin loves it, it doesn’t do a damn thing for my hair. My best oil seems to be olive oil. I mix up a batch of olive oil and different essential oils, heat it in the microwave, and leave it in my hair for at least an hour once a week.

Except for when I do a hot oil treatment, I only co-wash with a conditioner, use another heavier conditioner for conditioning, and then use a leave-in conditioner/detangler. When I do shampoo, it’s sulfate-free, and I never use anything in my hair that contains silicones. I never brush my hair, I only comb it in the shower when it has lots of conditioner in it. (My hair tangles like crazy.)

Like I said, experiment and have fun with it! Check out the “Curly Girl Method” book, the “Naturally Curly” website, or go to Youtube and check out all the videos. Find what works best for you.

Anonymous
9 years ago

I’ve tried many things over the years, and I’m getting really good results with coconut oil after shampoo/conditioner in the shower. Don’t use near the scalp or you’ll get an oily look. My hair is nearly to my waist, curls are much nicer and less frizzy with this.

Cynthia
9 years ago

I have sort of wavy curly hair that sometimes goes curly-curly . It is very dry and frizzy. I find that the Healthy Sexy Hair oil really does wonders for me as well as the Paul Mitchell Skinny Serum. Both are wonderful. I used to love the Dove leave-in conditioner but they discontinued it! Now I can’t find a conditioner tthat lives up to it. :( you should definitely give thise oils a try if you need help taming the frizz!

9 years ago

If ya’ll could make a post about curly hairstyle ideas, I would be sooo happy!