Life hacks for curly hair

In case you haven’t guessed, that girl is me if I don’t treat my hair right. But, I do have a few tricks up my sleeve to keep my curls manageable and looking good.

Treat and hydrate 

I think products are a bit trial and error, it depends on your curl type. Generally, going for shampoos that are SLS-free and hydrating is a good place to start. Curly hair is naturally dry so products should be ultra conditioning. Also treat your hair to those one-minute masks regularly and either a leave-in-conditioner or argan oil. I also occasionally use styling creams and I find that gel and cream formulations give me the best curls rather than a mousse. Again, personal preference you just need to have a play.

No brushes! 

Brushes just damage curly hair, and unless you want the frizzy untamed look (see the illustration) never take a brush to dry hair. My preference is a wide-tooth combs or fingers. I do have an exception to this rule though, and that’s the Wet Brush. Because it is designed for use on wet hair and you can only touch curly hair when it is wet, it works really well.

Squeeze, don’t rub 

Using either an old t-shirt or a microfibre towel, squeeze out the excess moisture from your hair. I actually tend to add product when it is still soaking wet, then use the towel to squeeze out the excess product and water. Regular towels tend to be a bit rough, especially if you are trying to avoid frizz, which is why rough-drying is a no, no.

Don’t touch! 

If you are going to let your hair dry naturally this is the most important rule. Once you have added product and scrunched, no more touching. Touching your hair in the drying process just increases the chance of frizz.

Diffuse 

Although I prefer to let my hair dry naturally, if I use heat I also use a diffuser. I tip my hair over and let the large sections sit in the diffuser for about a minute before moving onto the next section. By tipping your hair over you have the added benefit of adding volume, and letting the natural shape of the curls form.

Refresh 

You can use a leave-in hair conditioner to revive curls or a curling spray. It’s actually better to wash curly hair as little as possible because it is naturally dry.

Pineapple 

To keep curls still looking good after a nights sleep, you need to tie it into a very high, but loose ponytail. So you should end up looking like a pineapple. Admittedly, you do look a little silly, but the curls don’t get squashed and lose their shape and the morning routine is as simple as untying your hair and doing one of those slow-motion waves of the head.

Sleep on silk 

Well, this is just a bit of added luxury, but sleeping on silk will also help both your curls and skin.
Simple because they make your life a whole lot better!

First Utility very kindly drew the illustration for this post for me. They are running a social media campaign to find all the best life hacks, check it out on first-utility.com.