I'm just sayin': Captivating Curls

I thought I would share some of my favorite hair tips with

some of you fellow curly-Q ladies.

Step 1:

Shower; every day.

Step 2:

Shampoo your hair; but not with shampoo, and not every day.

let me explain: yes, you should shower every day (um…i shouldn’t have to tell you that), but most (pretty much all) shampoos on the market today have sulfates in them.

Sulfates strip your hair of some natural oils, and if you have curly hair then you know…

we aint got none to spare!

nobody wants to have scarecrow hair

EEK!

The solution?

No-poos

haha, i just love saying that. no-poos.

Now, I haven’t gone completely “no poo”, there are some actual home remedies ( baking soda and apple cider vinegar) that you could use,

i’m not ready to head that direction just yet…

but I DO use “shampoo” that is natural and has no sulfates – Hair One.

You can get it at any Sally Beauty store for about $10.

I know that’s more expensive than your average run-of-the-mill Pert Plus…

but I’ve been using the same bottle for 6 weeks and still haven’t run out

(and I use about 20 pumps each time I shampoo since my hair is so long)!

*Just a word of warning: No-poos don’t foam up or lather… they sort of disappear on your head, so it may take a little bit to figure out the right amount to use on your hair.

* Also, they don’t leave a “silky” feeling to your hair when you’re in the shower, like other shampoos would… this threw me for a loop the first time I used Hair One and I ALMOST used my regular shampoo right after it because I didn’t like not having the “slippery/silky” hair feeling after shampooing… don’t be alarmed.

at least give it a try!

What I love about Hair One is that your hair is silky and soft when it dries, which is more important than how it feels right after shampooing.

Step 3 - After showering:

DO NOT us a towel on your curls…

For the love of PETE, just don’t do it!!

terrycloth towels, even the high end ones, have a rough texture with lots of little ‘grabbies’ all over…

if you use one to dry your hair, it will create more frizzies and actually separate the curls.

Instead, I use an old t-shirt or a paper towel to squeeze the water out (squeeze, not ring)

Paper towels actually work the best, and if I do use those, they last me about 3 weeks since all i use them for is blotting

(not scrubbing or twisting, right? right?? I had better not see you twisting!)

Step 4 - the arsenal…

after getting most of the water out I put in my favorite products.

actually, I really just use this one:

it’s magical. it delivers smooth curls without disgusting “crunchy” side effects.

the other bottles are just remnants of failed attempts to achieve the perfect curls.

I don’t know why I don’t just throw them away!

Step 5 - Blow 'em dry!
After applying product and combing it through (with my fingers… PUT DOWN THE BRUSH!), I use my blow dryer with the diffuser attachment; it looks like this: