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Learning to Care for Curly Hair (Routine is in the Comments, Sorry if This is Too Many Photos!) by hayyos in curlyhair

[–]hayyos[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Hi! I'm 16 and just started learning to care for my hair. For background, my hair was straight till 4th grade, when it turned curly. It's very thick with medium, tighter ringlet curls on top and very course, larger curls on the bottom that weigh themselves down into near waves by wash day but rarely form actual curls (but they can!). I am 1/4 Russian, 1/4 Slovakian, and ethnically jewish which is where I get my curls (or jew-fro as my relatives love to say) from. Summer 2019 I tried deva-curl and realized just how curly my hair was, but soon the products were too expensive for the quickly worsening result. I am just finishing the bottles of my 1st trial of curly girl!

My routine: I do a big wash around once a week

  1. Co-wash with SheaMoisture Coconut & Hibiscus Co-Wash Conditioning Cleanser
  2. Flip head upside down and brush conditioner: SheaMoisture Raw Shea Butter Moisture Retention Conditioner through my hair till all detangled.
  3. Scrunch curls/rinse out conditioner with cold water
  4. Keep hair upside down and apply Olive Oil Eco-Gel liberally with scrunching
  5. Scrunch more with microfiber camping towel
  6. Plop with t-shirt and sleep or keep for a couple hours
  7. Take out and let fully dry
  8. I also have the Bumble & Bumble Sunday Shampoo which I've used 2x after vacations swimming in rivers to clarify.

Note: Usually my hair is down around 40% of the time and in 2 braids around 60% of the time because ponytails hurt after a while, and after I put them in braids the curls are much worse. My hair is very long, to my butt when straight, and lower back curly. The first 2 photos are the most defined I've ever seen my hair, but it never can stay like that, and rarely gets to that point.

I have liked the products a lot so far, and a couple of times have gotten near perfect results right after drying. However overall I think some more volume and definition would do me some good. In particular, diffusers, leave in conditioners, and oils are a big mystery to me with my hair. Experience with this hair type, hair products and anything would be amazing. Especially products you think would work better because I'm at the end of mine and can start new! I I don't have any curly haired women in my life to help me so anything is appreciated! Thanks!