How to Simplify your Curly Hair Routine

Curly hair can be so time-consuming, from wash day to styling, to refreshing.

This beginner-friendly routine provides with tips for reducing the time, effort, and number of products you use.

Wash Day Options

Regular Wash Day

Purpose: Cleanse, condition the hair, and restyle

Frequency: 1-3 times per week, depending on your natural oil production

Steps:

1. Shampoo
2. Condition
3. Style

While I’m a huge fan of keeping your products minimal, I do think it’s crucial for everyone to have a shampoo and conditioner for a regular wash day, and a clarifying shampoo and a deep conditioner for a treatment wash day.

For a regular shampoo and conditioner, I’m not super picky with these and there are some good drugstore options. However, I think you should opt for a shampoo that is able to effectively cleanse your hair and has a good lather, not something super moisturizing. 

I’ve been loving this set from V&Co. lately, and they’re available in drugstores and on Amazon.

Treatment Wash Day

Purpose: Reset the hair by removing buildup, replenishing moisture, and strengthening the hair.

Frequency: At least once per month, up to 4 times per month.

Steps:

1. Clarifying shampoo
2. Deep conditioner
3. Style

At least once a month or more, use a clarifying shampoo and a deep conditioner to prevent buildup from products, hard water minerals, and dryness. Most curly hair problems can be solved with a simple clarify and deep condition. 

A good rule of thumb is once per month, but it would depend on how much buildup you get and if you have really hard water.

I recommend the Ouidad Water Works Shampoo because it will remove both hard water minerals and product buildup. This one is color-safe and won’t leave your hair stripped. It’s safe to use regardless if you have hard water or not.

I always recommend deep conditioning after you clarify. This will restore moisture and prevent dryness. When using a deep conditioner, it replaces your conditioner and you do not need to use both.

My hair is medium to coarse-texture and high porosity, so I need to deep condition more frequently, such as every 2-3 washes or so.

The Not Your Mother’s Curl Talk Bond-Building Mask is suitable for all hair types and will work to repair damage. If your hair is very fine and gets weighed down easily, only use a small amount and make sure you thoroughly rinse it out.

Free Wash Day Calendar

Confused on which days you should do each routine and how to rotate products? I have a free wash day schedule that you can download below. It also has a blank version that you can fill in.

Styling

The first step is to re-wet our hair until it is evenly wet. A spray bottle is helpful so you can mist your hair without soaking it. To speed up dry time, you can use a hair towel and scrunch out the excess water. 

I often like to keep it simple and use just one product to style, as using multiple products at once is just weighing it down. Not all products are compatible, so best to keep it simple. When I only use one product, I use a gel that is moisturizing. 

Curly hair needs 2 critical things to style:

1. Moisture
2. Hold

You can achieve this a few different ways:

• Gel that is moisturizing and has hold
• Leave in-conditioner for light moisture + a gel for hold
• Curl cream for moisture, clumping, etc. + a gel for hold
• Leave-in or cream + mousse is another option

Most people do not need both a leave-in and a curl cream at once.

If you want longer-lasting curls and less maintenance, you need a product that provides a lot of hold. This is going to save you so much time and effort after wash day and you won’t have to refresh as much.

Sample Styling Routines

The AG Liquid Effects Gel is moisturizing so I can skip cream or leave-in which will actually increase its hold. It provides a flexible hold that is buildable, so the more you use it can be a strong hold.

I like this one because it is lightweight is suitable for fine hair. It also has humidity-blocking ingredients so it will prevent frizz in all weather.

However, it does contain protein, so I would not choose this gel if you have low-porosity or coarse hair.

Another option is the Jessicurl gel which is even more lightweight and protein-free. It also comes in fragrance-free. This can’t be used as a one-and-done for me though because I need more moisture so I have to layer it with a cream.

Styling Techniques

I highly recommend incorporating styling especially in problem areas or just in the front if you want your curls to last longer. Styling may include brush styling or finger coiling which enhance our curls so they clump better, aren’t frizzy, and last longer. I prefer brush styling because it’s fast, smooths out the hair and helps it clump.

The Tangle Teezer is multi-purpose so you would only need one brush if you want to use it to distribute product, style, and possibly detangle (although I only recommend detangling with your hands).

I’ve also been loving the new Bounce Curl Volume brush; but you can’t use it to detangle.

If you prefer to skip styling, at least brush your gel in so you get more coverage for frizz control throughout. Then scrunch so the curls return.

To speed up dry time, you can use a hair towel and scrunch out the excess water. I prefer to do this so I don’t have to diffuse as long.

If you’re struggling to get enough hold, try adding more gel after scrunching.

The last step is diffuse, which I think is critical. 

It’s faster because you can get your hair done and finished right away so you can see how it turns out, versus air drying for hours where the curls are getting disturbed while they’re drying.

I use the Curlsmith Defrizzion because I’m able to dry my hair in under 15 minutes without using high heat or damaging my curls.

The Infiniti PRO dryer by Conair is a less-expensive alternative, but keep in mind that it will take longer to dry your hair.

Once your hair is completely dry, then you can scrunch out the crunch. Make sure your hands are dry so that you don’t cause frizz. Fluff the roots from underneath to create more volume.

Results

I love how this routine turned out! My curls were soft, clumped, and defined but still had great hold. Watch the video to see my day 2 results, no refreshing needed!

Add-Ons

Here are some products that are not completely critical but I find really useful to add once you start building out your routine.

Still stuck?

Need more help with your specific hair needs? Book a curl coaching session with me for personalized help, one-on-one.

Watch this Low Maintenance Routine for more help with increasing your curl longevity so you don’t have to refresh much.

Let me know what questions you have!