subject: Cleaning And Maintaining Curly Hair [print this page] Cleaning And Maintaining Curly Hair Cleaning And Maintaining Curly Hair
Curls tend to go in and out of fashion. If you have them, you usually hate them. But if you don't have them, you probably long for them. And both sets of people turn to hot things (straighteners and curling tongs) or chemical methods to undo what they were born with.
If you have curls, then learning how to live with them and make the most of them can take out a world of bother and angst from your life. The advice in this article has been adapted (by a curly-haired writer) from the excellent book Curly Girl: More Than Just Hair...It's an Attitude by hairdresser Lorraine Massey and writer Deborah Chiel. For more tips, styles and encouragement, read this book! It may sound cheesy, but it changed my life and my attitude towards my hair.
First of all, curly girls (and, I suppose, curly guys. My brothers have curly hair like mine; although guys do have the options of crew cuts and dreadlocks) should get rid of all shampoo, brushes and combs. Especially the shampoo: curly hair is drier than flat hair and shampoo really damages it. Would you wash a mohair or cashmere garment in harsh detergent? Neither should you do this for your hair, which is just as much a delicate and natural fibre. Like for many carpets made from natural fibre, carpet cleaning London for which steam is used is not suitable. For washing your hair, use plain water and conditioner. Lots of conditioner. Conditioner doesn't just wash your hair; it also acts as a moisturizer. Forget the advice on the label that tells you to rinse all conditioner out thoroughly. You can leave it in. Your curly hair will absorb the oils, etc. in the conditioner very readily.
To wash your hair in your morning shower, first let the water play over your scalp and hair, washing down your back like a hot rainfall. Then rub in conditioner on your scalp to wash it just a little bit. Massage your scalp to loosen dead skin and dirt. Then rinse. After that, slather your hair with more conditioner, making sure that every hair is coated. Your hair should feel like wet seaweed at this stage. Run your fingers through your hair, raking out tangles and fallen hairs. You will get a mat of old hair in your hands don't panic. Everyone sheds a few hundred or so hairs every day. Leave the conditioner in while you do the rest of what you do in the shower.
After your shower, lightly wrap your hair in a towel and squeeze it a few times to remove excess moisture. Unlike their straight-haired sisters, curly girls should not dry their hair before styling and brushing. Curly hair should be set when wet and it shouldn't be brushed, either! Use your fingers to style it, raking, scrunching and coiling. Use gel this will keep your curls in place for most of the day. However, you can get away without gel every once in a while, especially if you're having a casual "it doesn't' matter how I look" day. Scrunch and play with your hair and style it however you like Curly Girl: More Than Just Hair... It's an Attitude has some great ideas.
To dry your hair once you have styled it, don't use hot hairdryers. Air-drying is best, but you can use a hairdryer on a cools setting with a diffuser.
If you have no time for a shower, then just dampen it with water from a mister (or in the sink), scrunch it with some gel and let it dry.
African hair looks great with traditional braiding such as cornrows (this looks good on guys as well as girls). These styles have their own maintenance techniques and they work well.
