The curly hair routine: Three tips and tricks to look your best
A lot of women have a love-hate relationship with their curly hair, especially on wash day. While it’s absolutely beautiful, and often the envy of straight-haired women, curly hair requires work. A quick shampoo and conditioner usually doesn’t cut it. Curly hair needs more moisture than straight hair, it may require some detangling and there’s usually a lot of styling that goes with the territory, too.
Once curly hair becomes dry, it can take some time and effort to restore its moisture levels. But even if your hair isn’t particularly dry, you’ll still need to take a few extra steps to ensure your curls look and feel their very best.
Find the right shampoo
If the word “shampoo” makes you want to run for the hills, we don’t blame you. Shampoo and curly hair have a notoriously tricky relationship. Yes, all hair needs to be washed to remove dirt and bacteria, but shampoo also removes oil, including that precious oil produced by the scalp. Therefore, it has the ability to strip even more moisture from the hair, leaving it dry and damaged. The trick to successful hair washing is to find a shampoo or co-wash that’s free from sulphates (these can be very drying), that’s moisturising and that’s designed for use on curly hair. How often you wash it is entirely up to you, but the further apart you can stretch your wash days, the better.
Our top 3 tips!
1. Find the right shampoo
2. Condition, and then condition some more.
3. Detangle while wet
Condition, and then condition some more
Curly hair is thirsty at the best of times, and even more so after a shampoo. Apply a generous amount of conditioner after your shampoo or co-wash has been rinsed out, and be sure to gently massage it all over, so that it gets to every strand. You may want to leave it on for a bit longer than recommended, especially if your hair is very dry.
Detangle
It’s best to detangle your curls while your conditioner is still on. The most important thing to remember when you detangle, is your patience! If you rush you might rip through your knots, causing breakage in the process. Split your hair into sections, and work with one section at a time.