Caring for Curly Hair With Simple Methods

Your ends are dry no matter what you do, and it is not because you have neglected them.

Scalp oil slides down a straight strand easily. It cannot get round every bend of a curl. The tighter the curl, the less oil reaches the ends, which is why the ends of curly hair are always the driest part.

Everything worth doing follows from that one fact.

So curly hair wants

More moisture than straight hair, because less arrives naturally.

Less washing, because every wash takes away the oil that was struggling to get there anyway.

Gentler hands, because a curl has more places to snap.

At the basin

Treat it before you wash it

Work oil or conditioner through dry hair before you shampoo. Now the shampoo has something to remove other than your hair's own moisture. Twenty minutes is plenty.

This single step changes more for curly hair than swapping any product.

Pick the shampoo and conditioner as a pair

A mild shampoo that does not strip, and a conditioner substantial enough to smooth a textured cuticle.

Treatment Shampoo and Treatment Conditioner are made without SLS, silicones, parabens or synthetic fragrance, and are formulated for pregnancy and breastfeeding.

Rinse cooler at the end

Hot water lifts the cuticle. A cooler rinse lets it lie flat, and a flat cuticle is the difference between a curl and a frizz.

Wash less often

Every third day suits a lot of curl patterns. Tighter textures often do well on weekly washing with a conditioner rinse in between.

Between washes

Wide-tooth comb only, on wet hair with conditioner in it, from the ends upwards. A fine brush on dry curls separates the curl into frizz and snaps strands doing it.

Squeeze, do not rub. A soft cloth or an old cotton t-shirt. A terry towel roughens the cuticle, which is what makes curls frizz as they dry.

Protect it overnight. Silk or satin pillowcase, or hair tied loosely on top of your head. Otherwise friction undoes wash day by the second morning.

Refresh instead of rewashing. Water in a spray bottle with a little conditioner brings curls back without stripping them.

Stop doing these

Brushing dry curls. It separates a defined curl into a cloud.

Tight ponytails daily. They pull on the hairline, which matters much more in the months after birth when your hairline is already fragile.

Heat styling often. Curly hair shows heat damage sooner, because the bends are already stress points.

Piling on product. Heavier is not better. Too much weighs curls down and leaves them limp.

A rhythm that works

Curly hair does better on a routine than on a shelf of products.

None of this needs anything you do not already own.

Frizz in this climate

Humidity is what turns a defined curl into frizz. Dry hair takes up moisture from the air unevenly and the cuticle lifts.

Hair that is already well moisturised takes up less. So the answer to frizz is nearly always more conditioning rather than more hold.

A leave-in serum on damp lengths coats the cuticle and slows the uptake. A small amount does it, and more just looks greasy.

If you are shedding as well

Postpartum shedding peaks around the fourth month and finishes on its own between six and twelve.

On curly hair the shed strands stay caught in the curl instead of falling out, then all arrive at once at your next wash. It looks catastrophic and it is not.

Which is a good reason not to skip washes during this stretch, however tempting.

When to get it checked

• Still shedding heavily twelve months after the birth
• Round bald patches, or thinning specifically along the hairline
• A scalp that is red, scaly or sore
• Hair changes alongside heavy fatigue, palpitations or unexplained weight change

Thinning along the hairline can be traction alopecia from years of tight styles. Caught early it is treatable. Left late it is much harder to reverse, which is why the hairline is the bit to keep an eye on.