I Love My Natural, Curly Hair Pt. 2

My curly hair care routine

Here are the rules and the routine I follow for long, healthy, defined curls.

The DON’Ts!

1. No hair dye — if you can’t stand your greys, try to use an ammonia-free dye. I, however, have decided to forsake all hair dye for healthier hair.

2. No cutting — if you’re trying to grow your hair like I am, only trim your split/damaged ends.

3. No dry brushing. Only detangle your hair when wet.

4. No heat styling of any kind. Stop using tongs, straighteners, and blow drying.

5. No products with sulphates — they are harsh detergents that dry out your hair. Products without sulphates won’t lather as much but are ultimately better for your hair.

6. No products with silicones — they dry out your hair by forming a plastic coating around each hair cuticle which prevents moisture from getting in. Instead, your hair becomes “slippery” giving it the illusion of smoothness. Silicones also prevent your curls from becoming defined as they stop the strands of hair from clutching together.

7. No products with alcohols — they dry out your hair.

Nota Bene: Before you start a Curly Hair Care Routine, you may have to wash your hair with a silicone-free shampoo that does contain sulphates in order to dissolve the silicones already present in your hair. For this, I recommend Nexxus Therappe Shampoo. I keep a bottle in my cupboard but I only wash my hair with it when I feel my hair has build-up.

The DOs!

1. Check all potential products on the SkinCarisma ‘Cosmetic Analyzer’ before purchasing them.
2. Detangle your hair with a wide-tooth comb only when wet before rinsing out your conditioner.
3. To dry your hair — first scrunch with a microfibre towel to get rid of the excess water then air-dry and/or diffuse on cold.
4. Massage scalp with oil and a scalp massager once a week — see Ayesha Malik’s Hair Oil Routine below.
5. Deep condition under a disposable shower cap and a heat cap once a week — see below. I deep condition with rice water or a deep conditioning treatment such as Camille Rose’s Algae Renew.
6. Wear a satin-lined sleep cap, satin scrunchies or tie your hair up in a scarf before going to sleep.
7. Sleep on satin pillowcases.

I wash my hair as and when I feel it needs it. Now that my hair is in better condition, I can go up to ten days without washing it. I have two different types of wash day routines. Wash Day 1 takes place on a weekend so I have the time to wash it in the morning. I use Wash Day 2 if I need to wash my hair mid-week in the evenings.

Wash Day 1:

The night before I wash my hair, I follow Ayesha Malik’s Hair Oil Routine:

1. I massage Jamaican Black Castor Oil and Red Pimento Hair Growth Oil into my scalp using a scalp massager.
2. I warm Coconut Oil in a saucepan, then apply the melted Coconut Oil all over my hair before wrapping my hair in a microfibre towel and going to sleep.
3. When I wake up I shampoo my hair to get the oil out — this is the only time I shampoo my hair. I only use sulphate-free shampoo.
4. I then apply a rinse-out conditioner and detangle my hair with a wide-tooth comb, rinsing out the conditioner only after my hair has been detangled entirely.
5. Next, I dry my hair with a microfibre towel until it’s damp and apply a leave-in conditioner to keep my hair moisturised. I prefer a leave-in conditioning spray.
6. I then apply a curl defining cream or curl serum to encourage the curl to form. I smooth the products into my hair using the ‘praying hands’ technique. I ensure the product is distributed evenly through the hair by brushing it with a wide-tooth comb whilst still wet. I then scrunch my curls firmly all the way into my scalp to help the curl to form.
7. I then apply a gel or curl ‘custard’ to hold the definition.
8. To dry my hair, I first scrunch it with a microfibre towel again to get rid of the excess water, and then I use a diffuser on cold or ‘plop’ my hair under a wig cap so it can air-dry whilst scrunched to my scalp.
9. If I feel I need it, I apply a hair spray at this point (I usually don’t though).
10. I then massage Argan Oil to the roots of my hair, and Tea Tree Oil into my scalp.

—Or —

6. After applying leave-in conditioner, I braid my hair into a protective style and let my hair dry whilst still in braids.

Wash Day 2:

Two days before wash day, I make fermented rice water by pouring boiling water over rice (be sure to rinse it first) and leaving it in a tall, airtight glass jar. In order to ferment, the rice and water mixture must be deprived of oxygen. It is not recommended to ferment using plastic containers. The rice water will become cloudy in colour and may have white sediment in it. Don’t worry about that.

1. First, I wet my hair entirely under the shower. Then I douse my hair in rice water and leave it in my hair whilst wearing a disaposable shower cap for twenty-to-fourty minutes before rinsing it out entirely — Or — If I haven’t had time to make the rice water, I use a deep conditioning treatment instead. After I apply the deep conditioner, I put on a disposable shower cap and a heat cap on top of that for twenty-to-fourty minutes before rinsing the treatment out entirely.
2. I then detangle my hair with a wide-tooth comb until my hair has been detangled entirely. You may need rinse-out conditioner to help detangle your hair after using only rice water on your hair.
3. Next, I dry my hair with a microfibre towel until it’s damp and apply a leave-in conditioner to keep my hair moisturised. I prefer a leave-in conditioning spray.
4. I then apply a curl defining cream or curl serum to encourage the curl to form. I smooth the products into my hair using the ‘praying hands’ technique. I ensure the product is distributed evenly through the hair by brushing it with a wide-tooth comb whilst still wet. I then scrunch my curls firmly all the way into my scalp to help the curl to form.
5. I then apply a gel or curl ‘custard’ to hold the definition.
6. To dry my hair, I first scrunch it with a microfibre towel again to get rid of the excess water, and then I use a diffuser on cold or ‘plop’ my hair under a wig cap so it can air-dry whilst scrunched to my scalp.
7. If I feel I need it, I apply a hair spray at this point (I usually don’t though).

— Or —

4. After applying leave-in conditioner, I braid my hair into a protective style and let my hair dry whilst still in braids.

I also love the Boucleme Scalp Massager: https://www.boucleme.co.uk/products/scalp-massager

And use a Hot Heads heat cap when I deep condition: https://www.thermalhaircare.com/hot-head/

A Note On Curly Hair Care Brands

One of the things I’ve learnt so far on my ‘Curly Journey’ is that good, ethical hair products for textured hair (with no sulphates, silicones or alcohols) are hard to come by in the UK*. I initially tried using curly hair products made by well-known brands, but they were often expensive and failed the SkinCarisma/curly-friendly test. Not all products from brands that are mostly curly-friendly pass the test, so use the SkinCarisma.com ‘Cosmetics Analyzer’ to double check products before you buy them.

Brands that specialise in curly hair/sulphate- and silicone-free brands are definitely best but we’re not spoilt for choice. Only a handful of the brands I’ve identified as curly-friendly can be bought in my local Boots/Superdrug. Some of the other brands are easily accessible in the UK but only online (I rely on the brands’ own online shops or Amazon, LookFantastic and Naturalistic). Everything else has to be specially shipped to the UK from the States — often at great expense!

*When I wrote this in 2019, this was definitely true. The situation has since improved and products for textured hair are more widely available.

Thank you for reading — good luck on your Curly Hair Journey! You can find links to my other work here: https://linktr.ee/sayde.scarlett