Don’t run to your straightener every morning when you could be rocking your natural waves instead. With proper care and maintenance every woman can enjoy bold, beautiful curls.
After you’ve learned how to properly wash and dry your waves, it’s time to figure out what products and cuts will work best for your hair type.
How to Style Curly Hair
If you have found products that work for your hair use them. It’s best to avoid alcohol-based products, like mousses, which will only dry out curly hair, causing major fuzz. Many gels can help, but some leave streaks, a la There’s Something About Mary, and make hair look rock hard, not smooth and silky. Trying going au natural or just using a light mist of volumizing hairspray to keep frizz in check.
For thick, kinky curls go for leave-in conditioners and curly haired products. However, many of us will find that these products actually weigh down our curls and make them look greasy, flat or nonexistent. I would recommend just using volumizing products and let your natural ringlets do their thing. Once again experimenting with products is the best way to find out what works for your hair if you wash and dry it properly.
If you have washed and dried your hair properly but still have a few crazy strands select them individual and curl them using a curling iron. Wrap your strands of hair around the barrel, rather than rolling them from tip to root, to avoid the Shirley Temple ringlet looks and get a natural look. Also make sure you have the right sized barrel so that the curls blend into your natural hair. This trick is helpful if you have to re-part your hair and mess up your waves. Use a heat-protecting product to prevent hair from getting super dry and crunchy. You will be shocked at how well your hair will quickly curl around a heated barrel since that’s what it naturally wants to do anyways.
How to Get Your Curly Hair Cut
Face shape and texture aside, most curly girls know that their biggest problem is having triangular shaped hair (or what I like to call ˜Yield Sign Syndrome’). This is why creating volume at your roots is so important!
You may think the quick fix to this is getting lots of layers during your next cut but too many equally spaced out layers will actually make your curls form a near perfect square. Getting choppier layers at varying lengths (especially nice face framing ones around the length of your jaw line) will prevent another geometric disaster.
Another great option is to have your hair thinned out around the last few inches of your hair. DO NOT get all of your hair thinned out hoping it will make your curls more manageable. You will ruin the natural way they fall and your texture. Plus, big curly hair is in! You should be afraid of any hairdresser who suggests doing this. I would recommend getting your hair thinned out only every other cut, or the ends may look a bit scraggily.
Make sure your hairdresser gets a feel for your hair when it’s dry before you start styling.
Enjoy your natural curls!
