Tired of your hair not playing along? Hair typically falls into one of four categories; straight, wavy, curly, and kinky. Did you know that around 15% of the population has truly curly hair? In addition, more than 40% will have wavy hair that acts in many ways similar to curly hair. Simply put, any person with curly hair can relate to the challenges of finding the right way to care for it. To make it simple, let’s take a moment to go through 5 curly hair tips that actually work in helping you get your hair under control. Let’s begin!

1. Curl type & T-shirts

What type of hair do you have? Unsure? There are more than a dozen different types of curly hair. You want to figure out what kind of curly hair you have to know whether or not products will work or are specifically designed with your hair in mind. You can find a number of different quizzes online to determine exactly what kind of curl type you have. Regardless of your curl type, you may want to consider substituting out a towel after you wash your hair for a t-shirt instead. Drying with a t-shirt reduces the chances of frizzing up your hair. You will have to gently squeeze the water out prior to drying.

2. The importance of handling with care

In general, it can be easy to fracture curly hair if it is long enough to get caught in things like backpacks or purses. You can stop this and the frizz issues that result by making sure your hair is off your shoulders. Don’t wait to brush until you are out of the shower. Instead, take the opportunity while the water is running to brush out tangles and knots. You will want to do this after shampoo and before conditioner. Doing it now will reduce the damage done post conditioner. When you get to the drying point, be sure to keep your hands well away from your hair. Touching your hair will create frizz that is challenging to remove.

3. Bottom up approach

Curly hair can be easily damaged. There are ways you can work on shampoo and conditioner application that can reduce a lot of the damage we do without even knowing. For example, whenever you are washing your hair, shampooing, conditioning, or brushing, start from the bottom and work your way up. This will cause far less tension on your strands of hair and keep it in far better shape as a result. With that in mind, you may even want to consider removing the brush entirely and substituting it with a quality wide-toothed comb. While a brush will damage delicate curls, a wide-toothed comb will do far less damage and leave your hair in better shape.

4. Diffusers & seal

The drying process is another point where hair is open up to frizzing. You will want to take steps to ensure that damage is kept to a minimum. A great way to do that is to use a diffuser at the end of your hair dryer. The diffuser helps to separate the heat in such a way as to cause less stress damage on the strands of hair. Using a protective spray beforehand can keep heat damage to a minimum for even more coverage. When done, you can always use a seal (typically marketed as things like frizz control) to stop any future frizz from occuring. Typically only small amounts are required and you can find them for cheap at many drug stores.

5. Ingredients, ingredients, ingredients!

The last of our curly hair tips involves ingredients. There are things that work with frizzy hair and things that can make frizzy hair far worse. One of the worst things you can do to your curly hair is to use a shampoo or conditioner that has ingredients that will exacerbate your problem. A big issues is silicates. An issue for many people, silicates manage to cause problems in ways only really being appreciated now. Silicone and sulfate are two other ingredients you should also stay away from with curly hair products. Understand that there are no ‘miracle’ ingredients when it comes to curly hair management. Rather, it is up to you to stay away from these three ‘S’s and instead play around until you discover what works with your unique physiology and hair profile.

Where does that leave us?

Having curly hair doesn’t have to be a pain. Instead of giving up on it or straightening it, consider the curly hair tips listed above. Chances are that one of them may just provide the answer you are looking for.

What are your experiences dealing with curly hair? Do you have any tips you think other people could benefit from? Add your voice to the conversation today by posting a comment below. You may have the experience that will help so many other people and we want to hear about it.