Awesome Hair Care Routine For Gorgeous Curly Hair

I am one of the few people I know who loves her curls. Ok, ‘love’ is a very light word for what I feel about my curls. I adore them, I am crazy about them. They have so much of character.

Curly hair care routine

I have had extremely curly hair since birth. But, it is not until the early years of my college that I started loving them. Prior to that I used to brush the hell out of them and tie up a ponytail with that hay *sad days*. During my college days I used to twist my hair up into a bun and sleep on it and the next day my hair had curves, which looked nice. So, I did that for a couple of months and slowly transitioned into totally loving my curls for what they are. They didn’t need any twisting or braiding.

My curly hair regimen

From using just a shampoo and a hair oil to using at least 5 curl loving products at a time, I have come a long way in understanding how curly hair behaves and what it wants. And now it’s almost been 5 years of flaunting my curls.

I have tried the no sulphates-no silicones curly hair method. It didn’t work for me. My hair needs sulphates to clear all the sweat, grime and of course the pollution of our country. It also needs silicones to be able to relax in its curly shape. (The above said method may be helpful to some. You can google more about that and try it out to see if it works for you). I have also tried umpteen sprays, gels and creams until I found out what works for me.

Here is the A to Z of my curly hair regimen; what works for my type 3A curls. I will start with my few-days-old-unwashed hair that needs a wash.

I always wash my hair at night because it dries gradually leading to well defined curls the next morning.

1. Cleansing.

My curly hair regimen

I have dandruff and so I use 2 kinds of anti-dandruff shampoos. The Body Shop Ginger Anti Dandruff Shampoo (which has sulphates) on Sunday for the thorough weekly cleansing and Jason Dandruff Relief Shampoo (sulphate free) for my mid-week cleansing.

I take about 20 ml of the product into a mug and dilute it with water before applying it to my hair and working up a lather. There is no need to ‘rinse and repeat’ – it will only strip off whatever little oil is left for your poor curls. I do not shampoo hair more than twice a week.

2. Conditioning.

My curly hair regimen

This is perhaps the most important part of my regimen. I cannot stress enough about the importance of conditioning. Curly hair is the driest form of hair. This is because the hair sebum cannot trickle down to the tip of the hair strand due to its coiled structure. So we need to rely on external hydration. I keep rotating between conditioners. I am currently using Suave Almond & Shea Butter (the best), Organix Coconut Milk Conditioner and Organix Acai Berry Avocado Conditioner and Herbal Essences Hello Hydration Conditioner.

I take a palmful of the conditioner and apply it all over my hair in sections, detangling it as I go. To be able to detangle, the conditioner must have good slip. I apply some onto my scalp, also unlike the norm. After I am sure it’s perfectly detangled I put my hair up with a jaw clip. Then I wash my body. Now, the conditioner can do its work for a good 5-7 minutes. After that I wash my hair. I gently use my hand to wash off the conditioner for about 1 minute. Not more than that. You want some to remain in your hair.

One thing to keep in mind is anything that is hydrating is good for curls. So, even if India doesn’t have too many curl products, anything that says it is ‘hydrating’ or ‘moisturising’ has almost the same ingredients as a curl product.

3. Tee drying.

I gently squeeze out the water from my hair and tie an old tee around it. I do not rub the tee onto my hair. I just let it sit for about 5 minutes to absorb the water.

4. Leave-ins.

My curly hair regimen

My curly hair regimen

After removing the tee, I take a handful of some curling product, flip my hair over and apply it onto different sections of my hair combing through the hair with my fingers. I am currently experimenting with OGX Moroccan Curling Perfection Defining Cream, L’Oreal Professionnel Mythic Oil – Rich Oil, Macadamia Oil Nourishing Leave-In Cream, OGX Shea Butter Smoothing Treatment, FX Special Effects Curls Up Curl Reactivator & Defrizzant and Tigi Bed Head Foxy Curls High-Def Curl Spray. Then I scrunch my hair for 1 or 2 minutes, while it is still wet.

How to Scrunch – Hold a small section of hair. Start crumpling this section of hair up towards your scalp. It’s like how you crumple paper to make balls. Continue this with all sections of your hair.

You can already see how defined your curls look as you scrunch your hair.

My curly hair regimen

My curly hair regimen

5. Drying.

My curly hair regimen

Now I totally forget about my hair. I go to sleep and let my hair air-dry. I use a 100% pure silk pillowcase by spasilk. Satin is not a natural fibre and hence your skin and hair cannot breathe. Silk is natural and reduces friction and thus frizz.

6. Deep conditioning.

My curly hair regimen

On Sundays, after the sulphate shampoo, I do a deep conditioning treatment instead of the regular conditioner and let it sit for about 10-20 minutes. I am currently using The Body Shop Rainforest Moisture Hair Butter and Pantene Silky Smooth Care Intensive Hair Mask.

This is how my hair looks the next day:

My curly hair regimen

A few miscellaneous tips – I do not comb or brush my hair ever. I do not blow dry my hair. I do not use anything with alcohol in it like gels, mousses and sprays. I get my hair cut in layers whenever I feel like reducing its length (I thankfully do not have split ends).

Hope this article helps all you curly haired beauties who don’t know how to take care of your curls, to love and appreciate the vivacious curls that you have been gifted with. or if you are already rocking your curls; the above points might be new ways to take care of your curls 🙂 . It just looks like a lot of things to do because I have written a lot; in practice, this is as easy as your regular routine. 🙂

P.S:- I will review all products mentioned in this article shortly if they haven’t already been covered.

Hair Care Routine For Curly Hair
Frizzy Hair: Causes, Treatments, Products, Home Remedies
How to Turn Thin Wavy Hair into Curly Voluminous Looking Tresses
How to Curl Hair at Home, Get Curly Hairstyle and Manage Curls
How to Manage Frizzy Curly Hair
TIGI Bed Head Foxy Curls Contour Cream Review
Why use a Silicone Free Shampoo?
My Experience with Permanent Hair Straightening
9 Hair Care Tips for Long Hair for Indian Women
My Hair Care Routine Curly Hair
Best Shampoo For Curly Hair: Ask IMBB
Top 10 Celebrities with Curly Hair Style

IMBB RECOMMENDS

43 thoughts on “Awesome Hair Care Routine For Gorgeous Curly Hair

  1. Hi Anjana !! You have got really pretty curly hair :*

    mm I have a question. Can you please elaborate a little about deep conditioning ?

    1. Thanks soniica 🙂 What part of deep cond do you want elaborated? The process or the products or why we should deep condition or something else?

      1. Ya I would like to know , in deep conditioning we simply let out strands dipped in conditioner for longer time or anything more than that ??

        1. Soniica, yes that’s pretty much it. But there are 2 variations that i do sometimes for more effect if i have the time-
          1. Wrap a hot towel around your head so that the deep cond can work in.
          Or
          2. Apply it to dry hair and wait for 20mins so that more damage is worked upon.

  2. I also have curly hairs and I LOVE them like….to death……insane! Me too proud of my curls. And you follow really good regime for your hairs:)

  3. I have similar curly hair! When i was in school, it was so difficult to manage my curls, that i always kept a boy cut or hair till neck (not even shoulder!). I too follow a similar hair regime with no blow drying and no combing for months some time! And my conditioners too run into multiples. I sometimes mix them up and make a cocktail conditioner! One suggestion- try to air dry your hair before you sleep- do not sleep with wet hair/head. It is said that sleeping with a wet head may result into migraine at a later age. Its better to take this precaution!

    1. That’s a different scenario Pragya. Long hair that’s plaited when it’s wet 2-3 times a week causes repeated strain leading to migraine in the long run.

  4. thank you thank you so much for the article.i too have similar hair.will follow ur regime.where to get the suave conditioner in india?

  5. Hey Anjana, you have really beautiful hair. I don’t have curly hair, but would have copied your regime if I had. 🙂

  6. i lovvd ur post…i was waiting for a post like this. I have curly hair too and I love it like any other keralite..I had one doubt. How do you tie your hair when you go to sleep or otherwise. I just twist my hair into a clip before sleep but I see offlate that I am losing my curls coz of tht. So can you suggest me what to do?
    Thank you

    1. I used to do that too – twist and put it up with a clip. That completely ruins the shape of the curls.
      Now what I do is put it up with a clip loosely without twisting. The excess hair on the sides can be secured with tic tac clips (no tight slides)

  7. Anjana….you know I absolutely thank you for sharing this hair care routine – I have bad curly hair and this routine is gonna help. I wanted to know your hair care routine after seeing your OOTD 😛

    1. You are welcome Jomol 🙂 More than happy to share my tried and tested ways with you all. Haha thanks for that last comment 🙂

  8. You are welcome Ashwitha 🙂 Unfortunately I haven’t seen it anywhere in India. I rely on friends/relatives who come down to India or I pay a heavy shipping fee(more than twice the value of the cheap product itself!) and get it shipped from the US.

  9. hey anjana.. such a nice artical.. i have a question.. though i have straight n thin hair.. and i love to deep condition my hair now n then.. i have a lot of baby hair which always tend to stand straight and make my hair look frizzer.. when u deep conditoin your hair with tha pantiene mask do u apply it from the roots?? and yes i have an oily scalp too…

  10. Hi Anjana, great review! Very detailed and helpful.
    If I may please ask a question; and I ask you this coz I too have similar hair type. Do you oil your hair? If you do how long is it suitable to keep it oiled and does the same shampoo help you to clean your hair? Many thanks. 🙂

  11. Anjana..you made my day. Was waiting for this article from you. Like you said before, it’s uncommon in India for curly haired girls to discuss about their hair routine like in abroad. I was always confused as to which products available in India would work for my curls. It is about time we start discussing our hair care routines too!!

    One question Anjana, would these products/regimen work for 3b/3c curls too? I wish 3b/3c curls look as gorgeous as 3a curls. Which leave ins or curl creams you rate highest? I want to try one first.

    And you look gorgeous and so does your hair. Thanks so so much for this article. Looking forward to the product reviews.

  12. Hey Tanvi 🙂 3b/3c curls are tighter and denser. The regimen will work but you may need thicker products. But since your hair is just 1 step away from mine, you can try these first and if they don’t work you can go for heavier products. My current favourite is the Mythic oil without doubt. Most creams have atleast a small % of the undesired ingredients ( which gives me an idea- I should write an article on curly hair don’ts. ) and mythic oil has none *happy* . My second favourite is the Macadamia leave-in followed by the OGX curling cream.
    With continuous trials, you will soon find out what works for you Tanvi 🙂 Keep trying like I did 🙂 I prefer well defined 3b to 3a!

  13. anjana same pinc,,,,i have curly hair but owing to drastic hair fall, i am left with only one third of wat they were *sobsob* nevertheless, I too love my curly hair 🙂

  14. hey anjana i had curly hair and then i got it rebonded (biggest mistke of my life) now the hair is curly from roots and straight from bottom extremely frizzy and fluffy ..hope ur methods would tame my hair a bit..

    1. Komal, you can get a lot of boost to go back to your curls with transitioning topics on naturallycurly. There are a lot of articles, tips, products etc. that you can check on how to transition. All the best to you!

  15. Thanks Anjana. I will try the mythic oil first and see. I tried various products, even tried the curly girl method for a while with Deva products and after coming to India also I did try a handful of products, but my hair wouldn’t budge. So I gave up. Guess I wasn’t following the right method or something. I was so overwhelmed by the scrunching, plopping, braiding, pineappling…what not. Your procedure is simple..I will give it a try. Don’t you use a hair spray?

  16. Wonderful article and I love your hair. I too have curly, slightly below shoulder length hair. I tend to not use silicone conditioners/deep conditioners since my curls go flat and extremely frizzy on day 2. No specific curling products either since most of them contain silicones and the ones that don’t are not in my budget. Instead I use a diluted form of my conditioner as my leave in too. Have you tried plopping? There are loads of youtube videos which show you how. I use it and my curls look good after a wash. I totally agree with you on one point. No combs ever! My hair has thanked me since I stopped using any kind of combs! 🙂

  17. Awesome post Anjana 🙂 i too have curly hair exactly like urs and after trying to make them behave for really a long time i gave up and now i just let them be 😉 Will follow these steps from now.

  18. Hi Anjana – gorgeous hair! Quick question, after you put all your products in and call it a night, do they end up staining the satin pillow? If so, does that mean you wash it daily? I also wash my hair at the most twice a week, so I only put in products twice a week – do you still put in oil, leave-in conditioner, curling cream, etc daily? Also, after doing my routine, I get similar results to the ends of my hair, but that top part of my head is always the most frizzy/dry after a shower – any tips? Thanks!

    1. Keerthana, you should use products everytime you wash your hair! And no, they do not stain my pillow (is that strange :-S). Do you apply products to your crown also?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *