Were you born with naturally curly hair that you’ve always struggled with? Do you often blow-dry or straighten your natural curly hair? Are you noticing that your curls aren’t as bouncy and defined as they used to be? In this article, I’ll share my top tips for how to get naturally curly hair back to being curly and gorgeous. These tips aren’t an overnight fix. But, with time and patience, they will help your curls get back to their natural beauty.
Keep reading to learn how to get naturally curly hair back.
1. Skip the Heat
The reason why heat styling is so effective is that it breaks the chemical bonds in your hair strands. Over time, this can cause heat damage to your curls and cause them to become less curly. To get your naturally curly hair back, I recommend not using heat tools on your hair. If you’ve always used heat to tame your curls, you may be a little nervous about this.
But don’t worry- you can do it! And your curls will love it. Instead of using heat styling, look up heatless hairstyle videos on Youtube. You can also try some of the hairstyles on my blog here:
2. Deep Conditioning
If your curls are dry and frizzy, they may need some extra moisture. A good deep conditioning session will help revive their natural shine. Most curly gurus recommend that you deep condition your curls once a week. Deep conditioning before a shampoo will protect your hair from losing its natural oils. It will help increase shine, bounce, and softness. It also helps reduce hair loss and moisturize dry strands. You can read full instructions and get a recipe for a DIY deep conditioner in this post:
3. Protein Treatment
On the other hand, your curls may need protein. If your curls are limp and lack definition, they would probably benefit from a protein treatment. Here are a few options for a protein treatment.
- You can use a commercial protein treatment like the Hairfinity Strengthening Amino Masque or the Curls Blueberry Bliss Reparative Hair Mask.
- Or you can make a DIY rice water rinse.
- You can do a gelatin treatment on your curls.
4. Train Your Curls
In order to help your curls “remember” their natural pattern, you can use a technique called finger coiling on your wet hair. If you want your curls to be more defined and tight, you can use this technique. First, take an individual strand of wet hair. Smooth it out to ensure that there are no tangles. Use your middle finger to twist the curl from root to tip. Next, twist it back towards the root with your hand, and from root to tip with your middle finger again. Repeat this a few times until the the strand coils when you let it go. Continue doing this until you have gone through all your hair. This will take some time, but it will give you shiny, bouncy spirals. Here is a demonstration video:
5. Learn a New Way to Blow-dry
If you usually blow-dry your hair “the normal way” with high heat, you are actually causing heat damage to your curls. If you’re following the Curly Girl Method, this is definitely a no-no. Instead, you should use a diffuser attachment on your blowdryer to spread out the air. This will help your curls dry with good definition and volume. Also, use the blowdryer on cool or low heat to avoid heat damage. For more information, read this post:
6. Get a Trim
This is an important tip for how to get your naturally curly hair back. If your curls have a lot of heat or color damage, you may need a haircut. If possible, choose a hairstylist who specializes in curly haircuts. But, a regular hairstylist will also work. Ask them for lots of layers, and explain that you want to get rid of as much damaged hair as possible. When you cut your hair shorter to remove damage, curly girls call this “the big chop.” And, if you have wavy hair, removing some length can help your waves become more curly.
7. Read Your Ingredient List
If you want to get your naturally curly hair back, you’ll need to avoid damaging ingredients in your shampoo and conditioner. For shampoo, you need to avoid sodium laureth sulfate, other drying sulfates, and drying alcohols. Read this post for shampoo suggestions:
Next, you’ll need a botanical-based conditioner. As you might guess, “botanical” means that it has a lot of plant-based ingredients. These should be listed in the first half of ingredients. It should also have moisturizing ingredients to hydrate your curls. Your conditioner should include humectants (panthenol, sorbitol, vegetable glycerin), moisturizers (propylene glycol, aloe vera, amino acids), and emollients (cetyl esters, shea butters, vegetable oils). And silicone is a big no-no because it will seal your cuticle and make your curls limp. You can read this post for conditioner suggestions:
8. Choose the Right Styling Products
To enhance your natural curls, I recommend styling them with a Curly Girl approved gel or mousse. A gel will seal in moisture and give your curls long-lasting definition and hold. If you prefer to have looser, romantic waves, choose a mousse or light hold gel. If you want tight, defined ringlets, opt for a strong hold gel. Read this post for my top gel recommendations:
Let’s Chat:
Are you looking for how to get your naturally curly hair back? To get the best natural curls, I always recommend that you follow the Curly Girl Method. And the tips in this post will help your curls bounce back, too. Which of these tips do you want to try first? And, if you’re an experienced curly girl, what would you add to this list? Please share your top tips and advice in the comments so we can all benefit!
love,
Claudine
p.s. Some of the items in this post are affiliate links. I only post about products that I love + think you’ll probably love, too! As an Amazon Associate or affiliate for other programs, I earn from qualifying purchases. When you purchase through my link, I receive a small commission at no extra charge to you. Thank you SO much for your support!
Great post Claudine! Personally one thing I struggle with in trying to encourage my waves is that the hair gets messy and frizzy. I usually end up brushing it out or combing my wet hair so that it’s straight. And with my hair being a combo it often looks messy if I try to keep the wave. What do you think?
Thanks for commenting, Kathleen! If you are following the Curly Girl Method, I recommend using a brush or wide-toothed comb only when you detangle your hair at the conditioning stage. After washing your hair and applying products, I don’t recommend brushing at that point. It will only make your hair look messy and frizzy. If you’re dealing with frizz, you may not have enough hydration, either. Always use a leave-in conditioner or just squish to rinse so that you leave in some of your conditioner. Hope this helps!
love in Christ,
Claudine
Thanks a bunch! I’ll try that out!