Hello curly girls! Maybe you have naturally curly hair, or you think you might have curly hair. You’re not sure where to start or which products are right for your hair. In this post, I’m sharing a quick guide to style naturally curly hair. Read on for everything you need to know!
Here’s how to style naturally curly hair.
How to Find the Right Curly Girl Products
Hair products can make your curls look frizzy and dried out – or lush and gorgeous! That’s why it’s so important to choose your curly hair products carefully.
Stay away from curl-damaging ingredients.
Curly hair experts recommend avoiding certain ingredients because of the way they damage fragile curly hair. Here are some common ingredients you should stay away from if you want healthy curls.
- Sulfates: These harsh detergents are found in many shampoos, but they’re also found in dishwashing liquid! If the ingredient contains the prefix “sulf-“ or “sulfate,” avoid it!
- Silicones: Most silicones are not water-soluble and can build up on your hair over time. This can actually straighten out your curls and be quite hard to remove. Any ingredients that end in “-zane,” “-conol,” or “-cone” are likely silicones and should be avoided.
- Drying Alcohols: These alcohols can dry out your curls and make them frizzy and wild. Avoid denatured alcohol, ethanol, isopropanol, isopropyl alcohol, SD alcohol, and propyl alcohol.
- “Bad” Oils and Waxes: These ingredients are cheap filler for product manufacturers but can weigh down your curls with toxic junk. Avoid mineral oil, paraffinum liquidum, paraffin, petroleum, petrolatum, beeswax, or any other wax (except lanolin or emulsifying wax.)
Use products designed for curly girls.
Chemists and product developers spend years perfecting the right formulas for curly hair. That’s why you should look for products specifically designed for curly hair. While mainstream brands may offer good curly hair products, I recommend trying products from brands that specialize in curly hair. Here are several brands you should check out:
- LUS Brands – This Canadian curly hair brand offers a simple 3-step system for curly hair. And they’re Canadian made! 🇨🇦
- Jessicurl – This American brand creates quality curly hair products with top-notch ingredients. I especially LOVE their Spiralicious gel – it gives such fantastic definition and shine!
- Bounce Curl – A chemistry major who was inspired by her grandmother’s homemade hair care started formulating curly hair products. Voila – Bounce Curl was born!
- SheaMoisture – This drugstore line of products is easy to find and offers a lot of affordable Curly Girl products.
Nourish your curls with a weekly deep conditioning or protein treatment.
Curly hair is thirsty hair. It needs lots of moisture to look its best!
For gorgeous curls, you should schedule a weekly deep conditioning or protein treatment for your curls. You can do this at home, and it doesn’t have to be expensive or difficult.
Although you can find lots of DIY deep conditioner recipes only, I love this simple deep conditioner recipe from Verna @themestizamuse.
First, mix 1/2 cup conditioner with 1/4 cup honey. Microwave for 10-second intervals until it’s too hot to touch. Allow it to sit for a minute or two, and then apply to your hair from root to tip. Wrap your hair in a plastic bag, or put on a shower cap. Let it sit for 20-30 minutes, and rinse thoroughly.
Or, if you’d rather save time and buy a pre-made deep conditioner, this deep conditioner from Jessicurl is amazing and smells SO yummy.
If your curls need a protein boost, you should try doing a rice water rinse. Borrowed from an ancient Chinese tradition, the rice water rinse provides top-quality protein in a format that is easy for your curls to absorb.
Read my full instructions in this post: My Super-Simple Rice Water Rinse for Curly Hair + Results
Choose the right products for your porosity type.
Porosity means how well your curls absorb water and products. Here’s a quick guide to the 3 main porosity types.
- Low porosity: The hair cuticle (outer layer) is well hydrated and tight, so it’s slow to absorb moisture
- Medium porosity: The hair cuticle is looser, which means that it absorbs moisture more quickly.
- High porosity: Due to extreme damage from coloring or heat styling, the hair cuticle is raised with many gaps. It absorbs moisture quickly but also loses moisture very easily.
To determine your porosity, you can take a small amount of a water-based styling product and gently rub it into a small section of dry hair.
- If the product doesn’t absorb easily and sits on top of your curls, then you have low porosity hair.
- If it absorbs well with light finger strokes, you have medium porosity hair.
- And, if the product absorbs immediately with almost no effort, you have high porosity hair.
To learn more details about hair porosity and discover another test for hair porosity, read this post.
Know what your curl type is.
To style naturally curly hair, you’ll also need to know what your curl type is. Most curlies use the Andre Walker typing system to classify curly hair. While it’s quite common to have a mix of a few similar curl types, the system helps you get to know your curls better.
Read this post for a full overview and to determine your curl type:
The Ultimate Guide to Find Out Your Curl Type
How to Care for Naturally Curly Hair
Now, let’s take a closer look at caring for naturally curly hair. These tips are essential to keep your curls happy and well hydrated.
Cleanse and condition your curls with Curly Girl-approved products.
To cleanse your curls, use a sulfate-free shampoo or cowash. A “cowash” is a moisturizing cleanser specifically designed for curly hair. My favorite is the As I Am Cowash.
Then, condition your hair with a silicone-free conditioner. You can gently finger-comb it through your curls or use a wide-toothed comb to distribute it evenly.
Then, rinse your hair and add styling products (I’ll tell you exactly how in the next section.)
Stop brushing your hair.
This may sound a little weird if you’ve been brushing or combing your hair for years. But bear with me, and I will explain all.
Curly hair doesn’t need to be brushed or combed.
After you wash and style curly hair, you just leave it alone. No brushing! No combing!
The reason why is that brushing or combing dry hair will break up the chemical bonds that hold your curls in place. And it will create a LOT of frizz and flatten out your curls’ natural shape.
But what about tangles and snarls? When you wash your hair, after you get it thoroughly wet and add conditioner, then you can use a brush or wide-toothed comb to gently get out any tangles.
Honestly, when you are styling your hair with the right products, it doesn’t get as tangly or frizzy as it would otherwise.
Trust me – put away that brush, and your curls will thank you for it!
Pat dry with a microfibre towel or t-shirt towel.
If you’ve been rubbing wet hair with a regular towel, that is another no-no. Regular terrycloth towels have a lot of tiny loops that can ruffle the cuticle and cause unnecessary frizz.
Instead, use a microfibre towel or an old t-shirt to squeeze excess water out of your hair.
A very clever entrepreneur created the Tee-owel, which is a t-shirt towel designed for curly hair. It’s affordable and made of soft organic cotton.
Get yours at Tee-owel and use code CURLYGIRL for 15% off!
Protect your curls at night.
To keep your curls looking good, wear your hair in a loose bun or pineapple tied with a satin scrunchie. Also, I recommend sleeping on a satin or silk pillowcase.
Shop Celestial Silk for beautiful mulberry silk pillowcases, scrunchies, and more.
Step by Step: Styling Naturally Curly Hair
How to Style Curly Hair after Shower
After washing and conditioning your hair, it’s time to style your curly hair. First, you’ll want to add a leave-in conditioner or product.
For more definition, use curl enhancing creams and butters, like the Cantu Curl Activator or the SheaMoisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie.
For maximum moisture, use a hair oil, such as the Curls Blueberry Bliss Hair Growth Oil or the Difeel Premium Jojoba Hair Oil.
After you apply your product of choice, scrunch your curls upward several times around your head to encourage the curl.
Style your curly hair with gel or mousse.
After applying your leave-in product, it’s time to lock in definition with a gel or mousse.
Mousse can provide more volume and bounce, but it will typically produce looser definition than a gel. Try the Curly Girl-approved Creme of Nature Argan Oil Mousse or the Lottabody Milk & Honey Curl Defining Mousse.
Gel provides tighter definition and more hold for days 2-4, but it can also weigh down your curls and decrease volume. I personally use gel most of the time and get great results! Try the Eco Styler Olive Oil Gel or the Jessicurl Spiralicious Gel.
You might also wonder how to style naturally curly hair without products. If you want to do this, I recommend not rinsing out your conditioner completely. Leave a little bit in to keep your curls hydrated. When your curls are wet, scrunch them to encourage the natural curl. This will not give you super defined curls, but you will have soft, looser waves and curls.
Next, air dry or use a diffuser to blow-dry your hair.
If you have time to air-dry your hair, go ahead and do that.
Or, if you’re in a hurry, you can use a blow-dryer. BUT always use a diffuser attachment to avoid drying out or damaging your curls. If your dryer came with a diffuser attachment, just use that. Or you can purchase a universal diffuser attachment that will work for most blow-dryers.
Also, ensure that your blowdryer is turned on the “cool” or “low” setting. Never use it on high heat as this can damage your hair!
How to style naturally curly hair without heat
If you have naturally curly hair, you should avoid heat styling tools. They will damage your curls and can make your hair less curly over time. Instead, try easy hairstyles for naturally curly hair. Experiment with braids, twists, and simple hairstyles that won’t damage or break your fragile curls.
Read this post for fun bandana hairstyles:
5 Summer Bandana Hairstyles for Curly Hair to Try Now
How can I make my curly hair look stylish?
Just add cute hair accessories! With a quick web search, you can discover the latest hair accessory trends. Many of these look gorgeous on curly hair and add instant style points.
I’ve shared 9 must-have hair accessories for curly girls in this post:
The 9 Best Hair Accessories for Curly Girls
I personally LOVE silk scrunchies and pearl barrettes. They’re easy to style and so feminine and chic!
Let’s Chat:
Styling naturally curly hair might sound like a lot of work, but it’s actually quite simple. Stay away from nasty ingredients and heat tools. Choose ingredients and products that will nourish your curls. Style your hair carefully with gel or mousse, and embrace heatless hairstyles. You’ll soon have the hair of your dreams!
Questions? Feel free to drop me a line at whatdinnywore [at] gmail.com and I’d be happy to help!
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!