Straightening addict deciding to embrace curls

[wishinwaitinhopin]

I have blonde curly / wavy hair and have straightened it my entire life. I have recently decided to finally embrace my curls!

What products do I need? Which are the best please? I've no idea where to start. I also just leave it be... Do I need to style it?

Hi wishinwaitinhoping, can I bump this as I'm the same. I've got wavy hair and I've tried various products I never get nice defined curls.

Google curly girl - you need no sls, a good conditioner and ditch the frizz ease and serum.

Congrats

You will get different advice on it, and probably should try each method and see what works for your hair.

I have a thick mane of wavy hair and this is what I do:

Shampoo, then condition. Comb through with my fingers while conditioner is in (this is the only combing/brushing they get). Rinse.

Out of the shower, I put my hair up in a towel and leave it like that for a bit. Then I apply this product liberally on my hair, crunch and form curls with my fingers. Then I leave it to dry.

When it is more or less dry, I smooth the flyaway hair with Frizz Ease and that's it.

Also, you need a good, slightly layered hair cut.

I shampoo and condition then brush when wet (which may be a no-no as can lead to hair breakage but it's a disaster to brush when dry). I then scrunch some curling mousse in and leave to dry naturally (blow dry with a diffuser if I've got less than a couple of hours but it always looks better when dried naturally).

Experiment with shampoo/conditioner - I alternate between very conditioning/curling ones eg Pantene style and SLS-free ones eg Daniel Galvin Organic or Dr Organic aloe Vera. This prevents build up which weighs the curls down.

Wash, condition, pull fingers or a wide tooth comb through when very wet, or just after putting product on. Best for me is Moroccan Oil Curl Cream (expensive but worth it). Then 'plop' hair into a towel and leave the product to soak in for 10-20 mins.

Either dry naturally, in bed (lying on it can encourage curl or you can use bobby pins), or a gentle diffuser and run fingers through to get defined curls.

If you have been straightening a long time it may be dry and reluctant to curl at first, in which case use a deep conditioner a lot and Pantene type products to make it thicker and healthier before switching to lighter SLS-free products.

Use serum (like Luxe Oil) to define curls and revive curls when a bit dry/frizzy.

HTH.

Thank you all for such brilliant advice! I think I need to go shopping! Boots here I come.

I cannot recommend curly girl enough.

I am currently using Green People shampoo for itchy scalps, and the Body Shop rainforest moisture conditioner.

Another vote for the curly girl method here! I use the Devacurl products bought from Amazon.

Also recommend visiting Matthew James at Puro in Birmingham for a haircut. He was trained by the author of the Curly Girl book and is a curly hair expert. He will give you a good cut but also lots of advice about how to manage your curls. Also only charges £55 which I think is very reasonable for his level of expertise.