Maggi, bird’s nest, jhadu. If you have curly hair, you’ve been called these names. And if you don’t have curly hair, you’ve called names. Growing up in a country that is obsessed with slick straight hair is nothing short of a nightmare. You don’t appreciate your curls, wish it was straight like your sister’s and start doing crazy things just to achieve that. Well, if you are here reading this blog, then chances are you hate your hair a little less. You’ve come to appreciate and like your locks and it’s time for some tender loving care. If you have a crop of curlies and want to know how to take care of them, you’ve come to the right place. Scroll down to read the best curly hair tips.
What should you not do with curly hair?
Never ever, ever ever ever dry brush your hair! In case your inspiration is Harry Potter’s friend Hagrid, please don’t. Brushing or combing your dry curly hair will make them prone to breakage and they’ll look like cotton candy. You may be used to running a comb through your hair every day but that’s gotta stop, lady. It will be a difficult transition at first but eventually, you’ll get used to it. You don’t want those lovely curls to lose their shape, do you? Then keep that comb/hairbrush away!
What is bad for curly hair?
A lot of things but for the love of God, stay away from excessive heat. Don’t put your hair through that. We suggest you keep the straightener far away. While using a hair dryer attach a diffuser to it. Diffusing your hair will help with controlled heat distribution and cut down on the frizz. Let your curly hair dry naturally instead of using heat after every wash. This will improve the health of your hair significantly.
How can I make my curls look better?
Curls tend to look better on the wash day but the same story can’t be said for day 2 or day 3. To make your curls look better make sure your curls are hydrated and moisturized. With a simple strand test, you can understand the porosity level of your hair. If your hair falls under the low porosity spectrum use hydrating products and if it is medium to high porosity, go for a combination of protein-rich and hydrating products. This curly hair tip may just save your curls from looking like a mess!
1) Pre Poo
Pre-poo sounds funny to our ears but it is nothing but applying a hair mask, oil or some treatment to your hair before shampoo. The term just means pre-shampoo. For ages, our grandmothers and mothers have chided us about not oiling our hair before washing it. Turns out they were right all along. It’s a good idea to apply some warm oil to your hair and scalp an hour before washing it off. You can switch it up and use a hair mask or any hair spa treatment.
Bewakoof Recommends: Sage Apothecary Coconut Oil, Olive oil or castor oils
Flawsome Kinkyberries Hair Mask, Plum Avocado Nourish Up Hair Mask and Amrutam Kuntal Care Do It Yourself Hair Spa.
2) DIY Hair Masks
Let’s not deny the fact that we love experimenting with ingredients in our kitchen that can double up skincare and haircare agents. Whipping up hair masks on Sunday afternoons is a hobby shared by all Indian girls. Ladies, as a curly hair tip, we have some ultra-nourishing DIY three ingredients hair masks for you. Just make sure to apply the masks on damp hair.
Mask 1 –
1 ripe banana
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp hung curd
Blend all the ingredients into a thick paste and apply all over your hair. Start with saturating your curls and then cover your scalp. Wash it off after 30 minutes.
Mask 2 –
1 egg
2 tsp olive oil
2 tbsp honey
Whisk all the ingredients and apply to damp hair. Again, start with your locks and then go up to your scalp. Cover your hair with a shower cap and wash it after 45 minutes.
3) Curly Girl Method
Popularly known as CGM, the curly girl method is finally catching up in India. If you are a beginner and don’t know how to take care of curly hair, the CGM routine will answer all your questions. The curly girl method will give you healthier, softer and bouncier curls. Here is how to do it –
- Use a sulphate free shampoo.
- Don’t go easy on the conditioner. Drench your hair in it.
- Style your hair using leave-in creams and gels. Scrunch it up!
- Dry naturally instead of using heat.
- Detangle only when your hair is wet or oiled.
There is a way to make sure if the product you’re using is CG-friendly or not. Just copy-paste the list of ingredients on this website Is It CG and they’ll help you out. Is this the best curly hair tip or what?
4) The Products
Be wary of the products you use for curly hair. You’ll have to ditch traditional shampoo and conditioner and go for a gentle one. Curly hair care for women doesn’t stop at shampoo and conditioner. It includes hair masks, leaves n creams, hair butter and hair gels. Don’t worry about layering your hair with so many products. Your hair is stronger than you think. Just create a cocktail that suits you the best. It involves a lot of trial and error, don’t just follow someone else’s routine or product list blindly. Remember to use sulphate free shampoo and silicone-free conditioner at all times!
5) Wash Your Hair the Correct Way
Yeah okay, you’ll say we know how to wash our hair but just hear us out. One of our not-so-secret curly hair tips is to use shampoo on your scalp only, not on your strands. The main objective of the shampoo is to cleanse the scalp, not the hair. Condition your locks, not your scalp. The conditioner should not touch the roots as it may weaken them.
Bewakoof Recommends
Fix My Curls Cleansing Shampoo and Deep Conditioner
Maui Moisture range of shampoos and conditioners
6) Detangling
Ah, the dreaded detangling. Detangling curly hair is tricky and there are some rules to it. Firstly, as mentioned before, don’t try to do it on dry hair. Detangle your hair only if it is oiled or you’ve applied a conditioner. There are specific combs for detangling curly hair, for eg- a wide-toothed comb or the XO Curls Shower Detangling comb for detangling brushes like Tangle Teezer.
7) Microfibre Towels
A microfibre towel is an answer to how to manage curly frizzy hair questions. Microfibre towel absorbs more water and doesn’t tug your hair. The smaller fibers don’t tangle with hair or cause breakage.
Cotton towels on the other hand cause more frizz and tug your hair harshly. If you don’t have a microfiber towel you can use a light cotton t-shirt. We suggest you invest in one considering they last longer than cotton towels and care for your hair too.
8) Scrunching
Scrunching is a useful technique to add volume and bounce to curly hair. After you’ve washed, conditioned and detangled your hair, it’s time to style it. Apply a leave-in cream on soaking wet hair. Rake it in. Then make coils using your finger, away from the face. Next, use hair gel. The gel will create a cast and give a better shape to your curls. Once you’ve applied the leave-in and gel liberally, scrunch it up. You can simply scrunch with your fingers or a microfibre towel. Isn’t this an amazing curly hair tip?
We love this styling duo by Fix My Curls.
9) Scrunch Out the Crunch
Scrunch out the crunch (SOTC) is the method of removing the gel cast from the hair. The gel may make your curls hard and crunchy. That’s not the goal, is it? We want softer curls! For soft curls, flip your hair upside down when it is completely dry. Take a pea-sized amount of serum or lightweight hair oil and scrunch up again. As the name suggests, it will remove the crunch revealing oh so soft curls.
10) Pineapple
Songs have been written on pineapples. It is probably the only fruit to make it to the curly hair tips and tricks column. Well okay, the fruit has no role in this method apart from the resemblance. The pineapple method involves slipping a silk scrunchie around your curls in such a way that it resembles a pineapple before you hit the bed. This way your curls will not tangle with each other while you sleep and they won’t lose shape overnight.
11) Silk, Your Hair’s Best Friend
We’ve got another crazy curly hair tip for you. Make silk your ally cause it is your hair’s best friend. Sleeping on silk pillowcases has a lot of benefits. At night our hai secretes oils that can be absorbed by cotton pillowcases, but not silk. Being naturally dry, curly hair requires those oils. Silk pillowcases also help in cutting down on the friz. Makes a world’s difference when you start using silk pillowcases, trust us. You can tie your hair up in a silk bonnet/scarf if you don’t have a pillowcase. Replace your rubber bands with silk or satin scrunchies. The scrunchies are the best hair accessories for girls as they won’t tug on your hair and help in reducing breakage.
12) Regular Trims
Split ends are a common problem amongst curly heads. A well-known curly hair tip is to snip them off from time to time. Doing so will result in bouncier curls with increased volume. While trimming them at home shouldn’t be a problem, we suggest you go to a professional. As a beginner who is just starting to understand their hair it will be difficult to trim it correctly. Do your research and go to someone who understands curly hair and doesn’t treat it like straight hair.
13) Hair Growth Hacks
The only downside of having curly hair is that they take a while to grow. That’s because they curl up instead of just growing straight down. Don’t you worry, we have tips for curly hair growth as well. The first one being the inversion method. Simply flip your hair upside down and massage your scalp for 5 minutes. Do this every day for faster hair growth. The second tip is using methi water. Soak a teaspoon of methi seeds in half a cup of water overnight. You may add any essential oil, we suggest adding fennel. Spray this water on your scalp an hour before washing it off.
14) Don’t Overuse Products
Overusing products such as conditioners and leave-in creams can weigh down your curls. Granted that curly hair requires more conditioners but too much of anything is good for nothing. Understand the amount your hair requires and use accordingly. You don’t want to miss a chance on those beautiful ringlets!
15) Love Them!
The best curly hair tip that we can give you is to love your curls. Once you start loving your locks, there is no going back. It will take time to overcome years of mockery and self-hate, but we believe in you. Fighting against your natural hair will only result in heartbreak. If you truly want to see results, appreciate and love them. Trust us, your hair will respond!
You need not worry about bad hair days now that you have a plethora of curly hair tips. Just devote some time and attention to your curls and you’ll fall in love! Men with curly hair can also try incorporating these tips and tricks into their daily routine. Though the results may surely vary for different hair & scalp types. You can check out a range of hair care for men on the Bewakoof fashion app, for the best online shopping in India and give those looks a little pampering. Coz, who doesn’t love good hair days!
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