I have a secret to reveal; I have naturally curly hair that I didn’t know how to take care of! We can get on an even more personal level I’m still learning how to take care of it. 

I like to pat myself on the back when I think about my hair journey I just the past long five months! Now I got lucky with the stay at home order ( I was chilling in sweats and messy, frizzy hair buns). Every reason presented itself of why I don’t need to straighten my hair, so I didn’t do it! 

All of this happened right after I received the New Dyson Hair Straightener (straight kick in the shins), and I stopped straightening my hair! If that’s not a sign, I don’t know what is, because I straightened my hair like clockwork every other day! 

I straightened my hair because it seemed easier to manage, but I felt like I would get better curls with a curling iron, and I just felt sexier with straight hair. 

I can go deep into my past where I’m sure contributed to the way I felt about my curly hair, but I’m all about moving forward : ) 

So where am I now, I’ve been rocking my curly hair exploring ways to fall in love with my curls again, and I fell like I’m on to something!

My journey wasn’t comfortable, and I still have ways to go, but I want to share that every curl seeking adventure is going to unique!

What works for one, may not work for you, that is the biggest lesson I’ve learned when it comes to my curly hair. 

I wanted to share the products I have found along the way that have transformed my love for my curls, and hopefully, you can pick up something useful while you’re here also! 

Pay Attention To Your Scalp When you have curly hair

I learned this lesson the hard way, and I’m learning to find the right balance as days go on. When I was researching curly hair, I kept reading throw out your shampoo, and you should only use this or that, and I became obsessed with using only curly hair-approved products. 

I started to shampoo less and started to pay attention to what I was adding to my hair. 

Here’s what happened When I followed That Advice 

There is a good, bad, and the ugly with everything when we make changes. 

The Good- My curls started to form again! I couldn’t believe my eyes when I looked in the mirror after showering. To this day, my curls are beginning to take a curl pattern I don’t even remember seeing when I was younger. 

The Bad- I was only using products that others said is best for curly hair. Remember when I said every curl adventure is going to be different? That couldn’t be more true!

When I started to use products with better ingredients and staying away from the bad stuff like sulfates, alcohol, and fragrances.

The fragrances were hard for me to look past because the scent is essential when it comes to enjoying your experience. I noticed I started to have an abundance of build-up on my scalp.

Which turned into irritation, and led to me scratching my scalp until it scabbed. 

So I started using the hair care line from Drunk Elephant. I didn’t know what to expect, which made this release more exciting! After receiving my products, I wrote about my first impressions. I will admit that I felt like I overpaid for the line. 

I pushed through and used the entire line, and I’m completely shocked by how my hair took to these products. 

Which brings me to my point, because one product works for one doesn’t mean it’s going to work for you! Instead, start to look for products without harmful ingredients (sulfate, alcohol, and fragrances) and see how your hair adjusts. 

Curly hair is better with fingers- toss out the brush

Another mind-blowing action I took was to toss my hairbrush to the side! At first, not brushing my hair was forced because I lost my brush during our move.

I was too lazy to buy another and I didnt feel like doing the research on what brush is best for curly hair.

After I stopped brushing my hair, my frizzy hair I knew all too well was slowly disappearing! I had more defined semi-decent looking curls!

Once these curls started to appear, I didn’t even want to reach for a wide-tooth comb. Instead, I used my fingers in the shower as a replacement. 

Everything has a downside, and I’m still not sure how to feel about this one. Since I stopped brushing my hair, I began noticing that I was losing my hair than usual. I’m not sure if I was losing hair, or if its the same amount.

Water is Your New Best Friend For curly hair

After wearing my hair straight for so long, water was the enemy! Anytime the air was humid, my hair would frizz up and begin to curl! With curly hair, I’ve learned its the exact opposite. 

To get the most defined curls stying your hair when your hair is wet! It can be tricky to get your products evenly distributed through your hair. But there are a few ways to get an even distribution! 

1. Raking your products through your curls. Raking is when you use your fingers as a rake to glide your products through your curls! I have found this is my least favorite way to distribute my products because I felt like I was tugging on my hair! 
2. Prayer hands is another technique to distribute your hair products. With prayer hands, you bring your hands in the prayer form. Use the palm of your hands to run the product through your hair! I love this method over the raking technique because I get more defined curls, and I experience less frizz. 

Diffuser 

When I decided to toss out my hair straighteners and give the curls a chance to shine, I noticed many have mixed opinions about diffusers. I also did because I was giving up one form of heat for another, and does that even make sense? 

The one thing that drove me crazy about my curly hair is the time it took to air dry. I didn’t know what it was going to look like after drying—diffusing eliminated all of the above concerns. So I purchased a new blow dryer and diffuser that every curly girl said was fantastic, the Dyson Supersonic Dryer! 

With Diffusing Came New Problems

After waiting impatiently for my new dryer to come in, I watched what felt like every YouTube video made about the Dyson Supersonic and curly hair. Everyone made it look so easy, so I was going to have bomb curls as soon as the dryer appeared. 

As soon as my Dyson showed up, I ran up the stairs and began preparing my hair for greatness! 

Here’s what happened: FRIZZ GALORE 

Can I tell you I was so pissed I was about to ship that shit right back and get my money back? 

Here’s what I did wrong

I was diffusing my hair on the highest airflow setting and using heat! The combination of high air and heat made my hair frizzy, stringy, and the exact opposite of what I was going for. 

Here’s What I Changed to Fix it 

I cranked the air setting to the lowest setting and used heat very sparingly.

Used my hair turban to soak up a lot of the water left in my hair, then diffused my hair until it was about 90% dry and let the rest air dry!

I had terrific results, and that was the moment I was waiting for it! I had bouncy hair, and my curls were happy and looked like they were singing the same song. 

Using the Right Products For Your Hair 

Remember earlier, I mentioned what works for one person’s curly hair is going to be different for everyone? Finding the right products for your curly hair is a must! I noticed with my curls, some products are so heavy and greasy that these products pull my curls down while working wonders for others. 

Now finding the right products can take time, patience, and money! However, there is a way around the money portion. Shop at TJ Max for your hair products! The products at TJ Maxx are a fraction of the price, but they also have a large variety of curly hair products! 

Shopping at TJ Maxx has made it easy for me to find products I like and dislike, and I’ve saved tons of money! For top-notch secrets on how to shop at TJ Maxx like a pro, you’ll find this post helpful! 

Wrap Your Hair At Night

I cannot tell you how many night experiments I had to do to find the perfect one.

I started using the pineapple plop (or whatever its called), and that is when you bring all of the curls to the top of your head and sleep.

Oh, I woke up with significant frizz, and my curls looked stringy, so I started to use a scarf. After using the scarf, my hair looked amazing the next day, but it would always slip off in the middle of the night. 

I made two significant changes

1. Purchased a silk pillowcase 
2. Combined a silk scarf with a bonnet 

After purchasing a silk pillowcase, not only did I see an improvement in my skin, my hair wrap was also able to stay on throughout the night! Silk pillowcases prevent tugging on your hair and skin, which is why they’ve become so popular. 

After purchasing a silk pillowcase, I began to use a bonnet on top of my scarf, which made the most significant difference. 

Here is the video I found helpful when trying to wrap my hair. 

Overall Thoughts 

I still have a long way to go with my hair, but I have gotten more defined curls quicker with these tips. I know this entire time I have been preaching, you have to find what works best for your hair, all you have to do is plug in your products within these tips, and you will experience more defined curls! 

If you have found this helpful, please let me know, and I will begin to share more about my curly hair adventures. 

If you have curly hair and don’t like to rock your curly hair, I speak to you when I say your curls are beautiful! Let them shine and embrace them; you can do this!