A reader named Rebecca emailed me the following question: Do you have any tips for curly hair? I have tried everything and my hair’s a big frizzy mess. Thanks!

While I love to blog on beauty related topics, this one was out of my area of expertise. Other than 1 truly unfortunate perm when I was little, I’ve only dealt with managing naturally stick-straight hair. Fortunately, my friend Erica has extremely curly hair and offered to answer this question. 

 
Anyone with curly hair will readily admit it takes extra TLC. I simply can’t skip putting products in it, or not condition it, or it will literally turn into dreadlocks and/or break off. Any readers that happen to have naturally curly or permed hair, will benefit from what I’ve learned in the past 35 years:

 
1. Find a good stylist

It’s worth every single penny to find a good stylist you can trust and be loyal to. I usually tend to favor Aveda salons, because they have a lot of emphasis on curly hair products and use natural products. When I go to a salon, I ask for the person with the most experience with curly hair. It takes a long time for stylist mistakes to grow out, so find someone knowledgeable.  

2. Use the right products

As far as products go, I think most curly heads will benefit from a moisturizing cleansing shampoo and conditioner, a serum gel containing silicone, and a glossing/shine spray as dry hair touch up.

Some of my favorite tried and true tested products (and I’ve tried pretty much everything out on the market)

*  Aveda

*  Neutrogena 

*  John Frieda Anti-Frizz line including serum, silicone gel, intense relaxing cream  (Put these on soaking wet hair for best results.)

*  Kerastasse Oleo Relax deep conditioner masque and relaxing serum

3. Pick the right style

While most of our straight-haired friends can wear their hair down all summer, most of us curlies cannot; it is too frizzy with the humidity and heat. Try any of these styles:

*  Ponytail

*  Classic chignon

*  Wide or skinny headbands 

*  French Braid

4. Make it more manageable

*  The longer the better as the weight helps to hold it down  (Remember Keri Russell on Felicity! So bad!)

*  The less you wash it the better. Obviously you want to be clean, but most naturally curly hair tends to be dry, so washing it every 3-5 days is usually sufficient. More in summer or if you work out perhaps, but every day will be way too much.

*  Conditioner is your best friend! Because I condition my hair daily, even when I don’t shampoo, I’m big on moisture. Use a good brand for both daily and intense deep conditioner. (The best way to have defined ringlets is to put conditioner in it in the shower, comb it thru with a wide toothed comb, rinse it out thoroughly.)

*  After applying your favorite products, try to touch it as little as possible. Curly hair ‘frizzes’ as the curl pattern is disrupted with things like brushing, rubbing with a towel, combing, etc.

*  When sleeping putting hair in a very very loose bun on top of head will help keep it from snarling. Sleeping on a silk pillowcase will also help prevent tangles.

Last but never least, avoid these at all costs: 

*  Don’t ever have it thinned with thinning shears

*  Don’t ever chemically relax it 

*  Don’t ever cut it super short  

Yes, I did all of these, and it was a disaster of epic proportions! It literally took years to recover from, during which I wore a hat—and cried!—daily.