How to Get Awesome Hair & Bring Your Curls to Life

You may have a unique mop on your head, but it needs its special attention. India is the land that has all kind of hair types – straight, wavy and curly. The silky strands of poker straight hair has been trending quite a lot. So much so that the beautiful coils over the head have suffered the heat from the iron rods, just so they become straight.

Curly hair is different than straight hair. The routine of shampoo, conditioning and drying and then combing that works on straight hair can not work on curly hair. We need to follow a specific routine of applying products on curly and wavy hair.

Here are a few things that you MUST keep in mind to get your perfect curls:

Identify your curls

Apart from the types of straight (Type 1) and wavy hair (Type 2), we also have types of curls. Though waves are pretty close to becoming curls (or straight), proper care helps to create definite curls. No amount of heat is needed to make them curl, which is not the case with getting them straightened.

For curly hair, there is a definite curl pattern in place, with or without products. Definite “S” pattern, a lower case s or uppercase S. Hair type is climate dependent (humidity = frizz), and damage prone. It also does not shine as much as Type 1 and Type 2 hair.

• Type 3A: Loose Curls which tend to have a combination texture.
• Type 3B: Tight Curls, again with combination texture.

Type 4: Kinky: This type of hair is fine, fragile and prone to breakage. Very tightly coiled.

• Type 4A: Soft kinky which is very fragile, tightly coiled, and has a more defined curly pattern.
• Type 4B: wiry kinky with a less visible curl pattern and very fragile.

Important things to do when you have curly and wavy hair

In India, most common types of hair are straight, wavy and curly. You will rarely see any kinky curl pattern. People with curly hair still categorize their hair as curly but the situation is even worse for wavy haired. Amidst all this focus on straight hair, people with wavy hair consider themselves “straight-haired”. It is a big surprise for them that their hair can show some curl pattern.

What to keep in mind

Here are a few things that you should keep in mind in your daily hair care routine to manage your naturally curly and wavy hair.

• First of all stop combing your hair when it is dry. This is the biggest styling mistake holding back your curls. When you comb your hair, it separates your curls resulting in frizzy and poofy hair. 
• Choose the right products- Curly hair is always drier than straight hair. Shampoo containing sulfates (having names like sodium laurel sulfate, sodium laureth sulfate etc.) are more drying than non-sulfate shampoos. Sulfate are cleansing agents & are very harsh for your curls. They leave your hair extra dry and strip your hair off moisture.
• Avoid products containing silicone- Silicone are conditioning agents (generally ends with -cone, -conol, -oxane) and also work as emollients. They are prone to heavy build up on hair. Due to this build up, moisture does not penetrate your hair shaft and makes your hair very dry and limp in longer run. 
• Do not use hair serums as their base is silicone as opposed to other hair products like shampoo and conditioner which are water based. Due to high concentration of silicone, serums always have more tendency to build up on hair.
• This method of avoiding silicone is called “THE CURLY GIRL” method. It has helped lots of ‘Curlies’ around the world to embrace their natural curly and wavy hair.
• The last thing you do not want to skip is deep conditioning. Deep conditioning pumps up moisture in your hair. Try to do it at least once in a week. 

Embrace your curls as they as unique as you are. There is a reason why we are naturally the way we are, it is a part of us. The beautiful us.

Asha Barrak is an avid blogger and the brain child of the community- Indian Curl Pride. If you have any questions regarding the right products or the best routine for your curly hair, check out her blog- The Right Ringlets or leave a question in the comments!

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