hi
I've got curly hair, but i recently found out that the way i was caring for my hair was wrong, and was wondering if anyone could help me.

I brush my hair with a wet brush, because otherwise it goes into a massive frizzy bush, but have been told that you shouldn't brush curly hair. As i don't know any one else with curly hair, i didn't know that you weren't supposed to and i'm wondering now if i know how to treat my hair at all.

If you don't brush it what do you do? Do you comb it? And is it ok to put water on it if i do comb it, otherwise it will go massively frizzy. Does anyone have any styling tips that aren't really expensive, and can be done in under an hour, before i have to go to school. Any tips and info anyone could give me would be a great help. Thanks

Hello and welcome.

I'll be glad to offer styling suggestions - I have coarse and curly hair almost down to my waist and have learned some tricks of the trade for caring for curly hair.

First of all, you were told correctly about not brushing curly hair. See, when you brush through curls you pull the curl out and rough up the hair cuticle. With the cuticle roughed up moisture easily gets into the hair shaft causing it to swell which is what causes frizz.

After shampooing (with a moisture based shampoo and conditioner) gently blot you hair with a towel. Never roughly dry it (roughs up the cuticle again). When you are getting ready to style hair you should never brush through your hair. If you are going to blow it straight or if you have a lot of tangles, then you use a wide toothed comb to comb through the hair.

Spray on a leave in conditioner and use a silicone based hair serum product. In the US we have products like Zero Frizz or Frizz Ease. The serum coats the hair and forms a protective barrier between the hair and humidity. It's the moisture in the air that causes your hair to frizz. When looking for a hair serum with silicone, look for ingredients such as Cytopentasiloxane or Cylomethicone.

For naturally curly hair I prefer natural verses blow drying straight. It takes too much effort to straighten hair not to mention that much heat is damaging. So after spraying in the conditioner and applying the hair serum, spray in a curl defining gel and use a blowdryer with a curl diffuser. A curl diffuser is an attachment for a blowdryer:



Aim your hair at the diffuser and "scrunch it" Scrunching is a term that refers to taking small handfuls of hair by the end and pushing it up toward the head, holding it in place for a few seconds as you aim the dryer at it. Once your entire head of hair is dry do not touch it! Don't brush it, don't comb it, don't run your fingers through it....anything you do can disrupt the curl.

Or course, the easiest and quickest way to care for curly hair is simply this...after shampooing it, blot it dry, spray on your conditioner and put the hair serum in it, then pull it back in a braided pony-tail. It's sleek and frizz proof! And then a day or so later when you take the braid out you have smooth waves.

Hope this helps and any more hair questions you have, feel free to ask me!

thanks so much! I was really unsure. We have frizz ease in the uk too. Thanks again for your help Oh, one more question, does this mean that i have to wash my hair everyday and do what you said, because i thought that washing your hair everyday was bad for it?

If you have dry hair, no, do not wash it every day. In fact curly hair does better if you don't wash it every day. Personally, once I've applied the styling products and scrunch it dry, the style holds for several days and in the morning I don't have to do anything except maybe apply a few drops of Zero Frizz to my palms, rub them together, and then lightly smooth over the surface of the hair. If your hair requires extra taming in the morning then you can spritz it more leave in conditioner and using your blow dryer with diffuser go over it again - scrunching it as you dry. Since the touchup is not on soaking wet hair you'll need less drying time, which means less heat to the hair and less damage.

Glad to hear you have Frizz Ease in the UK, tho personally that's my least favorite product to use. Zero Frizz is heavier and works better for my hair. My second choice is Garnier Fructis Intense Anti-Frizz Serum which you might also have in the UK.

thanks so much you've been a real help

I'm glad I could help