Curly hair has its own special problems that make it extra dry. The reason curly hair is so vulnerable is due to its specific high levels of protein, called glycine-tyrosine (HGT) that make up its keratin and serine amino acids compared to other types of hair. Unfortunately, this particular texture makes it more predisposed to damage as well as annoying frizz. As someone that also has to deal with these unique hair challenges, I want to share some useful curly hair care tips that can help strengthen and repair it, especially to help to boost winter beauty.
Though you may like to wash your hair every day just to feel fresh, it is better to limit shampooing to once or twice a week during the winter when curly hair is more vulnerable. You want to do this because shampooing it daily will strip those protective natural hair oils. At the same time, it also upsets the natural pattern of those curls, making it more difficult for how you style it.
In place of overly shampooing, you have two better options that can come to your hair’s rescue. The first is using a dry shampoo in between your normal day to shampoo, if you must. The second is actually wetting your hair as you are about to shower then apply a strengthening hair mask that can return keratin protein and supply humectants for restoring depleted moisture.
The purpose of wetting the hair while spending time in a warm shower helps open the hair follicles enabling the mask that you’ll leave on for about fifteen minutes to absorb deeper into the follicles. This is the best way to maximize the benefits of those nutrients that you’re feeding the hair.
You can buy commercial strengthening hair treatments, but you should try my diy hair mask for curly hair that has a variety of effective ingredients such as coconut oil for strengthening and growth along with humectants such as aloe vera, honey and avocado just to give you an idea for delivering plenty of moisture and shine. This is what I use when my hair really needs a lot of help.
Many of us are in too much of a hurry after washing the hair that we forget that rubbing the hair with our towel to partially help dry it before attempting to use the hair dryer can only cause more problems with frizz. Instead I like to use a microfiber towel that you can just wrap the hair in. Having thick hair, I can tell that this material does save it from knotting and help it dry faster when blow drying. If you haven’t tried a microfiber towel yet, then you really should give it a chance.
Another of these curly hair care tips is always remembering to add a leave-in conditioner to your routine, especially in the winter. In fact, I like to mix about a nickle size amount of the conditioner with my styling product like curl cream or mousse from the roots to the hair’s tip then scrunching to give it more structure. If you have longer hair, then you might want to up the amounts.
Something else that I noticed that makes a difference is also misting my hair in between shampoo days. When my instant conditioner spray starts running low, I add some water to the bottle and give it a shake to blend them. Afterwards, I can refresh my hair with a lighter blanket of moisture during the day.
Winter can be so harsh for our skin as well as curly hair care so I hope that you give these tips of mine a try because they do work for better hair days.
