Wet Styling vs. Damp Styling Curly Hair Compared

I’ve always found it fascinating how when styling naturally curly hair, you can make just one slight tweak and completely change your results. You never know what you’re going to get with curly hair. Sometimes you might have more definition and less volume, and some days you might have mega volume and not know how you did it.

I’ve thought about doing this mini series for a while now, where I experiment with my styling routine by changing up just one thing and compare my results. I’m using the same products, doing the same techniques, but altering one thing: the amount of water in my hair when applying styling products.

The traditional “curly girl method” is known for applying styling products to soaking wet hair, and while there are many benefits, there are some downsides. Some people prefer to applying styling products to damp or towel-dried hair, which also has pros and cons.

Products Used:

• Bounce Curl Moisture Balance Leave-In Conditioner, 10% off with code GENAMARIE
• Bounce Curl Light Cream Gel, 10% off with code GENAMARIE
• Bounce Curl Alcohol-Free Hairspray, 10% off with code GENAMARIE
• HairRepear The Ultimate Hair Towel, 10% off with code GLAMMEUP
• Denman 5-row Brush

For both of these routines I was focused on humidity proofing my hair, which I shared more about in my last post.

Wet Styling

The first method I put to the test was the wet styling routine. It’s important to note that this routine is not a soaking wet styling routine, like you may have seen some do while still in the shower. I start with leave-in conditioner on soaking wet hair, and then blot out some water at my roots. When I apply my gel my hair is not dripping, just wet.

Damp Styling

I consider damp styling where you first towel dry your hair, then apply styling products. I was skeptical about this routine because I’m so used to applying products on wet hair, but I was surprised with how my curls turned out.

The biggest difference here is dry time. No one wants to spend hours waiting for their hair to air dry, or spend an hour diffusing in the summer. I think now is the perfect time to test out damp styling so you can get out the door quicker.

Which do you prefer? Let me know!