6 Tips to Keep Curly Hair Super-Moisturized
Keeping curly hair moisturized and healthy takes a little bit of work, but oh is it worth it. While the texture of curly hair makes it harder for the hair strands to stay hydrated, there are more ways that can help beyond just doing a deep condition or using curly hair shampoos. It’s also really important to have enough natural oil in your curly hair to keep it sleek and moisturized, but you can always enhance those hair oils with an added dose of oil—like coconut oil or castor oil. Here’s what else you can do to keep curly hair moisturized.
1. Use Hair Products that Offer Proper Moisture
When you’re looking for hair-care products, you want them to be water based. Water is still the best moisturizer you can find, despite your hair type, so moisturizing hair products that list water in the first couple ingredients will do your hair some good. Better Not Younger’s Bounce Back Super Moisturizing Shampoo for Curly Hair and Bounce Back Super Moisturizing Conditioner for Curly Hair both are water based and, in fact, list water as the very first ingredient on the list. Both of these are designed to bring hydration to your dry curly hair.
2. Get Regular Trims
As with any dry hair, it’s important to trim it regularly to keep it healthy. Because curly hair is drier, it should be cut more often than straight hair to keep it in tip-top shape. Getting it cut every 3 months or so will help keep it moisturized because split ends no longer have a smooth hair cuticle. And when the hair cuticle doesn’t lie flat, not only are strands prone to tangles that lead to breakage, but the strands aren’t able to seal in moisture effectively. Regular trims help ensure strands can stay hydrated and healthy while sealing in moisture. And since spit ends can eventually progress and damage the entire hair shaft, what seems like a simple split at the ends can ultimately hinder the moisture traveling down the shaft and the moisture of the entire strand.
3. Don’t Wash Curly Hair Too Often
Your curly hair—especially aging curly hair—needs lots of hydration, but that doesn’t mean wash day should come too often. In fact, washing curly hair too often will be counterproductive and actually dry it out. The texture of curly hair makes it harder for your scalp’s natural oil to travel down the shaft, which means it takes longer to hydrate. If you’re washing your hair too frequently, you’re stopping the hair oils from making that journey that leads to hydrated hair. Instead, take some time to understand your hair and how often you should do a wash day. Spoiler alert: The answer is that curly hair should be washed about two to three times a week—sometimes less—and definitely requires a sulfate-free curly hair shampoo, which helps to maximize your hair’s moisture and hydration levels since it won’t strip away healthy hair oils.
4. Enhance Your Natural Oils
Aside from water, your curly hair needs oil to stay hydrated. You already have some natural oils coming from your scalp, but tightly coiled hair makes it difficult for the oil to move down the shaft to hydrate the entire strand. Because of this, curly hair benefits from added oil to boost this process and keep entire hair strands moist and healthy.
There are a few ways you can go about bringing oil into your hair-care routine. Avocado oil, coconut oil, argan oil and castor oil are great natural oils for dry, curly hair, and they’re easy to source—both our Bounce Back Shampoo and Conditioner both contain argan oil and coconut oil. They are lightweight and will enhance your hair without weighing it down, plus they seal the moisture in to keep hair hydrated. You could also opt for a more targeted hair-care product like our Superpower Fortifying Hair & Scalp Serum, made with water and castor oil. This serum helps replenish the hair oils on the scalp and fortify the hair strands to keep them hydrated.
5. Dry Your Hair with a T-Shirt
Curly hair requires a gentle touch, and that includes how you dry it. When you finish washing, dry your hair with a T-shirt instead of a towel. The cotton of the shirt is soft and will soak up the water more gently than a towel. But don’t rub the shirt over your hair! Instead, wrap your hair in the shirt and just let it sit to soak up the water. Curly hair is prone to breakage and vigorously towel-drying can lead to more breakage and harm the cuticle layer. And we’ve just learned that when the cuticle layer is no longer flat, moisture can more easily escape.
6. Show Your Curls Some Love
People with curly hair know how much work it takes to keep curly hair bouncy and beautiful. As your hair ages and gets thinner and more breakable, you have to do even more to take care of it. Aside from all the things we’ve already mentioned, it’s also important to be careful with heat treatments—they can dry and damage your hair if you’re not careful. Blow-dryers, curling irons and the like should be used sparingly. And if you use blow-dryers, use them on a lower setting so you’re not hitting your curls with too much hot air.
You also want to seek out hair products specifically designed for curly hair, like a curl spray that will repair droopy curls or a deep-conditioning product for extra moisture.
Curly hair may take some finessing to keep hydrated and bouncy, but the work is worth it. Curly hair has so much character and just needs a little extra love to stay healthy.
Tell Us: Do you have any additional tips for keeping your curly hair moisturized? Share in the comments below!