So, you have either had the Curl Clinic experience and you’d like to indulge in it for as long as possible at home. Or, you are yet to visit us and would like some guidance on how to care for your hair at home.
Whichever suits your situation best, in this post, we will be sharing 5 of our top tips for caring for your curls at home.
1. Don’t skip the shampoo
Times have changed since we had to scour the shelves, or the internet for shampoos that wouldn’t strip our curls and leave them feeling dry and brittle. Sulphate-free shampoos are more accessible than ever before, so this is what you should be reaching for first on hair wash day.
When choosing your shampoo, look out for “sodium laureth sulphate” on the ingredient list. You want to make sure that you cleanse your scalp well, and on a regular basis. As well as shampooing your strands to remove product build-up at dirt.
You’ll know that it’s time to shampoo your hair when your scalp feels dry or itchy. Your hair might also feel dry too. Your curls might feel weighed down. Or perhaps your products don’t seem to be as effective at refreshing them.
A good rule of thumb is to shampoo your hair once a week. So, if in doubt, start there and adapt as you need to.
2. Be sensible with your conditioner
There’s a reason why our conditioner always runs out faster than our shampoo! It’s because we feel like we need more of it to hydrate our curls and replenish the moisture lost after shampooing. In reality, it should be your shampoo that does the heavy lifting before you even get to the styling process.
You want to opt for a conditioner that your hair absorbs easily, rather than it simply sitting on your hair. You also want to avoid conditioners that a contain a lot of artificial fragrances or silicones. One of the most common silicones is “dimethicone” so watch out for it on your product label.
You’ll know that your conditioner is working well for you when you can see your curls spring to life with conditioner alone. If you need to, apply more water to your curls as you work it in. After all, water is the best source of hydration for your curls. So, let it do the hard work for you.
If it makes it easier, working in sections can help you to work through your hair systematically and can help to make conditioning much more manageable.
3. Style your curls to suit your lifestyle
When it comes to styling, a large part of it boils down to personal preference and how you like to embrace your curls. Do you like big, voluminous curls? Or do you prefer a more defined look? There’s no right or wrong – in fact, we encourage you to make your routine your own!
But where to start? There are some fundamentals when it comes to styling. You want to make sure that you work with your curls and not against them. That means finding a product combination that suits your curls and your lifestyle.
If you’re not sure where to start, we would recommend that you apply your water-based products first. This is what is going to give your curls the hydration that they need to maintain their bounce and their definition between styles.
You can work from ends to roots either with your hands or your favourite styling tool. Then, for a more defined look you can finish with a gel for extra hold.
4. Protect your curls
Your curl care routine doesn’t stop when you go to sleep. At night we toss and turn, and our curls can rub against our pillow. Our pillows can also draw moisture from our curls leaving the feeling dry or inviting frizz.
So, it’s important to protect your curls as much as possible. This can be as simple as switching to a silk or satin pillowcase. Or, if you typically tie your hair up at night, wearing a silk or satin bonnet and tying your hair with silk or satin scrunchies helps too.
The more you can protect your curls, the longer you’ll be able to enjoy your styles between washes. If you have longer hair this can also mean watching out for bag straps, seatbelts and clothing that can catch on your hair.
We could all do with watching out for headrests too, especially if you drive frequently. There’s no reason why you can’t pop your satin bonnet on your headrest if you need to.
5. Refreshing
So, you’ve styled your curls, and you’ve protected them the best you can but you need to refresh before your next wash? It doesn’t have to be difficult. Think of it like a mini version of your hair wash day.
You can mix your original styling products in a spray bottle with water and use this mixture to rehydrate your curls. Just mist is evenly throughout your hair and smooth or rake it through. Use sections if you need to and let it air dry.
You don’t have to refresh your curls between washes if you don’t feel like you need it. Some curls hold on to moisture better than others. So, this is definitely a prime example of how you should adapt your routine to suit your lifestyle.
If you work out more, or are more active, you might find that you need to refresh more often. Otherwise, you might be fine refreshing less, or not at all.
Now there we have it, 5 tips for you to try out if you are taking care of your curls at home. We hope that this helps you to feel more confident before your appointment with us and after.
If you are looking for products to get you started, we use the Deva Curl, Organigrow and Boucleme ranges in the salon. These are products that we’ve worked with for years, and we have only been able to do that because they use quality ingredients that deliver great results.
We would also recommend products over at ODYSSEY BOX, particularly for kinky and coily textures, as they too pride themselves on the quality of the products that they stock. As well as helping you to find the products that you need to really enjoy your curls.