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Original poster

How are you actually meant to dry hair with curly girl?

35 replies

Flannelled · 03/01/2019 21:40

I'll admit, I haven't a clue how to do hair.

I suspect my hair is actually fairly curly and I'd love to make the most of that. I have lots and it's shoulder length.

I sort of tried curly girl but I really, really struggled with the drying aspect. If I wash it in the morning, it is still damp by the evening if I don't use heat. If I plop, it doesn't dry. A defuser takes forever and I'm left with a big frizzy mess.

How on earth am I meant to dry my hair?

On a similar vain, sometimes when I go to bed with damp hair, I wake up with some lovely waves and kinks. What products should I use to maintain those during the day? Mousse seems to be too heavy and hard but oil doesn't hold them. It's unpredictable what my hair looks like in the morning so I can't really plan in advance.

And... can anyone recommend a good hair spray?

OP posts:
Original poster
Flannelled · 04/01/2019 08:52

Bumpity bump

OP posts:
AnduinsGirl · 04/01/2019 08:55

Watching eagerly for responses as I'm in exactly the same. The best results for me are by popping but it's still never dry when I get to work, which I hate as wet hair at work doesn't look professional. 😥

7kyay · 04/01/2019 08:57

Frizzy ease curling creme is good. What's poppinf/plopping?

Ollivander84 · 04/01/2019 08:58

I diffuse on low heat and low speed. So I place hair in diffuser, bring to head, switch on and hold. Switch off, move to a different part of head and repeat
Mostly I dry my roots because they take the longest!
Gel works well for me but have a look on somewhere like beauty by Zara (online shop) as they have SO many different styling products
Can't recommend hairspray sorry as I'm full CG method and there's no approved ones Sad

toomuchfaster · 04/01/2019 08:59

I don't use curly girl, I french plait mine to dry overnight or leave to dry as it wants in the day.

SureIusedtobetaller · 04/01/2019 08:59

Same, I need to wash my hair early evening for it to dry and I’m too busy then. If I wash it in the morning it’s still wet when for half the morning and it looks unprofessional. I end up using a dryer and tying it up.

autumnboys · 04/01/2019 09:03

I read this thread as I sat on my bedroom floor drying my hair (with a diffuser). Smile

I wash, condition, then put some leave in conditioner and gel through soaking wet hair (all curly friendly stuff, Flora & Curl, Boucleme, Devacurl). I then blot dry with a T-shirt or Boucleme towel. I scrunch upwards gently, I don’t plop as it does weird things to the front of my hair. I might add a bit more gel and then I diffuse dry it with a very big diffuser. Depending on the gel I’ve used I might then need to gently scrunch the gel out. I think if your objection to diffusing is that it makes your hair frizzy, it might be worth trying some products to combat that. It is all very much a process of trial and error, I find and some days I am v pleased with my hair and other days I wonder why I bothered!

littlemeitslyn · 04/01/2019 09:13

'Plop'? Que ??

Sexnotgender · 04/01/2019 09:14

I’m a curly girl and use my hair dryer.

I’d look shit all day if I didn’t!

Sexnotgender · 04/01/2019 09:15

Plopping is the term used for wrapping your hair in a microfibre towel or cotton T-shirt to enhance your curl pattern and remove a little moisture.

flimp · 04/01/2019 09:49

if you're on FB, there's an excellent group called 'Curly Girls UK (The Original Following The Curly Girl Method)' which has all the information for beginners and also loads of people who will answer questions and offer advice.

MeetOnTheledge · 04/01/2019 12:22

I've got an Aquis hair towel, it's ££ but a complete gamechanger, its stretchy and you wrap it in a turban, it literally sucks water out of your hair and halves drying time (I let mine dry naturally). The cheap microfibre turbans from Primark etc are no good at all by comparison.

imnottoofussed · 04/01/2019 12:37

@MeetOnTheledge do you use the turban one or a normal one from Aquis?

MeetOnTheledge · 04/01/2019 13:12

Normal, it's big enough and stretches as you tuck it in to make it tight. It does tend to ping off after a while but I only need to keep it on for 5 or 10 mins. It's fine for bra strap length hair, any longer and it might not contain it.

macnab · 04/01/2019 14:03

I'd love to try this but the whole 'wet/damp hair' look puts me right off. There's no way I could turn up for work with damp hair but I have so much hair it would take days for it to dry!

Also interested to know how people cope without combing after washing?! I suppose if I used enough conditioner I could get my fingers through all my hair while rinsing it out (is that allowed?) but I think I'd end up spending a small fortune on conditioner (and other products) so I'm really not sure if it's worth the hassle and expense, even though I think my hair would probably look good if it was properly curly and not frizzy Confused

Ollivander84 · 04/01/2019 14:30

@macnab I never brush or comb, I do comb with fingers before rinsing it out. I use cheap conditioner though

GVmama · 04/01/2019 14:42

This is the problem I have too. My hair takes all day to dry if it's in a cast, and I haven't got time in the morning for the using the hair dryer/ diffuser.
I've started towel drying, then wrapping in a microfiber turban for twenty mins to remove the majority of the water. Using this method it takes a few hours to dry rather than all day. Obviously it kills the curl but it's mostly frizz free which is still better than the old shampoo/ condition/ hair dryer method, so it's still a gain in my eyes.
For special nights out I do everything to enhance the curl and just hide out looking like a scarecrow until it's dry and I can scrunch it out!

sueshoes · 04/01/2019 14:46

You might also try a better hairdryer - apparently some of the newer ones take half the time. The Dyson is meant to be good, but expensive. Apparently Parlux are just as good. Still expensive, but less so. On my wishlist is a Parlux Alyon - maybe for my birthday!

Pashazade · 04/01/2019 16:13

Microfibre towel. I have two, one always comes with me when I go away. Just tip head into it and turban style wrap. I never rub my hair only squeeze dry. Occasionally goo and diffuser if I'm making an effort otherwise, Moroccan oil and air dry. The towel is great and really does do a good job of drying without any effort on your part.

SwedishEdith · 04/01/2019 16:19

I've given up on this. I hate being housebound with wet hair and unpredictable results. It 9/10 looks shit and even shitter the next day. When do people have time to do all of this?

Ollivander84 · 04/01/2019 16:50

I wash mine in the evening, put product in, diffuse and sleep on it crunchy. Next morning scrunch the crunchy out and that's it

happyasasandboy · 04/01/2019 16:52

SwedishEdith do you do anything instead? I do Curly Girl and hate the time it takes to dry my hair with unpredictable results, but if I don't do it I end up with a frizzy mess. Or I have to straighten it which takes 45 mins and I know I am damaging my hair.

Do you do anything instead of Curly Girl or does your hair look ok without doing anything special?

museumum · 04/01/2019 16:59

I shower first thing. Scrunch in some curl cream then wrap in a microfibre towel while I dress and breakfast. Then unwrap gently and diffuser very gently also to 90% dry.

Candolim97 · 04/01/2019 17:04

What microfibre towels do people use? I use a cheap one from amazon but my hair still takes forever to dry —and looks bad too—

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