It’s been 2 years and 2 month since my last relaxer and this journey back to my curls has been a real interesting one!  I’ve learned quite a lot and went through a gazillion products to find out what works for me and what doesn’t.  One major thing I learned through all of it is everything is not for everyone.  You have to do what works for you and your unique head of hair.  With much trial and error I’ve finally found a routine that works and I can finally share it with you guys!

First, a little bit about my hair.  It has about three different textures going on (took me awhile to come to terms with that!) and overall my hair is fine. The back is thick and is the softest, feeling like a nice cotton ball.  The curls are super tight so the length is very misleading.  The crown area is the finest and the curls are very loose.  It frizzes the quickest so I always have to add extra product to hold it together.  The front and the sides are a mix between the two.  The curls can stay coily as long s I don’t pull it back too much. Otherwise it stretches out until it’s almost straight and looks crazy compared to the rest of my hair.  What I like the most about this part of my hair is I can go curly or go straight very easily, unlike the back which is very stubborn when it comes to straightening.

Okay, here’s my hair care breakdown:

1.  Washing/Conditioning:  I wash my hair with shampoo once a week.  Any more than that and it’s a dry mess!  My favorite shampoo is Shea Moisture’s Moisture Retention Shampoo.  The sulfate-free shampoo leaves my hair clean and soft without stripping it of it’s natural oils.  Mid week (or whenever my hair is looking kinda tired) I wash with conditioner only to refreshen them up and detangle my hair.  I only comb my hair with tons of conditioner in it, otherwise it’s breakage city!  My favorite conditioners are Aussie Moist and Hello Hydration from Herbal Essence.  Love that stuff!

My hair after it’s freshly washed with my styling products.

2.  Styling Products:  No matter how I style my hair I always follow these four steps.  After drying my hair with an old T-shirt (they are most gentler than a towel) I apply a leave in conditioner.  The one by Cantu is my favorite and I’ve been using it for over a year.  Then I follow up with a moisturizing product, Shea Moisture’s Curling Smoothie.  It’s heavy enough to keep my hair moisturized but light enough not to way my hair down, especially in the front.  To keep the moisture in, I go old school with Extra Virgin Olive Oil.  A lot of girls with natural hair love using shea butter but I found it was way to heavy for my hair.  Final step is applying Shea Moisture’s Curling Souffle, which acts like a hair gel to hold my curls in place while they dry.  And oh, after each step, I give my hair a little shake to keep my curls loose.

3.  My Go To Styles:  Out of the millions of styles I’ve tried over the years I’ve found three that work the best for my hair:

Wash and Go: After I finish applying my styling products, I just leave my hair alone and let it dry.  On the first day, my hair always looks the shortest, which I’m not crazy about but I deal.  Once it’s dry, I put my hair up in little ponytails and cover it with a satin cap overnight which helps stretch my curls and get my hair bigger, just like I like it!  I’ve been wearing this style a lot lately not only because it’s easy but my grows the best when I just leave it alone.

High Puff:  When my wash and go hair is starting to look a little tired or I want to switch things up, I slick my hair up using water and the Curling Souffle and tie it up with an old headband that I cut so I can tie it.  I sometimes add in a hair accessory to have some fun.

Two Side Twists:  This is my husband’s favorite hair style so I make sure I put this one in rotation a few times a year. After washing my hair and putting in my normal round of products, I part my hair down the middle and do two flat twists on each side.  Because my hair in the middle frizzes up so easy, I end up redoing the twists every two days to keep them looking neat.

Other popular natural hair styles like twists, twist out, braid out, etc. just don’t work on my hair.  Because my hair is so fine it looks very piecey and stringy and never looks right.  So I gave up on those and just goes with what works!

Is your hair naturally curly?  What is your hair care routine?