Sometimes, it seems that however well we treat our curls, they end up lying limp and flat a mere day or two after washing them. Even worse is the dreaded dry frizz that plagues curls when they are exposed to any kind of humidity. I love my curls, but the minute I brush them, they spring up into a brittle, unattractive mass of blonde around my head that can only be softened by washing them.
Luckily, I believe that I have finally found some reliable methods as to how to restore curly hair so that my ‘good’ hair days will last more than a single day!
. My curls are a big part of my identity, and I totally get how important hair can be in making you feel good about yourself. I hope that some of these extensively, personally researched suggestions will help to restore your curls to their beautiful, bouncy amazingness!
Here are my top 5 tips:
1. Spraying water
This may seem like a bit of an obvious choice, but it works!
I would recommend spraying both the top, sides, back and undersides of the hair (by holding the hair up) with water, then scrunching the hair gently with either hands or an old clean t-shirt so some of the dampness is squeezed off.
You can then leave your hair to air dry into bouncy, soft curls, OR you can move onto the next tip:
2. Use creams and serums on damp hair
After scrunching damp hair for about 20 seconds, grab the Styleformers® Define Defining Cream and the Styleformers® Hold Extra Hold Styling Cream. Mix 1 pump of each product together in your hands, then continue scrunching all areas of your hair until you no longer have any product left on your hands. Let your hair air-dry, and voila! This method has been a complete restorative lifesaver for my dry and frizzy curls!
3. Use a heatless styling kit
I don’t know about you, but my hair HATES it whenever I use any form of heat-treatment. I will feel the wrath of curlers or straighteners in my locks for days after styling them. However, I often find that velcro-based heatless rolls are difficult to remove and can cause hair damage, and that foam curlers leave strange lumps and kinks in my hair from the clips that hold them in place. The only heatless styling kits that I would personally recommend are those made by HairFlair, and I especially love the Curlformers® Corkscrew Curls Styling Kit. If you have an hour or so in which to style your hair, these little Curlformers® are ideal to create beautifully formed curls that are easy to style and will stay bouncy and full even after brushing them out!
First, dampen your hair a bit with a water spray, then for best results gently brush through a few pumps of some kind of serum, oil, or leave-in conditioner. The products to restore curly hair that I recommend are the Styleformers® Nourish Replenishing Serum and the Styleformers® Hold Extra Hold Styling Cream, both which yield AMAZING curls!
After brushing the products evenly throughout your hair, split your hair into big pieces (you can use either the pointed end of a comb or the Curlformer® hook for this), and apply your Curlformers®. For a more natural look, I like to distribute the Curlformers® randomly over my head, sometimes missing out small sections of hair so that when I brush my hair through afterwards I am left with curls and waves. When I want a full head of crazy curls, I evenly place the Curlformers® in one direction either side of my head.
After about half an hour (or however long your hair normally takes to dry from being slightly damp), remove the Curlformers® by just pinching the top seal of each one. After this step, I tend to just rub one pump of Styleformers® Hold Extra Hold Styling Cream in my palms and rake my fingers through the curls to loosen them slightly.
And you’re done! These completely restored curls will last for ages after the treatment – I love how they look after sleeping on them for a night, as my hair looks so tousled and romantic the next day!
4. Introduce natural oils into your hair care routine
I only started doing this a few months ago, but ever since I began introducing oils to my curls, they’ve been staying wonderfully soft and bouncy for longer after each wash.
One to two days after washing, mix together a teaspoon of olive oil with a few drops of tea-tree oil, lavender oil, and rosemary oil. Spray your hair with a tiny bit of water to make it very slightly damp, then warm the oil blend between your palms. Proceed to scrunch your hair with your oily hands, going all the way up to the scalp. Leave hair to air dry.
Though this technique will leave wetter-looking curls, I really love the texture and definition that the oils give to my hair. Plus, this method also acts as a hair mask that will last until you next wash it! Ideal for not only restoring your curls, but your hair’s natural health, too.
5. Give up heat styling
Most of the time, using heat on hair will simply lead to it becoming more and more damaged over time but I have found a way to restore curly hair after heat damage. The only form of heat that I now use on my hair if it needs a bit of a lift is the Deluxe Softhood®, which I use when I have an hour to spare and really want to treat my hair to some TLC.
After applying a conditioning cocktail, such as the Styleformers® Nourish Replenishing Serum and the Styleformers® Define Defining Cream, onto damp hair, place the treatment cap and Deluxe Softhood® onto the head, switch it on, and leave for the time specified by the manufacturer’s instructions. Then either wash out the treatment and let hair air dry, or simply get up and go! I love how silky my hair is after this restorative treatment.I hope that some of these tips and tricks will help you to achieve as many good hair days as possible! Do you have any more tips that help you to revitalise and restore your curls? Let us know on Instagram at @hairflaircom!
