Beauty and Style

How I manage my curly hair

March 2, 2015

How I manage my curly hair

As you can see from our picture, I’ve got very curly hair. When I was young, my mum used to brush it, which any curly-haired person will know is madness. It turned it into such a frizzy mess that she had to cut it really short in order to keep it under control, and there were more than a few questions from other kids wondering whether I was a boy or a girl. From there began a love-hate relationship with my hair that involved several dodgy hairstyles and hours of straightening.

Some of you reading this might think I’m a bit crazy/ungrateful, as people love to tell me how they’d kill to have curls like mine (yet another thing people with curly hair are tired of hearing). But! I am slowly coming to love the curls. After a lot of trial and error, I finally know how to keep them under control. So here are my five top tips for styling curly hair. To all you other curlies out there – you’re welcome.

5 tips for styling curly hair

1. Don’t brush it

You’d think this would be a no-brainer, but lots of people don’t realise you should never, ever brush curly hair. I only ever comb it carefully using a wide-toothed comb when I’m in the shower.

2. Ditch the heat

I’ve given up on straightening my hair because (a) it didn’t look very good, (b) it took ages, and (c) the faintest hint of wind or rain would see it curling right back up. Nowadays, I just  leave my hair to dry naturally – mostly out of laziness, but it does make it look better too (if I don’t touch it too much) and it means it’s in much better condition.

3. The miracle cream

This super-cheap Curl Creme from Boots is an absolute must-have for me and has been for about 10 years now. Having tried lots of other curl creams – both cheap and expensive – I can confidently tell you that this one is by far the best: it defines curls and tames frizz with no crispiness or residue. I recommend it to anyone I meet with even vaguely curly hair. I don’t use any other products on my hair except for a bit of serum if its looking particularly frizzy.

4. The right cut

I think this is different for all curlies, but my hair just looks better when it’s short; if it gets too long, it becomes big and unmanageable. It’s sad, as I’ve always dreamed of having really long hair, but it’s never gotten past the stage of being a huge frizzy mess, so I’ve given up trying. Make sure you get your hair cut by someone who knows curly hair, too, as this makes a real difference. I find I need lots of layers cut into it, otherwise my head looks like a mushroom.

5. Don’t wash it

Curly hair looks better when it’s a bit greasy; washing it too often can make it even more dry and frizzy (actually, straight hair can benefit from being washed less often too). I still rinse mine with water every day and apply curl cream, as it looks crazy when I wake up. I wash my hair about once a week (using Curly Wurly shampoo and Retread conditioner from Lush). I can’t recommend this hair mask enough either.

Anything I’m missing? I’d love to hear any tips from fellow curly-haired readers!

p.s. Why you should consider getting a fringe and what happened when Rose stopped washing her hair.

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4 Comments

  • withloveamieewolfe@gmail.con'
    Reply Amiee March 2, 2015 at 8:59 am

    So weird, I’m just about to upload a post about curly hair too! We have the exact same curl pattern so I know exactly what you mean girl! Written really well too and fun to read!

    Love your blog.

    withloveamiee.blogspot.com

    Xxx

    • Reply Rachel March 2, 2015 at 9:21 am

      Thanks Amiee! Will check out your post too, am always looking for tips from similar-haired people.

  • mum@honestmum.com'
    Reply HonestMum March 14, 2015 at 10:14 pm

    Love this, will get the curl creme, do you put it through wet hair? Thanks for linking up x

    • Reply Rachel March 15, 2015 at 8:53 pm

      Yep, I smooth a bit through damp hair.

    Leave a Reply to Rachel Cancel Reply