Making Curly Hair Look Good All Day

April

Wow, if your hair without product looks good, more power to you. Some days it seems like there's no limit to how much product my curly hair will take -- and that's after being "shampooed" with conditioner only.

Try naturallycurly.com for advice and product ideas. It sounds like you're a "Type 2" in their scheme, but see for yourself.

14 years ago

Beth

Veteran

I agree with April: get yourself over to naturallycurly.com. They have great product advice. One of the tough things is that what works for one might not work for another.

I have spirally curly hair that I could never get to look the way I wanted. I eventually took the easy way out and now I just get it thermally straightened.

It sounds like your hair is already on its way to gorgeousness:) Want to share some pics?

14 years ago

Anonymous

I can't share pics...I'm tech challenged

14 years ago

AGirlWithStyle

Active Member

I have curly hair. I fully agree with the advice to join naturallycurly.com. My hair is curlier than yours (I'm a 3B), but the Curly Girl method has been great. I suggest checking out Curly Girl by Lorraine Massey. It's pretty inexpensive and it's a good primer on curl care. The trick with curls is moisture. The more moisture you give your curls, the better they look. Products will be a matter of trial and error - that has more to do with your hair type than your curl type (the Live Curly Live Free blog is helpful for this). Have you tried "plopping"? If not, do a search on YouTube. There are videos that explain how. It basically sets your curls and helps them look bouncier.

14 years ago

rosee

Veteran

We did this topic about a month ago, so check out that thread:

http://youlookfab.com/welookfa.....curly-hair

Above-mentioned naturallycurly.com is a great resource, but it's a bit of a maze to get through. I bookmarked some of the posts and I'll try to find them for you (I'm a techno packrat). The thing is to figure out what type of hair you have as the advice will differ for each type. The conditioner wash method works for some really curlies, but I find it won't work for me as my hair gets too greasy then (I have to wash it 2 to 3 times per week).

Definitely learn about no or low sulfate shampoos and silicone-free conditioners. That seems to be the key for most curlies. A lot of "natural" (in quotes on purpose) brands are good, as are Tres Semme Naturals (not really all that natural though, but no problem ingredients) and Suave conditioners are recommended, as well as pricier brands.

14 years ago

Mo

(website)

Veteran

I, with some trepidation, picked up a no-name, $2 sulfate free shampoo at Big Lots last month. I can't wash with just conditioner either, like Rosee, I get greasy quick! But I'm surprised to say the cheapy shampoo does a good job without overly stripping and even with me swimming twice a week in the heavily chlorinated community pool. I'm not much of a product girl. Nor do I really style my hair (and I'm sure it shows lol). But for me, the second day after a wash is usually best and the curls become waves and settle down a little. Not fiddling with them and just letting your hair air dry is the best in my experience.

14 years ago

Anonymous

Thanks for all the responses! I'll check out naturally curly. I would LOVE to be able to get good results with a cheapy shampoo, I've always used expensive salon brands like Biolage. I used a *curly* one once, don't remember the name, but it did nothing. I have fine hair and it gets weighed down easily.

14 years ago

AGirlWithStyle

Active Member

One key thing - most curlies in the know don't use traditional shampoo. The sulfates are very drying. Even many curly shampoos (i.e. shampoos marketed to curlies by mainstream brands) are no good. If you must shampoo (no way to know if you do without trying going shampoo free), choose one with coco beteine as a cleanser. There are now several sulfate-free shampoo options (off the top of my head, the brands Curls and Kinky Curly are sold at Target).

Personally, I only use sulfate free shampoo twice a month. Other times, I cleanse with either Suave Naturals conditioner or V05 moisture milks conditioner. You really rub it into your scalp with your fingers. At first your hair does feel greasier but after a 2 weeks or so, your scalp gets used to the routine and does not get greasy at all. After that I follow up with a silicone free conditioner (my favorite is Garnier Fructis Triple Condition). My go to gel is LA Looks Sports Gel. Since going shampoo and silicone free, I really spend a lot less on hair products.

Another thing: If you cut out suflates, you'll need to cut out silicones. This is where naturallycurly.com is especially helpful, as it helps you identify products to try out.

14 years ago

AGirlWithStyle

Active Member

This is a great primer on the sulfate-free (Curly Girl) method:

http://dormroomcurly.blogspot......table.html

14 years ago

lynne

Veteran

I'll agree with all the above comments. Another thing to throw into the equation is climate. My naturally curly hair behaves completely differently in Arizona than it does in Ohio.

14 years ago

Mo

(website)

Veteran

Lynne, so true! In Tahoe my hair just falls into place. Here in FL I end up with quite the fuzzy mess sometimes. Shabbychick is on the Gulf coast I believe, so humidity is a huge factor. Oh, and I haven't had any children, but my hair is getting curlier as I get older, too.

14 years ago

DanaLynn

Active Member

SHabbychic- like others said- knowing what kind of climate you are in and the length of you hair would help.

I adore my curls but I don't use the curly girl method. I shampoo and condition every two to three days. Using no-shampoo my hair got really flat and lifeless. not greasy just boring. Apparently I like the body I get from slightly damaged hair

I style my hair in the shower for the most part. I run my fingers through it to get any knots out while it is conditioning and then use the water to set the style. The water makes my hair fall into thick ringlets. I gentle use a cotton towel to remove excess water and then use my fingers to separate some of the curls. I twirl any that are mis-behaving and that normally fixes the spiral.

I use a cream on the ends and mousse at the roots for volume. I normally air dry for an hour or so and then finish with a dryer for volume.

I have heard from stylist and other curly girls that shampooing that often will do damage and ruin my curls. I've been using the same method for about 15 years and they still look good, so I'm not too worried.

Have fun on naturally curly.com, they have lots of good reviews, suggestions and photos.

14 years ago

Aziraphale

Veteran

I have thick, wavy (not curly) hair. When my hair is long, I find that it looks best with no product at all, but I do blow-dry it about halfway dry, and I'll pin my sideswept bangs back with a bobby pin while it dries the rest of the way. If I don't do this, I have a big poufy bangs, rather than a nice soft sweep.

When my hair is short, one of two things has to happen: either I must use a professional-grade straightening iron and straighten it all the way, or I have to let it air-dry and scrunch it up with my fingers a little to encourage the curl. In both cases, I use a tiny amount of styling wax or mud (not pomade) to help maintain shape/discourage frizz. Emphasis on "tiny"....or I'll have a limp mess two hours later.

Hope that helps! Oh, and I should add that I haven't coloured my hair in quite a few years, so it's healthy. This helps it look good despite not using a lot of product.

14 years ago

Aziraphale

Veteran

One more thing: I should add that my hair goes WAY curlier when it's very humid, so I shy away from straightening at those times (it'll just curl back up an hour later, and not in an attractive way). I live in a temperate and moderately humid climate,and can usually get away with straightening most of the year.

14 years ago

rosee

Veteran

@AGirlWithStyle: are you sure that Garnier Triple Conditioner is silicone free? I abandoned all Fructis products b/c of the silicone.

14 years ago

Anonymous

You are all so helpful, thank you! I found naturally curly to be a bit hard to navigate, or maybe just overwhelming??? Here is what I know about my hair:

~It's presently shoulder length, thick but fine and easy to weigh the curl down
~I have highlights
~I live on Gulf Coast Mississippi where it is usually in the 80's or 90's with HIGH humidity.
~We have soft water, my hair is soft and bouncy here
~My hair is very wavy with more curl underneath, there are no ringlety curls, mostly soft full waves, which I'd like to coax into big bouncy curls if it's possible
~I wash and condition my hair every other day and I have forever, so I don't know what it would do if I didn't. Whatever I do, I MUST have pretty smelling hair at ALL times...I'm strange that way

Does that help?

14 years ago

AGirlWithStyle

Active Member

@rosee: Garnier Fructis Triple Nutrition Conditioner is silicone free. It is fantastic - very popular on naturallycurly.com. Some do find it heavy but at $3.XX for a bottle (and $5.XX for the large size) it's worth a try. But you're right, most Garnier Fructis products are not silicone free.

@shabbychick: With the Curly Girl method, your hair would smell good. It does take a while for your scalp to adjust - at first your scalp will overproduce oil - but over time your hair gets way less oily than it does when you shampoo because your scalp no longer overcompensates for the stripping properties of the suflate shampoo. Does that make sense? Given your hair type, you may not need to go fully Curly Girl. As for navingating nc.com, head over to the main General discussion board in the Curl Talk section. Post questions there.

14 years ago

Anonymous

Thank you again! Yes, that makes perfect sense. What is full curly girl? Is that a product? Sorry, I'm clueless!

14 years ago

AlexSue

Active Member

I have naturally tight curls (I now get them chemically straightened), and I find that my hair is a lot happier when I don't shampoo. Frederic Fekkai's smoothing cream is a good way to smooth hair without weighing it down, but if you want your curls to have a lot of bounce, a curling iron might be the way to go.

14 years ago

AGirlWithStyle

Active Member

Full Curly Girl = someone who does not use any sort of shampoo (either a sulfate shampoo or a sulfate free shampoo). She cleanses only with conditioner (most popular choices are Suave Naturals and V05 moisture milk)

Modified Curly Girl = regularly uses a "low poo" (sulfate free shampoo). A lot of wavies use this method.

Check out the Curly Girl book by Lorraine Massey. It is a good starting point. You can get most of this info on naturallycurly.com, but it is all over the place. It is also nice to have a book that you can easily reference. The new version comes with a DVD as well. http://www.amazon.com/Curly-Gi.....038;sr=8-1

14 years ago

Anonymous

Thank you all again....going to check these out. Hopefully big, bouncy curls in no time!

14 years ago

tarzy

Veteran

DanaLynn - can you explain how you use mousse on your roots to get volume? I always get that awful "flat top!"

14 years ago

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