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I remember the night I big chopped like yesterday, I had transitioned for 6 months and I was ready to get rid of my relaxed ends almost immediately once I decided it was time.
One of the things that drove my decision was the fact that I wanted to try all the different styles I was seeing on youtube and I really wanted to see how they worked on my hair. Little did I know it was not going to be as easy as I thought because I was not used to styling my natural hair nor did I know the best products that worked with the styles I was trying. I knew early on that I wanted to focus on figuring out how to enhance my curls and keep them healthy while experimenting with styles.
As we all embark on our natural hair journeys most of us tend to look for ways to define our curls and find that this is often a top priority. Defining your curls simply means using various methods to enhance your own curl pattern or using tools and techniques to manipulate your curls creating different looks for your natural hair.
Experimenting with just what your natural hair can do can be loads of fun because you quickly realize how versatile your hair is and just how creative you can get when changing your look from week to week. In this post, we want to take a comprehensive look at the different ways you can define your curls giving you the ultimate guide to all the ways you can manipulate your hair and change your hairstyle.
However, before we get into the techniques we want to give you a brief synopsis of the foundation to any style because once you nail down the foundation you can create any style you choose. Before you do any style here are the best practices you need to consider.
Always start off with freshly washed hair
The foundation to any style should always be a clean clear canvas because you will get the best results from your products when your hair is not weighed down by old product or build up. We always recommend that you shampoo or use a cleansing conditioner to clear your scalp and hair of debris for the very best style results.
Make sure your strands are hydrated
Moisturized hair molds better than dry brittle hair period. Whether it is a twenty-minute deep conditioning* session or just layering your product on your hair to keep the moisture sealed in you have to figure out what will keep your hair hydrated for the duration of the style. When your hair is properly moisturized your style will automatically look amazing.
Product selection
Everybody’s hair is different so when you choose your products you have to pick the best ones for your hair type and needs. If your hair is porous you want to focus on using products that have adequate amounts of protein to help your hair retain moisture. If you find that your hair is extraordinarily dry, pick products that have ingredients geared towards hydrating your curls.
If your hair is fine you want to avoid heavy products that weigh down the hair and that will eventually ruin any style you choose to do.
For coarser textures, your hair can handle heavier products so you have to figure the best combination that will hydrate your curls as well as define them significantly enough for you to avoid frizz.
Be patient
Styling your natural hair will take some practice because for many of us we are learning about out hair as we go especially for those of us who are used to styling relaxed hair.
If you are learning about defining your curls for the first time we encourage you to be patient and do not be afraid to try a technique a few times before giving up on it. You will find that practice makes perfect but you have to get through it with a ton of patience.