Tips for Curly Hair Girls

    As a curly haired girl I am always looking for tips and so I decided to share my tips to other curly haired friends. Enjoy the tips!

My normal routine when taking a shower:

1) Shower (every other day). Ok, my hair always looks it's best after I shower, but it isn't a healthy habit to shower every day, so I have to hold off showering every day.

2) I don't shampoo. Yes, as crazy as it sounds I don't shampoo. Why do I do this? It because almost all shampoos contain different types of sulfate in them, which causes your already dry hair to become dryer. It may take four weeks for your hair to ajust to using no shampoo, and don't worry your hair will still stay clean without shampoo.

3) Put in conditioner. I use Frizz-Ease conditioner. Let me tell you I use more than a dine size in....If you do not use leave in conditioner I would suggest leaving a tad bit of conditioner in your hair so your hair is for sure to stay soft and silky.
    TIP: I apply most of the conditioner at the ends of my hair.

4) While the conditioner is in I brush my hair with a wide toothed comb or run my fingers through it until it is detangled or close....

 (After I started using these tips ->)

5) Then before I get out of the shower I rinse off my hair with cold water. It helps with the shine of your curls and helps close off my hair cuticles.
   TIP: Try gradually changing the water temperature from hot to cold, because a sudden blast
of cold water is not very welcoming especially in the
winter.                                                  

5) When I get out of the shower I flip upside down and lightly run my finger through my hair once. So that my clump of hair separates into curls.

6) Then (still upside down) I scrunch my curls one or two times with some curly hair product in my hand and some leave in conditioner (the product changes a lot, because I haven't find the RIGHT product yet). This helps with forming the curls.

7) I take a clean T-Shirt and lie it flat in my hand and scrunch my hair a couple of times, while I'm upside down. This dries off your hair a little bit.                                                                           
 TIP: Never use a towel to dry your hair off. It can cause your hair to become frizzer and cause breakage. A T-Shirt is better to dry with, because the flatter the surface you use to dry off your curls the less frizzy your hair will become.

8) Then I blow dry my hair with a diffuser, set on low heat. You know that thing that comes with a blow-dryier? It is a diffuser. I do this while upside down until my hair is 70 to 80 percent dry. The diffuser adds a lot of volume (that isn't frizz) to the curls, and around the roots, so the roots aren't lying flat.
    TIP: The diffuser is the best part of my routine.  I would totally recommend this. Because if you let your curls air dry all the way...then the curls are sopping wet for hours.

9) Then I take two or three giant clips and clip my hair up without flatting my hair. I leave this in for about an hour or until my hair is completely dry.

10) After I take the clips down my hair looks really funky, But after a couple upside down shakes the funky position is gone. Middle parts in my hair don't look good so I have a side part and then pin my bangs back with booby pins.

EXTRA TIPS:
•Use a silk or satin pillow case. This can stop breakage and leave our hair less frizzy when you wake up in the morning, and reduces tangles.
•NEVER brush your hair except when you are in the shower. As most of you know brushing hair can cause serious frizziness.
•Never rub your curls just scrunch. We are trying to give curls their natural form and rubbing doesn't while scrunching does help with the shape.
•Try not to use products with sulfate in them. Curly hair is naturally more dry and sulfate does not help with that problem.
•A good oil. Once a month or so, I’ll oil up my hair, throw it in a ponytail or bun, and let the oil moisturize my hair and scalp. You’ll love how great your hair looks and feels afterwards! Olive oil, and coconut oil are the best oils to use.
•If you have more time after your hair is dry you can take a small curling iron and re-curl some of the really frizzy curls.
•Products with coconut oil in them are good for your hair (don't really know, but it's working)
•Get a small trim once ever 4-6 months. This helps get ride of the spit ends in your hair.
•Try to stay away from using lots of gels, since it can make your hair texture hard and crunchy.
•Put some honey into your conditioner. Honey helps cleanse your hair and leaves moisturizer and shine.
•Try to safe straightening you hair for extra special occasions. I LOVE my curly hair (minus the frizziness :), but a change os fun every once in a while. The more you straighten your hair the more damaged your curls will get.
•A salt spray mixture that will help define your curls. Put about one teaspoon of regular table salt into a spray bottle, fill the rest up with warm water, and add some optional drops of lavender in. Shake until salt is dissolved, and your good to go!
•Apple Cider Vinegar. Every couple of weeks after conditioning and rinsing out, I’ll take a cup full of ACV, dump it on my hair, and rinse. It helps get rid of buildup, keeps your hair shiny, and NO, you will not smell like salad after you’re done!

Two great books that have helped me in so many ways:

Curly Girl: The Handbook

Curly Girl: A Celebration of Curls

      Hopefully these tips were helpful. I have learned to embrace my hair on the good days and the bad, and bad hair days are not the end of the world :). For we were all made to be different and stand out from the crowd. Feel free to share your tips of how you manage your hair or if you don't have curly hair share this post to a curly-haired friend.

Emma