Steps

  1. If your hair is dry, coarse, or very curly, do not use shampoo! Yes it sounds weird and unsanitary. But shampoo’s purpose is to clean off all oil, which is exactly what curly hair needs to be, well, curly. Curly hair is dryer than straight hair; you need to moisturize it! Use conditioner specifically for curly hair, and use it the way you would a shampoo. You know, scrub your scalp with it. Shampoo once a week, or if you’re extremely active, every couple of showers. You don’t want to have a grungy scalp; you just don’t want to have dry coarse hair either.
  2. Never brush with a hairbrush! Curly hair can be matted when wet, and even though a brush gets through the rats faster, it causes split ends, and yanks out your hair. If you want, finger comb it. If that’s impossible, get a comb specifically for curly/thick hair. The teeth of the comb are proportioned to get through curly hair.
  3. Once you have finished combing your hair, you will need to style it. The best things to have are 1) leave in conditioner (spray in or gel) and 2) a mousse that eliminates frizz. If you don’t want to buy a leave in conditioner, here’s an idea. You can use the conditioner you used to wash your hair! Just plop some in your palms, rub it together, and massage it into hair. The best way to do this is start in the middle of your hair (like you’re making a ponytail) and massage downwards. Your roots don’t need to be moisturized. They already have oil.
  4. Let your hair air-dry. Blow dryers cause frizz and that just doesn’t work for most! Who needs anymore frizz? No one. Instead, put on your lovely hair products, flip your hair, and massage the roots to get some volume on top. (To avoid having pyramid hair) As your hair is drying, occasionally flip, massage, and BAM! You should be okay. If absolutely necessary, blow dry your hair with cold air. It will minimize some frizzing. But curly hair takes forever to dry, so beware.
    • If you don’t want to have to get up early to shower and redo your hair, that’s totally understandable. But it’s annoying to wake up and realize your hair looks like a hornet nest. The best way to keep your hair tamed? The night before, after you’ve showered and your hair is dry, pull your hair back. Ponytails work well, and even stretchy fabric headbands work. Don’t just make a ponytail; put a ponytail at the base of your neck, in the middle of your hair, and almost on the ends. When you wake up, take it out, flip your hair, massage your scalp, and you should be good to go.