How to have nice curls

[MargotBamborough]

I'm currently on maternity leave and wondering whether now is the time to try and embrace my natural curls.

I did the curly girl method for a few years but it didn't really work for me, because my curls never lasted more than a day and they only really looked good if I let my hair dry completely naturally. It worked OK when I was a student and only had classes in the afternoons, but it doesn't work now I need to be in the office by 9:30 looking well groomed and professional.

At the moment I use a Revlon One Step to style my hair a couple of days a week and I can get almost salon-like results.

But I have just had a daughter who will almost certainly have curly hair (my husband and I both have curly hair) and I'm wondering whether I should try to embrace my natural curl so I can teach her to embrace hers too when the time comes.

Any tips?

Plop your hair in a tshirt overnight.

And get TikTok if you don’t already. It’s not just an app for kids, I’ve learnt so much from it for makeup, hair and even PowerPoint presentations.

I tried plopping, not overnight but just for half an hour or so, and it made my hair such an odd shape. I could never get the hang of it. I looked like I'd been dragged through a hedge backwards.

Hi op, I’m trying to embrace my curls too as the straightening every day is killing my hair. I bought the starter kit of products from ‘Only curls’ and read all of their tips and the results were quite good! I need to use quite a lot of the curl gel as I have a ton of hair but it doesn’t make my hair crisp or crunchy at all.
I had a few questions about how best to use the products so I emailed their customer services and they replied within hours. They have also offered to send me some samples of another couple of their products.
Have a look at their website or insta page. Even if you don’t buy the products there are lots of good tips.

I never got on with the plopping in its original form. I don't rinse out all the conditioner from my hair, then add a generous blob of cheapo hair gel and scrunch through fairly wet hair. Use a towelling turban for a few minutes, change it to absorb more water, then allow it to air dry but using clips to add body on top where I want it. It takes a while, but i can do it the previous evening, then allow some water in the shower on it, then just gussy it up, maybe a shake upsise down in the morning. Honestly, the cheapo Savers bog standard gel combined with the residual conditioner is as good as anything I've used. Allows the curls to go into a 'cast' and defines them. Works much better than the torturing my hair straight that I was doing a few years ago.

Watch Trinny Woodall on Insta. She's currently on the same hair journey.

I second Only Curls. On the same journey - just started using their products and can highly recommend

Can you let your hair dry naturally?

I can't unfortunately, no. I can only ever get my curls to look OK on a wash day, and it would take at least three hours for my hair to dry naturally. I'm not getting up at 5am just so my hair will be dry by the time I get to the office. That's why I've resorted to blow drying it. (That and the fact that I can wash it every 2-3 days instead of every day.)

What do you do overnight? This is key for me as mine only last a day if I just sleep on my hair. When my hair was longer I used to do a loose pineapple bun type thing right on the very top of my head with a scrunchie. It's too short for that now but I pineapple the top half then put on a silk bonnet. Looks great in the morning once it's down and settled. It works particularly well if I use a decent mousse when my hair is wet. I scrunch it out with a curl creme once it's dry so it's not crispy though!

Am a curly girl. I wash with conditioner (Aldi one with protein ) then rinse and add some more as a leave in . I then use Boots curl cream on soaking wet hair and brush through . I plop with a t shirt and then diffuse until 80% dry. Every wash is different with curly hair . What works for mine ( have spent a lot of money on only curls and other products ) may not for you . Mine really doesn’t like coconut so I don’t use anything with that in. Learn what curl pattern you are and what porosity your hair is . Lots and lots on Facebook, YouTube, internet etc but a lot of sites want you to buy their products. Start cheap !

And lastly (sorry an essay ) get a satin / silk pillowcase to protect your curls at night and stick it up in a soft hair crunchy in a pineapple. You might have to refresh every few days ( I do mine about every 3 just wet and add some more curl cream )

good luck !

I have the same issue with curls looking great when freshly washed and dried but looking really shit on day 2.

I gave up and went back to straightening it again. Had about 20 minutes every 3 weeks where it looked passable!

DD12 has long curly hair. We've been learning together what works best for her hair.

Our routine is to use shampoo at the scalp but just conditioner for the rest of her hair. Cantu leave in conditioner really works well for her. We put it on wet hair and leave it to dry naturally. It has been taking an age to dry but she's just had a hairdresser do a cut that just thinned out the thickness of her hair without taking off any length. I'm hoping that's going to reduce the drying time. It already looks even curlier without a wash now that it's lighter.

I have exactly the same issue. I have given up really. On days I have time I use imbue curl crème and let it dry naturally and on days I don’t I straighten the fuck out of it. There’s no happy medium… ! (Tried almost every curly method / product there is).

I'm still learning how to best do my natural curls , mainly how much product to apply, I have a silk bonnet to sleep in which seems to help.

Hi I embraced my curls in lockdown, the first month or two were hit and miss sometimes looked like a birds nest, CG method wasn’t for me - I just shampoo and condition and then use boots curl creme and scrunch then leave to air dry or diffuse, use a micro fibre towel or old t shirt - satin or silk pillowcase and silk/satin scrunchie if up in a ponytail - cantu wave whip is also nice and I use a blob of conditioner mixed in a spray bottle to refresh the next day if needs be

I have mostly always been curly but grew out the grey about 7/8 years ago, which kind of meant relearning my curls (they dye affects the cuticle and curl)

I followed the CGM religiously back then - or tried to and have learnt several things over the year (a lot of trial and error).

1. Different products work for different hair types and routines. So the holy grail for someone with dyed, thick hair will be utter shite for someone with undyed fine hair. I have fine hair - too much shea/buttery stuff makes it lank. Coconut makes it flash dry.
2. I (not scientifically, more gut feel) worked out from an "official CGM" FB group, the most frequently used (and never hated/"it turned my hair into a frizz ball" reviews) were Faith in Nature conditioners and Umberto Giannia Curl Jelly. I started with them. Mid range pricewise and easily available. I got to grips with the whole thing using these (a mix of rose conditioner for conditioning and dragon fruit for co-washing). Otherwise it got very expensive buying new products which cost £££ and made my hair look shite. Once I got the balance of everything right with the FIN and UG Jelly, I could then start switching the products a bit. Hasn't changed much...apart from using 2 gels now...Ecco gel (cheap as chips) as is a bit firmer hold so keeps 2nd/3rd day curls going a bit better, followed by a glaze of the UG Jelly (add a nice shine).
3. Pure CGM did not work completely. I have fine hair - and at least every 7-10 days needs a shampoo wash - I use the FIN rose shampoo
4. To get the bliss of 2/3rd day curls I did need a few months of getting my hair into good condition. Then, pineappling (loose high pony tail over night) plus silk pillowslip work. I do have a bit of morning frizz, but I use watery conditioner skimmed/praying hands over my hair to get rid of that.
5. I would say in some ways technique is just as, if not more, important than how you apply products/how wet your hair is when you apply products/what you do afterwards/if you plop or not (I don't...gives me weird kinks and bends) I add gel when v wet, use (forbidden by the CGM) a brush to brush the product through and sometimes to style - either ribbon curling or just creating big ringlets which I then shake and gently crunch to disperse into thinner ringlets. As above, I do not plop, but do use a microfibe towel to squish the wet curls up to my scalp to help the curl form and get rid of excess water. It does remove some product as well but meh....
6. Again, technique. If it is is not quite working, unless your hair is clearly hating the product (weighs it down/flash dries) then try a change of technique before you buy yet another product. Pic from something I did for another thread attached
7. Cut is important. I need length to get ringlets...but fuck curly hair takes an age to grow. If you are never going to wear it straight, consider a dry cut. Ask you hair dresser not to razor the ends to thin it out - as this equals frizz
8. Get stuck into a few Youtube videos. I like manesbymel and some Irish lady (Caitlin something) if you are not sure on techniques.

It is worth it as far as I am concerned as I only have to wash my hair twice a week. Cut only needed twice a year.

It will never be perfect. There will always be a bit of frizz. Photos never look great as part of the joy of curly hair is the movement/bounce...and any hair, lets be honest...

What I struggle with is that my curls don’t start from the root so after a few hours the top of my head is fluffy and flyaway. I can’t brush it so I just have a fluffy crown🤷🏻‍♀️ I was feeling pretty good about my curly journey but I’ve just washed my hair this afternoon as I’m going out tonight and it looks awful! Think I got over excited and used too much product! So envious of people with silky smooth hair.

You can probably encourage more curl at the root. After adding the gel (on wet hair) gently cup the end of the curl and push it into your scalp with a bit of a squish. Try not to disturb it too much whilst doing so.

Mine (pics above) isn't perfect, but if I didn't do this, the curl would start several inches lower.

Also, are you putting product on the roots or just the ends? Maybe you need to add some gel/mousse to the roots as well (watered down if need be) so that helps seal in the moisture and prevent the frizz.

Can you brush/comb it when wet to defrizz the crown before it dries?

Is it frizzy when wet? Or just when it dries? I had my hair cut by a local stylist who was trained by Lorraine Massey (CGM author) and she said to remember, wet frizz will always be dry frizz - so try and fix the wet frizz when it is wet.

Also, for this evening....a light glaze (water + conditioner rubbed/emulsified in your hands) skimmed over your crown may help?

It's a lot of trial and error. If you're getting good curls on wash day, you probably need to wear a silk bonnet to sleep in. I like the ones with a broad soft elastic headband thing because it doubles as a blindfold. I have a chin length curly bob and an undercut because there's a lot of it, so I get away with just tipping my head upside down, gathering the curls into a twist and sliding on the bonnet. If you have longer hair you'd probably need a scrunchy or something.

My routine in case you want to try different options:
Wash upside down (head tilted forward and hair hanging over face) with whatever shampoo and tesco coconut conditioner, detangling with a wide tooth comb once the conditioner has sat for a few minutes.
Squish out a bit of excess water and rake through some curl cream, I like cantu or The Curl Company, both at boots.
Still upside down, use a denman brush at an angle to clump the curls together (check youtube for a demonstration of different brush styling techniques to see what works for you)
Get out the shower and squish a bit with an old tshirt, still upside down.
Plop in a plastic bag (I just tie up the handles of a carrier bag but you could use a shower cap) so that it's close against your head while you get dry. No longer than 10 minutes or you'll risk a fungal issue.
Smooth over some firm hold gel, just whatever is cheapest and strongest at the time, mixed in your hands with a little water.
Use finger curling to define two little face framing pieces.
Plop into a microfibre towel and leave it to dry out for a bit then air dry (or diffuser dry to save time).

It sounds like a palaver but it's okay when you get used to it and I only do it once a week. I sometimes "refresh" any wonky curls with a bit of gel after I've steamed it in the shower, but more often I get lazy and tie it up after day 3 or 4.

This is my hair. I discovered those satin sleep bonnets last year and it’s been life changing - if I sleep with one my hair looks great on day two too! I have to have my (very long) hair loose under the bonnet though.

CG didn’t do anything for me.

getting a good cut for your curls is key.

If you suffer from frizz I would try hair Botox - really just a long lasting deep conditioning treatment your hairdresser does.

For my shortish very fine hair then:

good conditioner and shampoo - I like bumble and bumble invisible oil

The right styling products, for me it’s half styling crème (bumble and bumble’s original) followed by half volumising mousse.

leave to dry naturally. It’s good for 2 days but will frizz up on the third, so I’d have to dampen and restyle if I wanted to make it last.

If you need to was it the night before because it’s thick, try a hair bonnet and/or a satin pillow once you’ve dried it.

@ChopOrNot Thanks so much for taking the time to reply. I took your tip and glazed over the crown and it helped dampen the fluffy frizz a bit. I’ll try your other tips when I wash it again tomorrow. Your hair looks amazing by the way.

My curls look lovely around my face but the rest of my head looks like a birds nest😩. I don’t know if it’s just because my hair is damaged with the years of straightening but I don’t know if I can go to work next week with this birds nest hair!

Where are you all buying your satin bonnets? I'm seeing loads on Amazon but how to choose?!