If you were just starting out embracing your curly / wavy hair

[NorthEastNancy]

What would you do?

I spent 30 minutes dragging my thick hair into submission with a hot brush and it's bushy and shit again already

What are your top tips? What do i need to buy? Help please!

Definitely invest in a decent cut.
A good stylist will teach you what to do to suit your hair type - lots of good curly stylists aren’t slaves to CGM, which I agree is bullshit.

Don't need to buy anything. Wash it, condition it, comb it with conditioner in. Towel dry it well. Comb it again when out of the shower while holding your hair upside down. Flick it back. Done.

Curly hair air dries perfectly. Never ever blow dry, never ever brush when dry

See that’s why it’s all so different, mine would look like utter shit if I did that
i never ever towel dry it or air dry!

While I wouldn't advocate the whole curly girl rigmarole, using silicone and sulphate free products has reduced my fizz and enhanced curl and shine, although curl hair doesn't shine much as it doesn't reflect the light. I would advise keeping it simple:

• get a dry curly cut
• use silicone and sulphate free products. I like Only Curls but there's a lot you can buy in Savers or Superdrug
• Put all products on soaking wet hair and then scrunch some moisture out in microfibre turban or normal t-shirt
• diffuse dry if it's too thick to have time to air dry
• sleep with it up in a high loose ponytail if long

Mine would be an insane ball of frizz with no product (and also, with too much product).

All curls are different, it's definite trial and error.

I am 2b/c
Wide tooth comb and conditioner (Cantu) in the shower. Never brush.
Design Elements Avocado and Almond Mousse.
Any cheap gel.
Scrunch with head upside down.
Gently absorb the wet out of the ends with a microfibre towel but don't disturb the curls.
Leave to dry and do not touch!
Or use a curl diffuser if it's freezing outside but touch as little as possible.
When dry, use finger to rake through the cast to loosen the curls a bit and give body at the roots
Next day - spritz with a curl reviver spray and add a tiny bit more gel.

I’d get basic silicone free shampoo and conditioner eg www.givemecosmetics.com/products/sulphate-silicone-free-shampoo-conditioner-bundle?variant=42372079550653&currency=GBP&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23028449488&gbraid=0AAAAACMpDUsT7-FIE1Sl6cZ_Ynh3Q7Len&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIkLv2uqrAlQMVNZhQBh3s2gB9EAQYAiABEgLoavD_BwE

and UG curl jelly

wash and condition brush through when soaking wet with conditioner in then rinse and add a dollop of the jelly. You can do it upside down or just make sure the roots aren’t too stuck to your head to create a bit of root volume. Scrunch your curls upwards to create curls and squish out any excess water. Leave hair and do not touch till completely dry (you can diffuse if necessary). If there’s any crispness, when hair is completely bone dry, flip your head upside down and scrunch it till it feels soft.

Never brush or comb wavy hair when dry!

Watch gena Marie - her videos really simplify things. The most recent ones are the best as methods and products evolve all the time. She uses shampoo/conditioner a heat protectant and a gel and gives advice about which is the right one for your hair. I have thick coarse hair but I realised that the heavy conditioners and cream I thought I needed were actually working against me. Things improved massively when I switched to lightweight formulas. The umberto Gianni Curl shampoo/cond/jgel (the pink ones) are a really good place to start - affordable and easily available. Good luck and I hope you enjoy your curls

Don't fight it!

1. Hairdresser who understands AND HAS AN INTEREST IN how curly hair grows/responds etc.
2. You don't need a microfiber towel. A t shirt does the job, especially if your hair tends to dry as soon as you stop wetting it. A microfiber towel soaks up a TON of water and you just have to wet the hair down again before applying product. So, waste of money IMO.

3.Products without silicones are good. Do a bit of research before buying stuff but be prepared for trial and error.

Mine is 3A when it's properly taken care of- more like 2C if not.

I've only recently started working with it to get the most out of it. For years I just plaited it to avoid dealing with it.

Things I've started doing:
-Using shampoo and conditioner designed for curly hair
-Immediately after washing, when it's still very wet, use a curl activator cream and scrunch (cantu has been the best for all 3 products so far)
-Once all the excess water is squeezed out, put it in a bonnet until fully dry.
-Scrunch out the crunch with a very small amount of jojoba oil.
-Sleep on a silk pillowcase.
-On the second/third day (or whenever the curls start to look frizzy) spray with water and add more curl activator cream, scrunch it in.

I've never washed my hair more than once a week as anymore than that frazzles it.

Only skimmed the thread so sorry if already mentioned, but main reason for avoiding silicones is that sulphate free shampoo won't always remove them so they can build up. Shampoo with sulphate can be very drying if used too much.

You might need clarifying shampoo from time to time if in hard water area.

Beyond that there are so many differentials. I'd advise:

Letting go of notions of so called perfection. Who decided totally smooth straight hair was the only hair to aspire to? And advertising images of "curly" hair often bear little resemblance to reality. Frizz is just curls that haven't found their clump. Befriend, don't fight!

Find out where your hair is on following spectrums: fine- course; non porous- porous; thin - dense.

Find out whether your hair likes moisturising conditioners , those with protein, or both! And which types of proteins will it absorb?

IMO all the above and a tonne of trial and error is what will get you to know your own hair. You can then google what products, styling and drying works for others with your hair characteristics. Personally I think curl type is a lot less relevant than all the above, although of course it heavily influences the overall look.

You're all brilliant and so knowledgeable!

I'm torn between splurging on Only Curls or going with the cheaper Cantu

I'm on holiday soon - my main motivation for embracing my hair as it's always horrendous in the heat.

I'll need to wash it every day as ill be in the pool etc.

Cantu is better, imo. Depends on your exact hair type I suppose!

This is a very informative thread! I would say I'm naturally wavy, rather than curly (wavier underneath more than on top), but have spent a lifetime drying it straight. It's a very fine/thin above-the0shoulder bob. In the summer, or on holiday, I would love an easy strategy for air-drying it curly/wavy, but I really don't have the time or energy for a multi-step process. I'm also fighting against my usual inclination to fiddle with and brush my hair, because at the moment all I see is mad-old-lady frizz if it's allowed to air dry. And I can't bear the thought of crunchy hair.

In short, I'm in my experimental phase. I know how I'd like it to look, but not sure if I can get there!

I bought this Umberto Giannini air-dry cream as an experiment. I used it once, but think I used too much, as my hair felt heavy and greasy, so I'm going to try again. Good suggestion to comb my conditioner through in the shower, because I'm sure I knocked half the curl out by combing it after towel drying. Will try a wide-toothed comb and a little more product (maybe oil?) on day two, and see if that perks it up....before I give up and reach for the straighteners.

I comb or wet brush mine as I rinse the conditioner out under the shower. Then I definitely do need a microfibre towel or teeshirt but only keep it on for a few minutes (long enough to put my contact lenses in and brush my teeth) before adding product (putting it on when sopping wet definitely not as good for mine, I tried it this morning after following this thread and it hasn't dried as well as it does when adding product after the towel).

Good technical cut is absolutely key. I find it’s otherwise v low maintenance. Wash every other day with curly girl approved conditioner and dry naturally. On inbetween days I get it damp in shower comb through and scrunch. Never comb when dry. Just smooth between my hands.

I have wavy hair and Cantu was a heavy for my hair and it went greasy quickly. Johnson's baby shampoo (I know!), with Christophe Robin conditioner and curl cream (yes, it costs a blooming fortune, it does last me months and months though). You do have to experiment a lot on what works for you, sadly it can get expensive.

Did you try the Cantu Weightless? So much better than the original.

this thread has been eye opening. I have wavy hair but quite fine and greasy so every time I’ve tried to embrace the curly girl thing my hair just goes tank because it can’t take all the different products as it’s too fine.

im going to give the lower maintenance approach that seems to work for a lot of you a go.

a question though, does this work if you try to do it just a few days a week? Or does the hair need to relax into it and get used to it if you know what I mean? I’m keen to keep my sleek straight hair for professional purposes during the week but would Iove to go wavy at the weekends

No, it's a few years since I tried Cantu!

Think I'm going to order the Cantu weightless for now. Mainly because I'll be using loads on holiday!

So I need shampoo, conditioner and what else would you say? 🥰

I sometimes see this heavily discounted on look fantastic.

I've got the type of thick, red, wavy hair that you could moore a boat with.

I've found that keeping it thinned and not get too long is really the best way to go. You'll never get magazinesq tresses because they're styled to hell and back.

Lots of curl cream advice, mine hates that.

I'm lazy, recently swapped to curly girl products, but for a long time.

Wash with faith in nature shampoo bars, condition with whatever conditioner claims to be be curl friendly is on offer in the supermarket. Only ever brush with conditioner in. Use a curl friendly gel (Umberto Gianni gel most of the time, Cantu custard when feeling flush) put it on when soaking wet. Let dry naturally, only wash every 3-4 days, but if its looking a bit of a mess I damp it down again and smooth out the curls using flat wet hands to smooth the curls back into submission. Seems to work.