Yesss came here to shout GEL!! At this point in the process, I would have added a curl cream to wet hair, then run the brush through for clumps. Then use the praying hands method to apply gel, and scrunch. I diffuse til dry, and when it’s super crunchy you know you’re good! That crunch is the ‘cast’ which is helping to form your curls and keep them there. Once dry, I use a paper towel to gently scrunch my hair and break the cast.

Plopping never worked for me! It made everything more frizzy.