#tho maybe i should also use that hair mousse i have. or like. conditioner.

[dullahandyke]

They need to send out a public service announcement or something re: people with curly hair brushing it w a hairbrush every morning.... pls u are killing her an angel is dying

[carry-on-my-wayward-butt]

what did u do to your hair !! i love it !!! whatever it is i wanna try it lmao

hope it’s cool if i answer public!

step 0 starts here: resolve to never brush your hair again. ever. your fingers are your comb now.

anyways I stumbled across r/curlyhair and read their big shiny START HERE!!! post. and the wiki, I basically inhaled the wiki.

the main product is Tresseme Boutanique Coconut and Aloe Vera Conditioner. the starter product list for the US (theres different region lists holy fuck!) is available at literally every Walmart and then entire list generally costs less than 20$, but I only picked up the conditioner.

other materials that I used other than that conditioner include:

palmers mycelliar rose water cleanser (a great low-poo that I’ll only need once or twice a month if I get really gross)

herbal essences tousle me softly mousse

a very wide toothed comb

a 100% cotton t shirt

microfiber towels (I cant afford big ones, I got mine at target for like 3 dollars on clearance, they’re advertised as duster cloths. they’re blue if it helps.)

the beginner guide I linked recommends gel, but if you have thin hair, wavy and not too tightly curled hair, or hair that’s prone to flattening, a mousse may be a better idea since its lighter.

the techniques matter more than any brand name honestly, its called Squish To Condish, and heres a video explaining how. you dont need that many products at first, just gently cleanse your scalp to ‘reset it’ and when you’re ready get a shitload of conditioner and go to town. by letting it work for about five minutes then detangling and squishin gud.

once I’ve got a shitload of conditioner in my hair, I include mousse into the mix. like a grapefruit sized quantity of mousse, but not all at once. I do it in about 3 handfuls, I’m just guestimating it adds up to about a grapefruit sized dollop overall.

then I use one microfiber cloth to gently pat my hair in much the same way I’ve just squished. this obviously leads to the towel getting very silky-slimy with conditioner. I try not to grab too hard, but enough the get the water off my scalp so I can dry easier. then I plopped it.

most curlies and wavies should be familiar with plopping already, it’s when you plop your head into a wrap of some sort, letting gravity tell your curls which way to go. then you wrap up your head for an appropriate amount of time. let me tell you right now, 5 minutes is enough for thin hair. never plop overnight unless you know EXACTLY what you’re doing. and dont experiment if you have something important happening soon lol. heres a video on how to plop if you need guidance. like I said, you dont need tons of products at first, stick to routine-building. az for a shirt I recommend a men’s large 100% cotton tshirt, but 100% is a rare find nowadays if I’m being honest. I was lucky and found mine lying around in an old box of lootcrate stuff!

you then allow your hair to dry. whether you use a diffuser on LOW speed and COLD temp, or let it air dry on it’s own is up to you. I diffused for like 30 seconds then its it air dry for the rest of the time.

finally, once its dry, Scrunch Out The Crunch! if you used a gel this will feel much more satisfying than a mousse does. also I used a second microfiber cloth for this step, because I worried about my hands frizzing my hair.

this seems daunting because I wrote it all out and it looks rly long lol, it’s a bit time consuming but honestly the results are worth it. my hair is less frizzy because it’s getting the hydration it needs, I’m not greasy because my scalp is properly cleansed and not over-producing oils, my curls actually EXIST because I actually NOURISH and ENCOURAGE them instead of screwing them over with brushing and terrible shampoo and awful terry-cloth towels and heat heat heat with the dryer.

putting in the effort to be kind to them is worth it!

also pineappleing or a satin bonnet is a good idea for nighttime. my hair is too short for a pineapple tho. maybe someday!