Styling Tips for A Quick Wash Days
Welcome to the world of curly hair care, where wash days can be both a joy and a challenge, especially when time is of the essence. As a curly hairstylist, I understand the struggle of balancing a busy schedule with the need to care for your beautiful curls. But fear not! With a few expert tips and tricks up your sleeve, even the quickest of wash days can yield stunning results. From choosing the right products to mastering efficient techniques, I'm here to guide you through making the most out of your precious time while pampering your curls. So, whether you're a seasoned curl enthusiast or new to the curly hair game, get ready to transform your wash day routine into a streamlined, effective, and fabulous experience.
What you’ll need
Style with a product that has hold
Bypass the leave-in and opt for a product with hold to style your soaking wet curls. Generally gels are going to have the most hold factor, followed by cream and foams.
When it comes to choosing the right styler for you there are a few factors to look into: the condition your hair is in, the climate you live in, texture,density, lifestyle to name a few.
Skip listening to random curly hair influencers, Your best bet will be to partner with a qualified curly hairstylist to help decide what is right for you and your desired results.
2. Section by Section
Although you may find this tip initially time consuming, applying your styler of choice in sections will ultimately give you better results thus helping to extend your wear time.
The size of sed sections really depends on the texture and density of your hair. If you have thin, fine curls, you can definitely get away with larger sections similar to what I am taking in the video.
If your hair is thick and coarse, to ensure even saturation & product distribution, you should take smaller sections.
3. Grab your Brush
I find using a brush allows me to maneuver through the hair in a much more effective manner. The brush you see in the video is the Felicia Leatherwood Brush, the comb is flexible but firm allowing me to work through the hair with flexibility when I hit a snag.
4. Optional: Brush Upwards for Lift
Once I reach the crown of my head, my final brush of my section will be from underneath, creativing natural looking lift at the root. This is imperative for those who enjoy sitting under the dryer instead of diffusing but optional for those who dont sit under the dryer or wish to not create additional volume.
5. Extra Hold
Before I begin the drying process I always flip my head upside down and squish in an additional product mainly focusing on my ends.
Depending on your hair type (and no I do not mean the dreaded bs curl typing chart) this might be a step you are able to skip, but not for me! My ends like most are not only prone to dryness but they are also processed from more than one lightning process. To avoid them frizzing up, I apply an additionally styler (or the same styler) just on the ends.
Can you hear the squish?
This is also when I access the squish factor of my hair. I’m checking to see if I have enough water in my hair.
6. Microfiber Towel
Opt to squish some excess water out with a microfiber towel instead of your regular body towel. Microfiber, unlike other materials, can absorb more water without causing excess dryness.
A soft t-shirt works well too!
7. Set Your Style
Depending on your desired end result you can dry your hair in multiple different ways. Overhead dryer, diffuser, hanging your head out of your car window.. However,
If your goal is definition and longevity, aka: making it from one wash day to the next with minimal touch ups, you're going to want to dry your hair completely. Your best bet in that scenario is the overhead dryer, which is generally what I always opt for. If I want to create more volume, I will sit under the overhead dryer until a firm cast forms then finish off with the diffuser (flipping my head side to side) & pick out my roots as you see here.
I avoid air drying like the plague. When your hair is wet, it is in a fragile state. Leaving it to the elements for air drying leaves too much room for error.
A gentle reminder: All these steps are a lot easier to follow when your hair is in a healthy state. Your best bet will be to partner with a curly hair stylist. The initial investment can be more when partnering with a curl specialist, but the long-term savings of money, time, frustration, and effort is definitely worth it.
I hope putting some of these tips into practice will make the difference in your next wash day!
Stay Curly,
Maya