I received this letter from a reader, and thought I should share my reply with all of you Curly Sue's out there... and anyone, really, who is looking for some great products to combat frizz!
Hello, I discovered your blog through Frangry. I read your advice to Mary Rambin. I'm glad that I'm not the only one who thinks she has the figure of a prepubescent boy. Anyway, I also have naturally curly hair that frizzes at the drop of a hat. I would love to know what products you use to combat the frizz. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! Take care, Siobhan
Give that a try! You can use the oil both when you wear it curly and when you blow it out, its AMAZING and better than honestly pretty much every other oil or straightening serum I've tried (and I've tried them ALL)! I find though, that wearing my hair curly calls for a little more weight of the product, and the same company also makes a curl cream I have since tried and also RAVE about. The link to their site is in the link I posted above.
I also like to use Nexxus Curl Energee for touch ups throughout the day, when going curly. I have a big bottle for the house and a small one I keep in my purse. For touch ups, just a light mist over your hair and scrunch it a little, and those damned fly-aways will smooth down. An alternative to this one would be Frederic Fekkai Luscious Curls Wave Spray which I also use, I have both so I tend to play with them both randomly. They are very similar, but I say give them both a try and choose for yourself.
Also, I ALWAYS start with a leave-in conditioner. Curly hair tends to be naturally dry and heat styling when you straighten or diffuse only makes matters worse. I use Sebastian Potion 9. It's lightweight and you should notice a difference in the texture of your hair as soon as the first time you rinse when you get into the next shower you take after using it.
Another product I like to use when the air is especially humid is Graham Webb Making Waves. It's got a little bit of stickiness to it, where the other products don't (actually the Curl Energee, on a scale of 1-10 stickiness would be a 2 and the Making Waves would be a 4, something like that. The other products, 0 or 1.). Even though there is a slight stickiness if you put it into your hair when it's wet, your hair will still feel like hair when it's dried, and not crunchy like with gel at ALL. All of these products will leave your hair feeling like hair. That's important. LOL.
A few tips for styling curly hair:
*When styling hair curly, towel dry your hair when it's wet by using the towel to crunch the hair, making naturally formed ringlets. Don't shake it out until it's dry or the hair will separate and give you more frizz.
*Always use a leave-in conditioner first!
*Ideally, air dry your hair. If you don't have the time, use a diffuser. Hold the blowdryer about 3-5 inches from your hair, and use medium heat for less damage and to keep your ringlets together.
*Whether you have curly hair or straight hair, for more volume blow dry with your hair flipped upside down.
*For a tousled look, once your hair has dried into ringlets, I like to run my fingers through them and kind of shake it all out, lol. The bigger the better!
*For a more polished look, use a curling iron to arrange random pieces in the front mainly, and a few all around.
*NEVER use mouse or gel. Not only will they leave your hair feeling sticky and hard and crunchy, but it will also DRY YOUR HAIR big time. Especially if you also color or highlight your hair.
*When wearing your hair straight, apply the Moroccan Oil from tip to root, working your way up. A little goes a long way, but curly hair is usually thick as well, so make sure you evenly apply it. Separate your hair into inch sized sections. Using the biggest round brush you can handle, ideally with natural bristles, run your blowdryer from root to tip, twirling the brush slightly when you get to the ends giving you nice body. You will need to run the heat onto each piece a few times. Make sure the pieces are thoroughly dry before you go to the next one. When you have dried each piece, run a very light amount of serum over it, locking in the styling and preventing later frizz. If you prefer a more stick straight look, when you have blowdried all your sections, run a flat iron over it all to smooth it down flat. Personally, I like to keep the little flip at my ends and tousle it up a bit.
If you have any questions feel free to write me again! I hope this helped you!
Alana Joy
