How to Care for Your Curly Hair

Oh, curly hair. Whether you love it or hate it, you're stuck with it. Sure, there are options such as thermal reconditioning, but those are expensive and hard to maintain. Learn to embrace your curls! This is easier said than done in a world where there are straight-haired women everywhere, but it's also easier when your hair is properly cared for. Healthy hair is beautiful hair.

1. Wash
There are several schools of thought on what is the best way to wash curly hair. Lorraine Massey, author of the book "Curly Girl", endorses an entirely shampoo-free method. How can you wash your hair without shampoo? Massey says all it takes is some vigorous scalp rubbing with conditioner. To use this method, the styling products and conditioner you choose must be free of silicones. These are coating ingredients that are difficult to remove without a harsh detergent. Some common silicones are dimethicone, amodimethicone, cyclomethicone, and the sneakiest one of all - cyclopentasiloxane. Silicones are often present in drugstore conditioners such as Herbal Essences and Pantene, as well as salon brands like Redken. There are silicone-free options, however: the Suave Naturals line of conditioner is cone-free, very cheap, and comes in a variety of delicious scents. Ouidad, another curly-hair guru known as the Queen of Curls, advocates using shampoo. However, she also says one should choose a shampoo with a gentler surfactant than the most common one, sodium lauryl sulfate. Ouidad does make her own line of products, but there may be cheaper options in the aisle of your local health-food store. Lines such as Nature's Gate, Aubrey Organics, and Burt's Bees make shampoos with surfactants like coco-betaine and sodium laureth sulfate, which won't strip and dry out your hair.

2. Condition
Curly hair is frizzy sometimes. This is a fact of life. Depending on your hair type, it may not be possible to eliminate frizz entirely, but you can reduce it greatly. One of the best ways to prevent frizz is to make sure your hair is hydrated by using a rich conditioner. Jessicurl is an online-based company started by a curly girl; it makes very rich conditioners for dry hair, and lighter ones for hair that tends to get weighed down easily. For a more accessible option, the Aussie line of hair-care products has just reformulated its conditioners without the heaviest of silicones. The silicones present in its Moist Conditioner for dry hair will be removed with the surfactants in health-food store shampoos. For people on an extreme budget, Suave Naturals can come to your rescue again. White Rain and VO5 also make cheap conditioners without silicones. When your conditioner is a dollar a bottle, you can afford to use a little more to make sure your hair is well moisturized. Really slather it on, and your hair will thank you for it. Also, no matter what cleansing method you're using, try not to wash your hair more than once every other day at most. Wetting it down excessively, especially if you have hard water, strips the natural oils and makes it frizzy.

3. Style
For many of us, frizz starts the moment we step out of the shower. You can prevent this by adjusting your methods of styling. When your hair is soaking wet, use a little bit of leave-in conditioner to seal the cuticle. This can be your regular conditioner, or a specific leave-in if you prefer. Then apply your styling product of choice - mousse or gel - in an upward scrunching motion. Wrap your hair gently in an old T-shirt - a towel will pull at it as your hair dries, causing frizz - for twenty to thirty minutes. At this point, you can choose to either diffuse - on low heat - until dry or let your hair air-dry. If you choose the latter, make sure to keep your hands out of it until it's completely dry. If your hair tends toward frizz, try a hard-hold gel. This doesn't have to give your hair the "wet" look if you don't want it to. Your hair will dry hard and crunchy, and look dark and wet. When this happens, flip your head over and scrunch your hair with the same upward motion you used to apply the gel in the first place. This should "scrunch out the crunch" and leave you with bouncy, beautiful, frizz-free curls.

The more you care for your hair, the more your curls will start to pop. Curls are unusual and eye-catching, and you'll be sure to get plenty of comments. Updos, buns, and even simple ponytails are really fantastic with natural curls. Another fun thing to do with your hair is to scent it lightly with a little bit of perfume oil. As your curls fly around, a little bit of scent will be released. Good luck and have fun!