I’m a curly head and my princess was lucky enough to get my curls, along with a red hair color. Curly heads can have good days and bad days all in the same hour. If it’s humid out you will have a frizz ball, if it’s wet you will get a frizz ball and if it’s too hot it can dry your hair out. Who knew that having natural curls can be such a pain to deal with to get the curls beautiful every day.
I found some easy ways to keep my curls beautiful day in and day out and thought it would be very helpful for some of you if I share my tips. Would love to hear if you have any other ones, too. Let’s stick together and get our natural girls beautiful again without a lot of work.
Curly Hair tips
1. Don’t wash your hair every day!! Curly hair needs the oil that gets washed away when you use water on your hair; the longer you go without washing your hair the more amazing your curls will look. Water will strip the hair of oils and will dry out the hair and your scalp. I usually only wash my hair once a week. I do use a dry shampoo in between if I feel I need to get a little more clean on. Aveeno has a wonderful Sulfate free dry shampoo that not only smells amazing, but also will cleanse your hair in-between washing times. The exclusive formula is infused with balancing ACTIVE NATURALS® Seaweed Extract to instantly revive hair for healthy manageability. The Aveeno dry shampoo formula is sulfate free and designed to remove excess oil and impurities to help boost volume. Great product if you need to freshen your hair a bit.
2. Don’t use regular towels to dry your hair! Ever! yes, do not use a regular towel, the fibers in the towel will frizz your hair and break up the curls. A much better way for curly heads to dry the hair is to use a t-shirt or a microfiber cloth and squeeze out the excess water. Do not rub, just squeeze. You will see if you follow just this step in a few days/weeks your curls will already look a lot different and a lot less frizzy!!
3. Only use Sulfate Free products! That’s a BIG must. It’s nowadays super easy to find Sulfate Free products, but for curly heads that’s a big MUST HAVE product. I use the Aveeno Sulfate Free Shampoo and Conditioner for my hair and love the way it cleans the hair and gives me the moisture that my very dry hair needs. Curly hair by nature is very dry and the more moisturizer you put in the more beautiful your curls will be. I only use the actual Aveeno Shampoo maybe once a month or every other month if I need to strip my hair of dirt, all the other times I only use the Conditioner to wash my hair. Remember, curly hair doesn’t like water but NEEDS the moister, so wash less and moisturize often. I love the smell of the Aveeno Pure renewal products and they are a MUST in my healthy curly routine.
4. Trim the ends often on your curls. I don’t get my hair cut, because I haven’t found anyone that won’t butcher my curls, but cutting curly hair is simple if you want to do it yourself. Just grab a curl and clip the ends, that’s it. You can’t really mess it up, no curl is ever the same length or density. The last time I had my hair cut was a good 10 years ago, and the lady decided curls weren’t that great to work with and she cut the top half of my hair and then left the bottom.. I looked awful and never went back. Ever since I trim myself and no one ever knows that I did it myself. But trimming the ends will give your curls new breathing room and make them grow faster.
5. Use a little gel to curl your beautiful curls. I don’t use a lot and a little gel will go a long way. After I wash my hair and add conditioner I put a little gel in my curls and let them air dry. It will take some time for the curls to completely dry, but do NOT touch the curls until they are completely dry. Once they are dry run your fingers through and your curls are done! The next few days all you need to do is grab a little conditioner in the morning (I actually use a small amount of the Aveeno pure renewal conditioner), run it through your curls and you are done. I only add the gel after I wash the hair and it will last all week till I was the hair again. Super easy and your hair looks beautiful even on a humid day.
Now you are on your way to a perfect curly head as well; simple and once you get used to the routine and the “not” washing during the week, you will quickly see your curls jumping into beautiful curls and you don’t have to worry about the weather and it really takes no time at all. I work at an office during the day 5 days a week and I still have to get the kids ready for the school bus before I head out, I don’t have time to spend hours with my hair. I really wake up, run the conditioner from Aveeno through my hair and within 15 minutes I’m out the door. It takes longer to brush my teeth then to fix my hair. It’s that simple. The key are great products that you can count on and will keep your hair looking beautiful.
If you are ready for a beautiful curly head or looking for Sulfate free products, I suggest checking out the Sulfate free line that Aveeno has to offer. I love Aveeno for my skin and the new hair care line is amazing for my curls now, too. You can get more information on the Aveeno website or follow on Facebook. Of course you can pick up your Aveeno Sulfate Free products at your local retailer like Walmart, Target and drugstores like CVS and Walgreens.
Would love to hear your Curly hair stories….
We received the product for our honest review; all opinions are 100% our own and no other compensation was nor will be received. Affiliated links may be included in the post.
Jennifer says
Great tips!!! I don’t have curly hair, really… more like a slight wave, but only in some spots. The sides of my hair are stick straight, and then the back has a kinky wave. So strange! Maybe these tips would help me get a good look out of it!!
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Carlee C. says
Thanks for the tips. I don’t have curly hair, but I do have a little wave that I like to emphasize from time to time. I like that it is a Sulfate free product.
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Susan says
these are some great tips, I will have to forward this to a friend with naturally curly hair thanks
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Beeb says
Lovely curls! I don’t have really curly hair – mine is more straight with a wave/frizz – but I like Aveeno’s shampoos.
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Pam says
I didn’t know that about the towels, Melanie. Thanks for sharing that!
Daisy says
I would LOVE to try these Aveeno products. I love their products. My husband’s hair is super curly, so he would love to try these.
Brett says
i was JUST talking about managing curly hair today with my friend- her younger daughter has wild and crazy curls which i adore but i’m sure are really hard to manage– especially since her little girl is just 7. i’m totally going to tell her about this aveeno line!
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Emma Brown says
I haven’t straightened my hair since March. My hair is so long now-about as long as it was when I was little. I love my curly hair, I’ve always embraced it and I think I look the most beautiful when my hair is natural. 🙂
Grace Hodgin says
I don’t have curly hair unless I perm it but am thinking about it so your tips are valuable for me. I would have never thought about not using a regular towel to dry my hair so appreciate that great tip as well.
Liz says
I totally agree with you about letting it air dry and not touching it while it dries. It makes a big difference, but it’s so hard to do on a daily basis. Your tips are excellent! I didn’t know about the sulfates. Thanks!~
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Stefani says
You are lucky you got curly hair. I used to pay to get mine curly, now I just use a curling iron which damages my hair. I didn’t know that Aveeno had shampoo and conditioner, I will have to keep my eye out for it.
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Kristyn says
i love aveeno products and love both of your curls!
Ashley - Embracing Beauty says
Great tips and lovely hair!
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Ned says
you have such lovely hair! I don’t have curly hair but my hair is super dry and frizzy! i still haven’t been able to find products that would tame my unruly mane!
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Janet W. says
These are all great tips! I have frizzy, curly hair, especially in this GA humidity. Great tips to tame the curls!
Sandy VanHoey says
My oldest daughter has the curls just like you do. They are beautiful and y’all are so fortunate. Great tips you gave and I need to be asking her how often she washes her hair.
Tina says
Thanks for the info! I’ve tried your routine and am seeing a wonderful change in my curly hair! What brand gel do you use? I’ve spent a fortune on hair products and really haven’t found any I love. Went to blow drying and using a straightener for several years. Just to much time and up keep. Would love to fall in love with my natural curls.
Melanie Roberts says
Hi Tina… thanks for writing back and I’m soo glad you are seeing a change.. it will get better by the day, really… Honestly the products I use are the cheap ones, I use White rain extra strong mouse (I can only find it at Publix and it’s like $2 or $3 a can, the can will last me month) and the gel is a tub I buy at walmart (in store and online) called Smooth ‘N Shine Polishing Curl Activator Gel with Aloe Vera it’s $3 for a big tub and that last me month as well.. these two products have worked wonders with the curls; I use the foam after the shower (not all teh time, if you see your hair get kind of worn out skip the mouse for a few weeks and only use conditioner and the curl activator, and if you see the same with the curl-activator after a few weeks skip it and only use the mouse… but I;ve been using these two for a few years now and never looked for anything else… Keep me posted on how it goes… Good luck
Tina says
Thanks so much and I’ll let you know how it works 🙂
Elena says
I don’t have curls, but I love Aveeno shampoo. It’s very gentle on my hair
Lesli says
I have just started using tips from the “Curly Girl Handbook” . I can’t quite make myself stop washing every day. I guess because it takes so much product to make my waves/curls come out. I do like the clipping method to keep the top from going flat. It really made a big difference in my hair. I just started wearing it curly again after 20 years of blow drying it straight with a round brush. I’m letting it grow some since it is short and love sulfate free shampoo and conditioners but need the alcohol in styling products in order to get the hold I want and keep it from going flat.
Melanie Roberts says
Wash it every day, till you get used to it, till your curls get used to it and then you will see the longer you will go without washing the better the curls will be… I do have to admit I have to wash my hair once a week at least with water, I can’t stand it longer, BUT do it on OFF days like the weekend if you don’t have to go to work and after a while you will see a difference that your curls on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th day look much better if you don’t wash them.. It’s a process and it won’t come over night but it will come, so take it one step at a time.. Glad you found your curls again and you will love them, and will be soooo easy… 🙂 Good luck and keep me posted, would love to hear the outcome