How to make curls look nicer

[WavyRavey]

I'm mixed race and have very big hair, i straightened it all my life and never embraced the curls til a few months ago

Some people have the super nice spiral curls but I don't, my hair grows up and out, it's huge and has quite a weird curl pattern, how do I make the curls themselves more defined?

I usually use a little cantu curls definer on the ends after getting them damp, not super into mousse as all mousse seems to make me crispy!

Recommendations for what shampoo and conditioner would be great too, right now I just use the extra volume Herbal Essences

Hair

That's my hair if it helps at all, I don't really know what texture/curl type it is as its not as super coily like most of my family, this is just after water and cantu

Do you shampoo every time you wash?
When I stopped shampooing and just wet and conditioned it massively changed my curls and frizz!
Previously it was just frizz and fluff but now I get defined ringlets.
I wet, condition, let it soak in, rinse out to remove any knots (I never brush my hair either as it pulls the curls out) and then scrunch a big dollop of conditioner in, then scrunch it into my hair with a towel, then let towel dry for a while.
Then I use some form of gel (I also rate the eco gel shown by first pp and it’s cheap!)
and slowly blow dry with my diffuser on the lowest heat and air setting

Sorry but you still need to get regular cuts, especially if you are growing out curly hair. The overall shape makes a huge difference to the way curls look. Otherwise it just looks like a fluffy mess. Not sure where you live but Dylan Bray is the king of curls in London - you couldn't find a better hairdresser for curls, in my opinion.

Oh I do, are you not supposed to? I get quite itchy scalp so I thought I did have to use shampoo, I'd be curious to not try it for a bit and see what happens! Do you not wash the conditioner out? I don't use a blow dryer or anything so don't have a diffuser

Oh okay thank you, I didn't want to lose any length as it's already fairly short so was hesitant about a cut

Sorry tried to include a photo of my hair but it says Mumsnet is checking it

I’m mixed too. Cantu is horrendous on my hair and Eco gel gives it’ a great curl pattern but leaves a horrible residue and makes my hair look dusty.

I’ve been using Boucleme creme gel (Bounce Curl Creme gel is also great but slightly pricier).

It’s more about method than product IMO though, so finding what works for you is key. For me, this is what works:

• I comb by hair through with the conditioner still in when I’m in the shower
• when I’m out I section my hair into four parts run a lot of the Boucleme through each section using the palm-to-palm method, scrunch the shit out of each section with the gel still on my hands and my head upside down (or leaning to one side if I don’t want the “big hair” look that day),
• scrunch again using an old tshirt to get rid of some of the excess water.
• Depending on how much time I have, I then air dry or dry using the diffuser but don’t touch my hair again until it’s completely dry.
• When it’s dry, I put a little oil on my hand (I haven’t quite found the perfect oil yet so I’m using ylang ylang at the moment simply because it smells nice), and then scrunch out the crunch.

It leaves me with curls that I would have envied 10 years ago!

First of all, go to a curl specialist who does curl by curl cuts. If you've been straightening your hair daily, there's likely to be heat damage which will need time and treatments to fix. My dd (mixed) has tried lots of products over the years. Her current faves are most things from amika, and boucleme. I've attached pics of her hair before and after. And cantu dried her hair out terribly. Eco gel not great either.

I’ve been using the Charlotte mensah manktti oil shampoo and conditioner, both seem to leave my curls really nicely with no faff. I’m mixed race and have struggled with how to look after my hair my whole life 😂 still
straighten it occasionally but mostly learning to embrace what nature gave me.

OP I have curly hair that frizzes and I would recommend any of the following brands:

Only Curls
Umbrrto Giannini
Curlsmith

I use Only Curls hair cream and gel and Umberto shampoo and conditioner (the Curly Coils one).

I shampoo, condition, use the hair cream, scrunch in hair gel, wrap in a microfibre towel, then either diffuse dry for a more compact curl or air dry for looser curls. Usually do all that twice a week.

In between I spray my hair with plain hot water and scrunch in hair oil (Only Curls).

I also sleep in a silk or satin bonnet (again, the one from Only Curls as it doesn't sit so tight).

Oh yes I forgot to mention the satin bonnet in my post! Definitely an important part. I also use a satin pillow case to prevent the bonnet from sliding around too much.

At the moment I'm using the bowl method for styling, and making and using flaxseed gel....it's all working out for me !

@WavyRavey your hair looks nice.
If you want more definition, when your hair is soaking wet apply a shit load of gel , scrunch it in , then do not touch it again whilst you diffuse or air dry, it will form a crunchy cast, you then scrunch that out when dry , with an old t shirt

This is very similar to what my hair looked like when I first stopped straightening it every day. Now it’s more like the second pic of @skippy67’s DD’s hair, albeit not as long or thick. But a similar curl pattern.

No heat, less shampoo, and curly-friendly products (avoid sulfates and parabens as they dry out your hair).

I haven't straightened it for a long time now thankfully, usually I would just brush it then put it back in a bandana, have stopped shampoo as of today and just used a clarifying rinse and then a hair mask for curls so hopefully won't look too bad!

If you want defined curls I would also recommend not brushing it when it's dry. Is that photo of you, or is it just for illustrative purposes? If it's you, you're very pretty!

Aw thank you that is me! My husband is obsessed with my curls but I've always been brainwashed that short hair is ugly so I'm finding it so difficult not to have a weave installed again 😂 I've given up all brushes and shampoo and it's bounced out so much today 😍

Short curls are gorgeous!

Mynaturalsistas on YouTube. Look for their earlier videos, so relaxing to watch too

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