How to Style Curls that Fall Flat, Don’t Last, or Are Overly Soft
If your curls fall limp, frizz, struggle to hold a curl, or feel too soft and flat, then you need a to make these teaks
Do your curls look stringy after wash day? There are a few common causes of stringy, frizzy curls that can be fixed by refreshing. I am sharing a refresh routine to fix stringiness and re-clump the curls so you can extend your style.
It’s best to skip refreshing if you can avoid it. Wetting our hair daily puts stress on the structure of the hair and can weaken it over time. Before you refresh, asses your hair’s needs by asking the following questions.
Does it feel soft, moisturized, and your scalp is not dirty, but it just looks stringy and frizzy?
You can fix it with refreshing & re-styling.
Does it feel a bit dry and brittle and look frizzy?
Refresh and use a curl cream or leave-in to re-moisturize.
Does it feel producty, sticky, or very weighed down?
Re-wash, or try dampening your hair and using a hair towel to scrunch out excess product. This is usually due to using too much product on wash day or using products that are too heavy.
Is your scalp dirty, has buildup, or is very oily?
Time to wash
Avoid soaking your hair all the way down to the roots and to where it’s dripping. Instead, focus on problem areas and frizzy curls.
Avoiding layering on too many products. If you didn’t use a gel that has slip on wash day, then you may need something like the Curl Keeper Slip to give your hands some slip to be able to re-style your curls. I prefer to just use the same products I used on wash day, which were the Bounce Curl Clump & Define Cream and the Bounce Curl Light Hold Cream Gel.
Mix a curl cream, leave-in conditioner, or any product with slip with some water in your hands to dilute it so it’s lighter. This will also re-moisturize the hair if it’s feeling dry or brittle.
Detangle if needed for any curls that are matted. Avoid raking through all of your hair. Instead, pick up individual curls and work through those, carefully separating knots.
The easiest method to encourage clumps is the praying hands technique which is just where you press your palms together over your hair and gently pull down. This only works if your hair is wet enough and not tangly.
Another method is to finger coil. This is ideal for those who just need to touch up areas or have stubborn curls that are stringy.
I prefer using the brush styling technique because it works for stubborn curls. You just have to be very gentle and make sure the strand is already detangled and is wet enough. I don’t do my whole head, just the frizzy or stringy pieces.
A quick brush styling method would be to just use it to clump your ends all at once. Your ends would have to already be detangled first. Place your brush on your mid-shaft or ends, apply light tension by pressing your other palm against it, or twist your brush slightly and glide through the ends. Scrunch with your hands, ensuring their wet to prevent them from sticking to your hair and causing frizz.
Avoid applying a ton of extra product, but if you feel like you didn’t get a cast on wash day, your gel didn’t have enough hold, or if it’s just really frizzy, you may need more gel. Use a strong hold gel and dilute it with water. Smooth your hands over the surface of your hair and scrunch.
Finger coil stubborn curls with gel in your hands and tuck in frizz and flyaways.
Air drying is often the main cause of stringiness on both wash day and refresh days. Diffusing is the only way to get your curls to dry in the shrunken position which prevents limp, stringy ends. The heat sets the hydrogen bonds in our hair so we have control over the outcome. Whereas with air drying, it’s exposed to the elements and movement causing frizz, and it’s being elongated by gravity.
Place your ends in your diffuser, and press it up towards your roots. Then turn it on low speed and medium to low heat. Hold for a few seconds and release. Slowly move to other sections of your hair using the same method. I prefer to do this upright so I can really get the sides and the lower section pressed all the way up to the root. If your hair is elongated anywhere, it will dry straighter than the rest.
If you’re getting frizz from your diffuser, it’s likely because your gel doesn’t have enough hold to protect your hair. Other causes include your diffuser is not a good design, or your dryer is blowing too hard. More help troubleshooting diffusing here.
Diffusing should only take you a few minutes because your hair isn’t soaked when you’re refreshing. If you’re short on time, it’s better to just diffuse for a minute to two until you feel the cast form and you see that curl shape start to set. Then if you need to run, you can finish air drying the rest of the way.
Once your hair is completely dry, you can scrunch out the crunch if you want softer, fuller curls. Sometimes stringiness is just from not scrunching that out. If you’re unable to get rid of the cast, it’s possible that your gel is too heavy for your hair type or you used too much gel.
Sometimes I like to add a little bit of oil to my hands to help soften the gel cast further and add shine.
While I love the Bounce Curl gel that I used on the wash day before this video because it’s great for volume, it doesn’t do the best when refreshing. The Bounce Curl cream is great for encouraging clumps, but when it comes to gel you want to look for something that has that slippery slimy feel to it that returns when you wet your hair. This will help you work through any tangles when refreshing and the cast will usually return when you’re just adding water and you don’t even need additional product.
The following product combos are my favorites for the easiest refreshes and sometimes don’t even require refreshing.
Is your hair still stringy or does this keep happening after every wash? These are some of the possible causes:
Needing more help with stringiness and frizz on wash day? Watch the recent video on Solving Your Gel Issues because it may be caused by using the wrong gel on wash day. I share reasons why your gel could be making your hair sticky, crunchy, and stringy, including styling techniques for clumping the curls as well.
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© 2024 Gena Marie
One Response
My wavy hair gets a lot of tangles/rats in it. It also falls out by the handfuls! I can put a whole bottle of conditioner in and would still have tangles. I used a wide comb in the shower or a little while but ended up pulling out most of my hair in the process. I see you always applying product in sections of your hair with your hands. If I did that, I would look like I had gorilla hands because I would pull my hair out even with a light touch. I condition my hair daily and put curl cream on, plop and let air dry because I can’t get a brush through it when its wet. PLEASE HELP!!! What should I do?