Tuesday, May 22, 2012

How to Style and Manage Curly Hair


Hey guys! It has been a while since I last wrote an entry. I’ve been through a lot for the past few weeks and it has been the busiest and the most difficult year by far. Wooh. Anyway, enough rambling.

I have decided to share to you some of the easiest and healthiest ways of taking care of your curls whether it’s natural or salon treated. For those of you who already have curly hair or are planning to have their locks curled, I hope these steps would be helpful for you.

1.       Never dry your wet hair with towel or blow dry
I know that this may seem to be the hardest thing to do and it can be such a hassle when you are rushing in the morning. However, you should know that towel drying your hair produces friction as it makes your hair more brittle. Remember, hair is at it’s weakest when it’s wet. Blow drying your locks also strips out your hair natural moisture especially if your curls are salon treated. If you must, use a heat protectant and make sure your blow drier is at it’s coolest setting when you dry the hair.
Leave your wet hair as it is and I promise, you would be able to see better looking and more manageable curls when it dries out.

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2.       Don’t ever brush your curls
This is obviously a no brainer statement. This is the Hair care 101 for curly hair. You don’t want to cause split ends and you don’t want to ruin your hair. If you feel like there are so much tangle going on, use a wide toothed comb for your hair. Use a conditioner when you shower to keep your curls soft and smooth all day.
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3.       Use a damage repair shampoo and conditioner treatment
Even though you think that your hair is not at all damaged, do you really have to wait till your hair becomes dry and brittle before you use a treatment? Prevention is always better than cure. Curly hair is very prone to damage compared to straight hair.
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4.      Use a product that is appropriate for your hair type when styling.
Assess your hair if it’s limpy or frizzy. Volumizing mousse for limpy hair and anti-frizz mousse for the untamed locks. There are a variety of products to choose from in the market. If you wish to keep your curls in place without them looking very stiff, choose a curl defining mousse that has self-adjusting properties. I personally like Finesse Curl Defining mousse. It really emphasizes the curls while keeping it natural looking! I finish the look with a good hair polish to make it look extra shiny and keep it from looking dry.
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5.       Let your hair breather once in a while.
Since curly hair needs a lot of maintenance and styling, it is important to keep your hair from product build ups and just let it loose. On a weekend, wash your hair and just let it be wild and messy! (Make sure you don’t have plans for the day) Also, it really helps if you restore moisture back to your hair by applying treatment.
I personally believe that since hair becomes brittle from all the chemical products, it doesn’t help at all if you treat it with chemical products as well. I prefer to use natural products since they help nourish the hair back to health and they don’t have chemical additives.
My favorite go to treatment is Mayonnaise. I know it sounds weird to use that but mayonnaise contains fats and oils with emulsifiers that help bring back the natural oils to your hair. It literally fattens up your hair. I’ve been using it for a while now and I never had split ends nor dry hair since then! Plus, it makes the hair extra shiny!
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If you are planning to have your hair curled, I suggest that you consider some things before jumping on with your decisions:

1.       Assess your hair type. Is it thin? Is it thick? If you have thin hair, curly hair may add volume and texture to your hair. However, if you have thin hair due to hair fall, think twice before taking the leap because introucing chemicals to your hair will surely add damage. If you have thick hair like mine, think well if you are prepared enough to have the big hair. Thicker hair means bigger maintenance.

2.       Assess the level of damage to your hair. If you have dry hair because of the many salon treatments you have had before, it is wise to just let your hair have a break. Many girls think that if they curl their locks, the damage would look less visible. That’s a wrong perception. You have no idea how much it can exacerbate the condition of your hair. If you have normal or oily hair, it doesn’t make your hair safe. You should keep the moisture by putting extra efforts in taking care of your hair.

3.       Think about your level of commitment. Everyone can have curly hair but not everyone can pull the look off. I see a lot of girls who get easily tired of curly hair and just decide to have it chopped off or straightened then the next thing I find out, they already have poorly damaged hair. Curly hair is the most difficult to maintain so if you are too lazy to take good care of your hair or you have no time for these styling rituals, better be safe than sorry.

4.       Master your facial features. You may have the perfect hair, you may have all the time in the world to style your locks but all of these would be useless if curls don’t fit your features. Always remember that curls emphasize the shape of your face. So if you have round or square face, be careful of that. There’s one good news though, you can always do something about it as long as you know which length you should have, how big the curls have to be and which style of hair cut fits your facial shape. Ask your stylist about it.

      So there you have it. Sorry for the long post though. I just thought I’d share some of the things I have learned. All of these information are based on my experience with managing my hair. It took me like two weeks to just get things right since I have already thought about having my locks curled for the longest time but never actually prepared myself for this kind of mishaps. Hahaha! Over all, I like it a lot and I feel like a brand new person with it.
So this is a photo which I took the day I got my locks curled. Notice the frizz especially on the ends?

This is my hair two weeks after. It looks more vibrant and the curls are really sleek in place :)

       I hope this helps anyone who gets to read it. Comments are appreciated. Thank you for having the time to read. Good luck with your hair adventures! :D