Advice for a curly hair

[NeilTheFuzz]

Hey guys and gals,

I am a curly haired monster. However, this normally only lasts from when I've finished having a shower, through the day until the next morning (all my photos are post shower). Then In the next morn I use a paddle brush to brush it out and create a mass of frizz- which I don't like much.

So now it's time for change, I am going on a brush ban and i'm going to try maintain my curls for longer period. Normally I shampoo and condition in the shower, but from what I've read here people use various oils that they leave in to keep their hair smooth and frizz free - I've tried a lot of the anti frizz syrums and they seem to just gunk up my hair - any recommendations? How should I go about drying my hair? Currently, I use a low heat hair dryer, which I'm sure none of you guys will approve of :) Also, in the mornings my hair is prone to tangling how should I untangle my hair? Should I use a wide tooth comb, or will finger combing be ok?

Basically, after 7 years of having long hair I have no idea how to look after it :D

Neil

[Presto]

Go ahead and detangle however you please. But then spritz it with water, or run your hands through it wet until your ringlets are restored. It will take a little scrunching and finger combing, but with practice you won't need to get your hair dripping wet to get your ringlets back. I used to use any old spray bottle set to mist. Lift up your canopy to get all the undersides. It won't take as long to dry as freshly washed hair and should give you nearly as nice hair as fresh washed curls.
Some others will be along with other ways to find your curls again, I'm sure.
Plenty of folks have mister recipes involving aloe vera gel and essential oils, but straight water works alright too.

[Speckla]

I can finger detangle while I'm cowashing and just blot extra water from my hair when I step out of the bath. I sometime use a diffuser on low-warm to get rid of the excessive wetness but maintain a nice curl.
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[AutumnLeaves]

I haven't found any one thing that really works for me. I'm reading along avidly. Oil flattens my hair, brushing brings on the frizz, fingercombing leaves me looking like Medusa. Sigh...

[PeaceWithTrees]

yo' what up! J/k....Anyway......The thingy that causes the frizzzzzzz is the brushing, so the brush ban idea is a good one. It is hard to keep curls for while. I honesty dont have lots of experience preserving curls, (when i do, its only for like a day), But i do like useing oils because they are flexable and are not as thick as the serums are, so they dont gunk up hair as bad. AND With the oils, you can just dampin your hair in the shower ( make sure hair is throughly wet, but not too drinched so that oils are not completly washed) to redefine curls and then you can reapply a little bit of oil.

[ccmuffingirl]

Curly hair loves moisture. You'd benefit from doing co-washes (washing your hair with conditioner instead of shampoo). You could still shampoo your hair, but just not as frequently. Curly hair tends to dry very easily, and therefore frizz, so you don't want to do anything that's going to strip your hair too much. Also weekly-monthlydeep conditioners and/or hot oil treatments helps as well. It helps to make your curls nice and defined. And spritzing your hair every now and again with a mixture of distilled water and honey can give your hair nice moisture througout the day or whenever you feel your curls need a bit of moisture. Hope I helped :).

[ccmuffingirl]

P.S. I forgot to mention that brushing causes frizziness in curly hair a lot of times. Try using a wide toothed comb to detangle your hair and only combing it when your hair is wet with conditioner in it. This way you aren't disturbing your curls when your hair dries and they have a chance to get defined and not frizzy ;).

[Katze]

What an amusing post. :D

Lots of great advice so far.

Being a hair obsessed freak, I'm going to answer from the point of view of my BF's hair, which I am trying to make healthier. He has very similar hair to yours (2a/3c, F, ii/iii) and is, after 4-5 years of long hair, finally taking better care of it. (Link to a "before" trimming and better care pic from July; He was at BSL but I've since cut about 5 inches of damaged, split, frizzy ends off, so he is now APL if stretched)

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3099/2679682157_26eef0abc2_o.jpg

Brushing is a no-no for him (even for me!) as it causes frizzies and destroys the wave.

Coming and fingercombing should both work well for you. When BF's hair is getting messy (see above pic) he takes it out of the ponytail and fingercombs it, and it makes a huge difference, without destroying his lovely ringlets as brushing does. This means his hair has been looking a lot tidier.

LOTS of moisture is good. Forget the serums and expensive coney products; oil might work well for you, SMTs are probably your friend, and a leave-in is also probably a good idea. It all depends on what works for your hair.

My BF is currently shampooing with Aubrey Organics Chamomile shampoo, which seems good for him, and using Burt's Bees Avocado Butter Pre-Shampoo treatment as a leave-in and before shampooing.

Conditioner is still too high-maintenance for him, but when he lets me put some leave-in (Goth Rosary) or oil (olive or jojoba) in it, or mist it, or do an SMT, it makes his curls separate nicely.

Drying - why not air dry? Washing your hair nights helps make it easier to wrap it in a towel and let it dry somewhat, and you can go to bed with damp hair wrapped in a fresh dry towel. This helps encourage wave and moisture. Blow drying on low heat isn't terrible IMO, but you should not do it all the time. As a guy, you can get away with less perfectly styled hair than us ladies. :D

hope this helps!

Katze

[missy60]

Go ahead and detangle however you please. But then spritz it with water, or run your hands through it wet until your ringlets are restored. It will take a little scrunching and finger combing, but with practice you won't need to get your hair dripping wet to get your ringlets back. I used to use any old spray bottle set to mist. Lift up your canopy to get all the undersides. It won't take as long to dry as freshly washed hair and should give you nearly as nice hair as fresh washed curls.
Some others will be along with other ways to find your curls again, I'm sure.
Plenty of folks have mister recipes involving aloe vera gel and essential oils, but straight water works alright too.

I second this advice its what I do to get second day hair. When drying your hair also use the diffuser attachment, it helps by not blowing your hair all around while its drying.

[Miss Hidley]

You might be interested as well in the forums/articles on www.naturallycurly.com. Its a site set up for anyone with wavy-curly-afro hair who wants to treat it properly and so far it has definitely helped me with my waves.

[GlassEyes]

I'd take a look at the 'conditioner only' thread.

I use that method and my hair is waaaaay better than it used to be. xD

@Katze: o-o;; Your boyfriend is reaaaaallly good looking. XD

[lilalong]

@Katze: o-o;; Your boyfriend is reaaaaallly good looking. XD

seconded.
That's a very hot guy.

[sky]

www.Jessicurl.com (http://www.Jessicurl.com).

Tips, videos, products.

[bohemian]

I'm more of a silent reader here then an avid poster but I just needed to say that I'm totally going to use these ideas. Thanks NeilTheFuzz for asking.:)

[Pierre]

To detangle, I run a comb through my hair while water runs down it in the shower. When the comb stops, I take it out and separate the hairs with fingers. I keep a pair of scissors handy in case there are any knots or tangles within the last centimeter (those indicate damage, and it's not worth it to try to untangle something that close to the end). I dry with a microfiber towel, then oil with jojoba when it's slightly damp, then put it up.

[Siava]

I second the idea of checking out the naturallycurly.com site. Lots of great advice over there. One thing I've not been able to do because it's uncomfortable to me, but some others over there have mastered is "pineappling" to keep the curl for the 2nd day. Pretty much, it's bringing your curly hair to the top of your head and securing it with a scrunchy or whathaveyou before you go to bed. In the morning you let it down and a lot of your curl is still intact; a quick spritz gets the frizz under control. Hope that helps!

[sibylla]

If you want defined curls you can try aloe vera gel (health stores) and a bit of water. Then you get a mousse effect but it´s good for your hair. Towel dry your hair. Use two towels if it takes forever to dry (like mine).

[Margeaux]

Hello there! With my 2c/3a hair, what I basically do after stepping out of the shower is to comb it straight using a wide-toothed comb, leave it for 5 mins, scrunch some hold gel into it and start curling my fingers around separate locks to encourage corkscrew curls. My hair tangles around itself as it is, so I find no resistance doing this. I repeat this every ten or so minutes until my hair is dry. This works amazingly well for me and give me lasting corkscrew curls devoid of frizz. You may try to vary the size of the curls by simply separating your hair into bigger or thinner locks. Fingercombing is definitely my weapon of choice.

[GlassEyes]

Honestly, I'd CO and test out cone free. If that doesn't work, try CO with cones.

I've yet to hear about a curly head that doesn't like SOME version of CO. I use coconut oil as an after serum over a bit of left--in conditioner, and it works wonderfully.