6. No touching your hair after products are applied
Leave your style alone! No combing, no touching, nothing; just let that bad boy dry.
7. Use high quality products
Now that does not always mean the price is high on these products. Some cheap products are rich, and some high priced products are no good. That is up to you to experiment with. Using cheaply made products will only leave your curls parched and dry hours later.
8. Allow your hair to air dry
If you can, you should allow it to dry without heat. The less heat you feed into your hair, the more moisture it will hold. No blow drying it or diffusing it. This can help maintain healthy frizz free curls.
9. Try to avoid oils*
Oil-based products are not the answer to well-defined curls. Products which are not oil-based will give you some really good results, and won’t weigh your hair down.
10. Cut your hair, MAYBE?
If you notice your curls are no longer forming, then it may be time for a trim or cut. Healthy hair is growing hair. Revive those curls with a great cut. Don’t be scared. The older the ends of your hair get, the less defined the curls may become, so get your scissors if they start to look limp.
11. Roller sets?
Okay, this is a more tedious process, of course. Do a set of rollers, curlformers*, flexi rods*, perm rods* – you get it. These come in all different sizes, and you can just about get any shape and definition you want. After allowing the set to air dry, remove the rollers carefully. Separate the curls, however the curls naturally decide to separate. Use the pineapple method to reserve the curls. PS: this is great for those who are transitioning into natural hair.
12. Try the shingle method
This is simply applying product, curl by curl. Remember to work in sections. The shingle method is literally taking it strand by strand and saturating it with product. You can even twirl the strand around your finger a few times, and after the curls are defined, leave it alone, and do not touch. This is a very popular way to ensure that each curl is heavily defined with attention on each strand (curl). This method is, of course, done on wet hair, and is more effective if done with a really great quality gel.
What about you? Do you have any particular ways you define your curls? Let’s hear it!
Tabatha says
I’m still trying to find the right fit to define my curls. I am trying to define and get a touch of shake movement. I’ll do my hair and then my hair shrinks up and if I try to shake it there is no movement what so ever. lol I’ve even done the maximum hydration stuff and it just likes to shrink up and be stiff.
monniej says
this is it! when i first saw the title i thought it might be the beginning of another “what is natural debate”, but the article is so on point! i actually do 9 of the 12 ways posted and my hair and I are totally in love! great article! thank you so much for this! (y)
Kimberly says
What products do you recommend that are not oil based? I think every product I own has oils in it.
Kim jones says
I don’t do the pineapple method to maintain my twists. I find that leaving the twists out even in the pineapple method drys out my hair. I take sections and make large twists, and throw a silk cap on, in the morning I unravel the large twists. All my small twist outs have been preserved, and are very soft and moisturized, even though I didn’t apply and water, oil or product. They fall right back in place. Watch the YouTube video from GabeBabeTV called maintaining a twist out. It’s awesome.
Brenda Baltazar says
fantastic