Finally, use the styling product of your choice. Gels are good for strong hold and firm finishes,
while mousses give softer hold and volume, you can also use sprayable lotions and liquid gels to evenly distribute the product and
better control the amount applied. After application, comb through with fingers or wide-tooth comb and use your fingers to loosen the
curls and arrange them as desired. Allow the curls to air dry, and don’t touch them any more than necessary.
After the hair dries, if you have problems with poof or frizz, simply keep a small bottle of
the spray-on leave-in conditioner on hand. Mist the hair in the areas that are frizzing and scrunch it gently with your fingers.
4. I recently bought a conditioner that is for curly hair. It says that it's supposed to help create frizz free, shiny curls.
But I can't see the curls as much. Why is this?
A: It may be that the conditioner is weighing the hair down and pulling out the curl. You may want to keep using the conditioner, but
follow up by styling using a styling gel or mousse to give the hair some added hold and structure. Remember to evenly distribute the
product and use your fingers to lift and isolate individual curls so that they can dry together and create the definition you desire.
5. I don't ever brush my hair after it is dry because it turns into a big wall of giant, poofy wave. Just one wave! Why?
A: Well, as we discussed, your hair frizzes as a result of the roughing up of the cuticle layer. See the cuticle of the hair shaft is
made up of a series of overlapping scales, which are raised by rough treatment, and by some basic chemical reactions in hair services,
and even in response to prolonged exposure to heat and water. When the hair swells, the cuticle is raised, allowing the hair to more
easily absorb or release moisture. This explains the relationship between damage to the cuticle and dry hair. Smoothing balms, serums
and many conditioners contain ingredients to smooth the cuticle layer and help lock in moisture.
As for the poof, when the cuticle is raised it acts with other hairs similarly to Velcro, the scales
catch on another and make the hair puff. The loss of moisture also reduces the hairs ability to assume its natural shape – which in your
case is curl. The single wave effect comes because your hairs are holding each other at points which make them unable to resume
individual curling patterns. Or this is most likely what is happening.
6. My hair looks super dry after it dries and I rarely use irons or blow dryers, but I used to. What should I use to fix my
dry and possibly damaged hair? What can I do to make it look super shiny? Should I use a protein-rich shampoo or conditioner, or that
new renewing shampoo and conditioner? Thanks for listening to my complaints.
A: Well, following the guidelines I gave you above will help. The thing to remember is that achieving healthy hair is not a matter of
simply choosing a product. You have to develop good habits where your hair is concerned. The right products can then help you in your
goals. As for choosing a product, talk to friends whose hair is in healthy condition and ask them what they use. You get some ideas of
what works and how well it works, as well as being able to steer clear of products that are all hype.
Generally, for very curly hair types, you will want to make sure to use a shampoo and conditioner
that contains a good moisturizing agent. In addition, you can add a deep conditioning treatment to your hair care routine once a week until
you start seeing the results you are after. Plus, be sure to use a conditioner every day, even if it is only a leave-in conditioner and
you don’t have time to shampoo, condition and dry the hair daily.
