It seems like every person who has straight hair longs to have naturally curly hair. Unfortunately, if they did they would be like the rest of us who are so frustrated with it. As beautiful as naturally curly hair can look, it is extremely hard to care for. You do need to know the tips and tricks that guarantee you that wonderful bounce and life and doesn’t leave you with a bunch of frizzies.
When you’re eight years old and mom and dad are helping you take care of your hair, it can be frustrating as they may not know how to handle your naturally curly hair, and neither do you. For a lot of girls, it isn’t until they get to be adults that they finally figure out what to do with their naturally curly hair.
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As a child, just the sight of a comb coming near your hair can make you cringe. As mom yanks the comb through all your hair and you feel the tugging at your scalp you bite down and sometimes tears roll down your cheeks. That is, until somebody gets the bright idea to cut most of it off. Well, great news; you don’t need to cut it all off, you just need to learn how to take good care of it.
I know this is going to sound odd to a lot of people but, one of the worst things you can do with your curly hair is wash it. Seriously, washing your hair strips it of all of the natural oils it needs to keep from looking frizzy. If you have curly hair you really don’t need to wash your hair more than once a week. I know you think that’s disgusting but it’s not. When you shower each day rinse your hair and run your fingers through it, cleaning out any loose dirt or whatever may have blown into your hair during the day. But you don’t need to strip the hair of all of its oils with shampoo.
Note: If your body is used to daily shampooing, it may take several weeks to get your oil production levels straightened out. Your body has been trained to produce oil at an alarming rate because you’ve been stripping your hair each day. After several weeks, your oil glands will slow down and your weekly shampooing will be plenty. You may want to approach this method slowly. Leave out one shampooing each week for 6 weeks. By then, your body will be used to the change in washing schedule. Don’t be afraid. Give it a try and you’ll understand completely.
Also, you must remember that conditioner is your friend. Ideally, it’s best to find an alcohol free or low alcohol content conditioner. It’s okay to use this every day during your shower. Moreover, I would highly recommend picking up a very wide tooth comb to keep in your shower. Use this once you put your conditioner in to help cover every follicle. Don’t run it through your hair until you have the conditioner in. Using this comb also helps to remove any loose dirt that may be on your hair, which will keep it clean between shampoos without stripping the natural oils.
Another step you can take to help manage your curly hair is to remove all of the brushes you have in your house. If you have naturally curly hair you do not need to brush your hair. There’s never going to be a reason to run a brush through your hair even when it’s wet.
After your daily shower and conditioning, gently towel dry your hair without rubbing. Using the towel, press against your hair, gently squeezing water and allowing the towel to absorb it. If you’re rubbing and scrubbing your hair with the towel you’re simply making matters worse.
Once you’re hair is towel dry, you simply want to finger comb it. Don’t use a regular comb and never use a brush. Heat is also very bad if you have naturally curly hair. Because of this, you never want to blow dry your hair on a regular basis. I know this seems unnatural for a lot of people but it’s true. Think of your blow dryer as a “frizz maker.”
Lastly, learn to love your hair. There are a lot of people who would die to have your naturally curly hair. I know for you that can be very frustrating, but, learn these few simple tips and you’re going to have that healthy naturally beautiful hair so many people envy.