How to Care for Your Curvylicious Curls

By Wordsmith

Bismillah

If you are a lady with any kind of wave in your hair, I am 99.9% sure that you have gone through a phase of complete curly-hair-denial at one point in your life.

You have tried brushing those fragile lil’ things over and over again.

And although, after all that work, you thought you would look like this:

You probably ended up looking a lot more like this: 

And because you wanted the extraordinary experience of running your fingers through your hair without removing half of it, you walked right on over to the salon for a simple blow-dry, envisioning this:

But in fact, this was you.... two hours later:

I know…. Your personal attempt to blow-dry your hair at home is too hard on the eye. I will not depict it here.

It is a good thing SOMEONE figured out how to manage curly hair! So here I am today, writing to expose you to some small pointers that will probably go a LONG way, hopefully changing your hair from Exhibit A to Exhibit B.

Well, first of all, you have to accept the fact that Exhibit B is probably not a natural curl,and unless your natural curl has a shape similar to the above picture, you will not be looking like that anytime soon.

Ok, so you do not want Hollywood hair. You simply want to bring out the beauty of your natural curls.

What to do? Read on!

1. Accept your hair. Figure it out.

You may not know this, but not all people who do not have straight hair are just lumped into one group of curly girls because not all curls were created equally!

In fact, there are different curl types such as corkscrew curls, loose waves, etc. and understanding which type of curl your natural hair takes shape into is an essential part of managing it properly.

Although you can find a lot of information if you do some surfing on the web, I would highly recommend Lorraine Massey’s Curly Girl: The Handbook. She does an awesome job of helping you identify your curl type and equips you with a complete hair-care routine, from cleansing to styling to cutting, and even more.

The point is, the first step to beautiful natural curly hair is to find out what type of curls you have. Get to know your hair. How does it react to heat? How do curls change with length? This will help you narrow down what products, methods, and routines are most suitable for your hair type. The better you become at managing your hair in its NATURAL form, the more you will love it.

But....

2. DO NOT BRUSH IT!

Please. Do not brush your hair if it is curly. 

Using a brush on your dry curls leaves you looking like this, as a result of the breakage of the natural flow of the hair: 

I mean, you are going for the majestic-mane-of-frizz look, be my guest. But...The ONLY time you, as a curly girl, are ever allowed to brush your hair, is in the shower AFTER you have conditioned your luscious locks. And even then, you must use your fingers.

3. The CONDITIONING Process

Girl, conditioner is your best friend. Actually, it is your BFF because moisture is essential to having beautifully hydrated curls. Massey, in the same book mentioned above, advises that each section of the hair be moisturized on its own. To do this, “[glide] conditioner downward through you hair with your fingers.” Notice, as mentioned before, you are NOT to use a brush. And if you have long hair, make sure to “scrunch your hair upward towards the scalp” after conditioning each section, as this “will encourage and reintroduce your intrinsic curl pattern to your hair.”

Most experts recommend that you do not wash any of the conditioner out of your hair, but you might find that this will leave your hair feeling oily because your curls may not be as dense and dry as other types. Whether or not to wash some of your conditioner out will come with experience, and as well as learning how much conditioner to put in your hair. If your frizzies shoot up immediately after the shower, this probably means that you need to put some more conditioner in that area, especially because some parts of your curls will frizz more than others. Just remember to be generous with the moisture because you will need it!

4. The Drying Process

Do not use a regular towel to dry your hair. As soon as you turn off the water, grab a T-shirt or a microfiber towel. Place it at the end of your hair and gently scrunch and squeeze upwards towards your scalp to remove the excess water. Massey describes this process as the “squeeze-scrunch” method that gently blots the extra moisture out of your hair.

Another rule of thumb is to keep your hands, hijabs, and pillows away from your hair until it is completely dry. I know, from personal experience, that this is so difficult, especially considering the busy hustle of our lives. However, considering how ugly my hair looks when I put it under my hijab or pillow when it is still wet is definitely a motivator when it comes to shower time. I always make sure that I have at least two and a half hours of air time before sleep or having to go out. Trust me, it is not easy, and you cannot skip salah just so your hair looks nice... but I try my best! Once your hair air-dries itself beautiful, it will stay like that for a few days, so it is definitely worth the trouble.

I hope these tips were beneficial to you and that you apply them. Again, I strongly recommend purchasing Lorraine Massey’s Curly Girl: The Handbook, as it has so much helpful and practical advice on learning to love and let live your natural curl. Ask me questions in the comments and hopefully I can write a follow-up article to answer them inshaAllah.

I'd love to hear your views on this topic. Please post comments in the section below!

Posted in: care,hair,Tips,Wordsmith