Whoever said managing a head full of kinky curly hair was easy has never tried to detangle, wash, or, live with curly hair. The phrase 'the struggle is real' was probably coined by someone in the middle of a 24-hour shampoo-deep condition-detangle session and had just cracked their third comb.
broke my brush this morning, then broke my fav comb ten mins later. its like my curly hair knew something was attacking it.
— wet egg (@blxcksheep) August 10, 2017
It's safe to say that curl maintenance probably isn't the most fun thing on your to-do list. As a nod to the struggle, we've created this how-to guide in the hopes of simplifying your regimen. If you want to know how to take care of kinky curly hair and how you can effectively maintain kinky curly hair, keep reading. Whether you have a curly weave or your rocking your natural coils, the process for keeping your curls looking fresh is equally as important, and, luckily for you, more or less the same. Those bouncy, supple curls you'll achieve after all the plopping, pineappling, and plunking makes it all worth it.
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Remember that person you've called your significant other for the past few years? They're there for you when you need them, always have your back, and makes you feel like your true, authentic self? Dump them. They aren't worth it. Grab your moisturizer, and squeeze it tight (but not too tight because you might squeeze some product on the floor) because it's all you need in this life of sin. Curly hair needs moisture--lots of it. Among all the hair textures, the 3b-4c side of the hair spectrum is without a doubt the most high maintenance and the quickest to dry out. Moisturizing regularly will help combat that.
At least once a day, grab your favorite hair moisturizer and thoroughly saturate your strands. Make sure you massage it in enough so the moisturizer penetrates your hair. Now that you've just spent precious minutes of your valuable time moisturizing, you don't want that time to go to waste, right? You need to lock in that moisture so it fully penetrates and keeps working overtime without your hair sucking it all up like the moisture-monster it is. Take an oil, preferably coconut or extra virgin olive, and apply it on top after you've moisturized. This is called sealing your hair. Sealing your hair retains moisture, and you can banish the days of dried up curls for good.
Using shampoo to clean your strands can not only strip your hair of the essential oils it needs, but those sulfates though? Keeping the sulfates away keeps the (hair) doctor away. Sulfates are essentially chemical irritants that act as foaming agents. Foaming increases skin and hair irritation, hair breakage, and increases tangling, which is the exact opposite of what you want for your kinky curly hair. Be especially wary of sodium lauryl sulfate and sodium laureth sulfate, which are the most common in personal care products.
The safest bet for your curls? Co-washing. Replace your shampoo with a moisturizing conditioner, which essentially removes the 'stripping your hair of essential oils' aspect. Although a co-wash is perfectly OK to do daily, it doesn't totally replace shampoo. Your hair still needs a full-bodied clean every once in awhile, 'Co-washing is not a replacement! It's a purposeful measure taken when needed, not as the only means of care. I often give the example of running through the mud and putting baby oil on top and calling yourself clean. Sometimes it's just not enough,' says Mayvenn stylist Iyana Holman.
When securing your hair at night, get very familiar with the pineapple. No, we aren't talking about fruit, or the house Spongebob lives in under the sea. To pineapple your hair, secure your hair at the top of your head in a loose ponytail. Let your hair flop over and do it's thing. Then, put a silk bonnet over your hair, or loosely wrap it with a silk scarf. The next day, instead of being a matted, tangled mess, your curls will be preserved and you'll cut down on your styling time. Spritz with a light oil, a styling product, or water, and you're good to go.
Curls and combs aren't friends. They're mortal combat enemies and are best left far away from each other. If your hair tangles, use your fingers instead to gently separate the knot. A product made specifically to help with tangles, like Kinky Curly's Knot Today or Devacomb's No-Comb Detangling Hair Spray, will be your shield against knots.
With a great regimen comes great reward -- beautiful curls!
