Curly Hair Care

Curly hair can be a blessing or a curse, depending on the person you ask. It adds volume to your locks and texture to your style. It's also prone to split ends and breakage, due to all the twists and turns each strand of hair contains. Therefore, regardless if you love it or hate it, having curly hair means you need to use special curly hair care tactics.

Brushing
Most brushes and combs tear up curls and cause frizz, so it's always better to style your hair using your fingers or a pick. Never use an old-fashioned brush with tons of soft bristles. These brushes will turn even the slightest curl into instant kinky frizz.

Washing
Washing curly hair takes a delicate hand and an even more delicate shampoo. Since your hair is so easily damaged, you don't want to use a harsh cleanser that strips away all the oils, even if you happen to have curly hair that's oily.

Women with curly hair also need to be gentle when actually working the shampoo into their hair. The common, circular scrubbing motion will only tangle up your hair, not help it look clean. Instead, use a simple stroke to coat and lather the hair with shampoo. Then just rinse as you usually would and move on to conditioning.

Conditioning
Curly hair is often on the dry side, but even oily curls need moisture to help them stay healthy. Whatever the exact state of your curly hair, you need to condition and moisturize those waves, or they'll soon turn into frizz.

The conditioner must contain moisturizers, not just oils. Oily conditioners will weigh down your hair and act like welcome mats for dirt. Moisturizers will strengthen the strands, not to mention make them look shiny and healthy.

If you're using one of the many brands of curly hair conditioners, simply follow the directions on the label. If you're using a general conditioner for all hair types, use a ping-pong-ball-sized dollop of conditioner on shoulder-length curls, and even more if the curls fall longer.

Work the conditioner into your hair with your fingers, gently stroking downward. Don't bother conditioning your scalp if it doesn-t look and feel dry, since it probably doesn't need it. Work the conditioner evenly into your hair, again with your fingers. Never use a brush or comb on wet hair. They will terrorize your wet strands.

Let your conditioner sit on your hair for at least a minute, or for the time stated on the label. Gently rinse the conditioner from your hair with cool water. Softly squeeze the extra water from your hair, jump out of your shower and pat your hair dry.

Leave-In Conditioning
Many curly hair care products are available in the shopping world, including fantastic leave-in conditioners made specifically for curly hair. Because those curls are in such desperate need of moisture and protection, a leave-in conditioner can be a quick and handy way to provide both.

What makes leave-in conditioners even more popular for curly-haired women is that they can help develop and shape those locks without use of a gel or hairspray. Because the conditioner is a little heavy, it weighs down and tames your curls. However, you don't always have to have a specialized "leave-in" brand to use this quick moisture trick.

For an easy curly-hair leave-in conditioner, just use a little less of your general conditioner than you normally would. Keep it completely away from the scalp, but work it into the rest of your hair with your fingers, as usual. Gently squeeze the extra dripping from your hair, and start styling.

Drying
Never blow-dry curly hair; it's one of the worst things you can do. Blow dryers frizz, knot and dry out those waves, turning them into a rat's nest. If you absolutely must have you hair dried this instant, use some sort of diffuser and the low setting on the blow dryer.The best way to dry curly hair is to pat it dry. Take a towel and wrap it gently around your hair, but don-t wrap the towel around your head. Pat the fabric against the wet strands to help soak up extra water. Remove the towel, run your fingers through the tangles, and then let your hair air-dry. 

If you're using a leave-in conditioner or are worried about dry strands, try using a few paper towels instead of a bath towel. Bath towels are often rough and suck moisture away from your hair as well as water. Paper towels will leave more of the conditioner on your tresses, gently soaking up the extra water.

Silk Sprays and Anti-Frizz Serums
Anti-frizz serums and sprays help any kind of hair, but especially curly locks. Regardless if they're called anti-frizz spray, silk spray, silk drops, shine serum or princess power potion, the smoothing products are almost always silicone-based and look best when applied to clean and damp hair.

Anti-frizz products smooth each strand of hair, creating a wonderful shine and shape. Your hair doesn't poof out the way it can with mousse. The serums also help your hair keep the style you want without weighing it down the way gel or hairspray can.

Always use the amount advised by the label, and avoid adding too much anti-frizz product. Since these concoctions are silicone-based, too much will quickly give you a flat and greasy look that becomes dirty in a flash.