March 12, 2021
Curly hair comes in many forms, and this guide will enlighten you on everything you need to know to care for this type in the best way possible. From how to identify your curls, to how to wash and care for them, with this knowledge you’ll have gorgeous, bouncy curls in no time!
Curly hair, also known as type 3 hair, is one hair type. This can further be broken down into type 3A, 3B, and 3C hair, depending on how tight the curl pattern is. Curly hair is described as having either ‘O’ or corkscrew shaped curls. These curls can range anywhere from loose to as tight as a pencil diameter.
Wavy hair on the other hand has a slightly different curl pattern because it is typically in between straight and curly hair. This means the curls can appear looser and more tousled. Whereas coily hair differs again because the characteristics of this hair type means the curl pattern is a lot tighter together. Seeing the appearance as more of a ‘Z’ formation.
Once you’ve discovered that you have curly hair, it’s important to also find your hair porosity. Depending on whether you have high porosity, medium porosity, or low porosity, you will want to care for your curly hair in different ways.
Type 3A hair has large, loose curls that tend to be about an inch in width. Some areas tend to become flatter as the days go, especially the ones close to the nape of your neck. To preserve the texture as long as possible, it’s important to protect your curly hair when sleeping by using a bonnet or a silk pillowcase.
3B hair has a tighter corkscrew pattern that tends to be around the width of your little finger. Definition is key to enhance this curly hair pattern, so working with stronger hold styling products like gels can help keep your curls springy and bouncy for longer.
3C hair consists of very tight curls, about the size of a drinking straw. The curls are very dense which leads to 3C hair having generally lots of volume. It’s the driest curly hair type so it’s absolutely crucial to lock in moisture by deep conditioning regularly and using a leave-in before your styling products.
Curly hair tends to be quite dry, so it is key to make sure you are not stripping your hair too much of its natural oils. We recommend washing only 2-3 times per week with a gentle shampoo like our Core Strength Shampoo. If you feel like you need to wash more often than that, we recommend using our Curl Quenching Conditioning Wash instead, as the gentler nature of the co-wash will help maintain curly hair’s natural moisture. You should also introduce a clarifying shampoo like our Wash & Scrub Detox Pro-Biotic in your routine once every other week, to really purify the scalp from build-up. And don’t forget the conditioner! Moisture is super important for any curl type, so make sure you always use a conditioning product every time you wash your curly hair. When it comes to deep conditioning you should incorporate a treatment into your routine once a week. This will help maintain your hair’s shine, keeping it soft and healthy too.
Having the right techniques and products is essential for styling curly hair. Knowing how best to style your hair will make sure it’s always looking its best! We’ve put together our favourite ways for styling curly hair.
If you want to make sure your curls last until the next wash, it is very important to protect them when you sleep. To keep your curly hair from rubbing and pulling on your pillowcase, we recommend using a loose bonnet. Make sure to choose the bonnet size based on your hair length, as if you pick one that is too short the curls may shrink too much overnight and look very wonky in the morning.
Understanding your hair pattern can help to determine how often to wash your curly hair as well. This in turn will again help to protect the structure, leaving your locks shiny and healthy.
Curly hair is often very prone to frizz, so if you want to maintain your style until the next wash we recommend refreshing. You may not need to refresh every day, like wavy hair does, so you can just do it when needed based on how well your curls hold. Here are our top refreshing tips:
Curlsmith produces premium, gourmet hair care products to help nourish curly hair. Our wide range of products have a well crafted formula to help to lock in moisture and care for your curls. We only use clean ingredients in all of our ranges, whether that be our strength line, our scalp line or our moisture line. We also pledge to never test on animals. You will also notice we don’t use any Sulphates, Parabens or Silicones, meaning our products are gentle on all hair!
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