The ultimate five-step curly hair care routine

Frizzy, tangled, unruly and untamable hair are some of the struggles women with curly hair often have to put up with – especially on wash day! Say goodbye to your hair woes by adopting these tips and tricks to improve your hair routine and take your curls to the next level:

Sulphate-free shampoo:

Washing your hair with shampoo doesn’t only wash away dirt and bacteria, but also the precious oil produced by your scalp that helps moisturise your hair. Sulphates can have a very drying effect on your hair, so opt for sulphate-free products that are designed to moisturise curly hair.

Try:The Perfect Hair Mango & Marula Curl Care Silky Soft Shampoo (R89.99) is a soap-and sulphate-free detangling shampoo enriched with creamy mango butter and rich marula oils to soften and cleanse your hair, leaving it with a wonderful tropical scent.

Load up on conditioner

Curly hair loves moisture and is particularly thirsty after a shampoo. Gently massage a generous dollop of conditioner into every strand and leave it in for longer than mentioned on the bottle to give your hair extra time to absorb the goodness. 

Try: Nilotiqa Shea Butter & Coconut Replenishing Conditioner (R59.95) with avocado oil easily conditions and softens your hair, while penetrating deep into the hair to help restore moisture and combat damage.

Detangle with care and patience

Work out those pesky knots while your conditioner is still on. Go slowly and take your time detangling your curls to make sure you don’t cause any breakage in the process. If you are blessed with a lot of hair, split it into sections and brush through each section to make sure you don’t miss any tangles.

Try: Cantu Shea Butter For Natural Hair Coil Calm Detangler (R215.00) is packed with pure shea butter that helps to deeply nourish hair while getting rid of tangles and knots.

Evolve Flow Through Detangler’s (R52.95) is great on wet or dry hair and promises no snagging or pulling thanks to the cleverly designed bristle rows that separate for gentle detangling and smoothing with ease.

Rinse and dry

Using lukewarm water (hot water is dehydrating), rinse the conditioner out of your hair. Gently squeeze excess water out of your hair using a cotton t-shirt of microfibre towel. While rubbing your hair with a towel is tempting, it is also more damaging and can cause breakage and frizz. If necessary, apply a leave-in conditioner and comb through with a wide-tooth comb.

Try: Umberto Giannini Banana Butter Repair & Restore Leave-In Conditioner (R150.00) is a silicone-free, lightweight repairing and moisturising miracle worker that restores bounce, shine and manageability to thirsty curls.

Scrunch and style

To achieve that bouncy, healthy curly hair look, add a curl-defining product to your wet hair and give it a good scrunch to work it into the hair. Wavy hair does well with a water-based mousse, while curly, coily hair types prefer a thicker cream or gel.

Try: Umberto Giannini Curl Jelly Scrunching Jelly (R150.00) banishes frizz, adds shine and gives definition to waves and curls.

Curls In Bloom Define Me! Curl Activating Cream (R119.95) is a versatile curling cream, strong enough to define curls without weighing them down, providing all-day-long moisture.