If you’re anything like me, you’ve always known that you had curly hair, but were never taught how to look after it. As a result, you despaired at how frizzy and unruly it was, and maybe just dealt with it by tying it back or straightening it.
That was me until 2020, when I finally stopped treating my curly hair like straight hair and started digging into how to bring out the best of my fine, curly hair. Here are a few things that I used to do wrong – along with some product recommendations if needed!
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- Not shampooing well enough
- Using conditioners that were too heavy for my hair
- Putting too much conditioner on my roots
- Using a regular towel to dry my hair
- Applying curl stylers while my hair was damp
- Only using curl cream and expecting my curls to hold
- Brushing my hair downwards to style it (and not scrunching!)
- Tying up my hair while it was still wet
- Using bobby pins and hair elastics too much
- Not protecting my hair while sleeping
Not shampooing well enough
When I first discovered the Curly Girl Method in 2011, I switched to sulphate-free shampoos – but for some reason, my hair would get greasy so fast. The issue was that I wasn’t scrubbing my scalp enough when shampooing, and possibly not wetting my hair enough before applying shampoo.
With gentler cleansers (and especially co-washes), you do need to scrub your scalp a little more manually to make sure all the dirt and oil is lifted from your scalp. It’s also important to clarify occasionally with a stronger shampoo, to shift any persistent product or hard water buildup.
Now, I shampoo my hair twice to make sure I’ve really cleansed properly, and I clarify every few weeks, which helps boost my shine and volume.
My favourite shampoos:
Only Curls All Curl Cleanser: Only Curls website (get £5 off with code COAST5)
Philip Kingsley Body Building shampoo: Amazon UK | Amazon US | LookFantastic (use discount code LFTFCOAST) | Marks & Spencer | Philip Kingsley website.
Using conditioners that were too heavy for my hair
When you first encounter curly hair routines online, there is a big emphasis on conditioning your hair, because curly hair is dry, right?? In actual fact, the amount of conditioning your curls need will vary depending on how damaged your hair is and how fine it is.
While using thick, butter-rich conditioners and deep conditioning every week was great for my curls at the start of my curly journey, it quickly became overkill as my hair got healthier. Nowadays, I can get away with a very small amount of a lightweight conditioner, and I never need to use deep conditioners or curl creams. It is possible to over-condition curly hair, which can lead to buildup as well as limp curls with lots of soft frizz.
For more information about how to combat this, check out this post: Can you over-condition curly hair? Signs of moisture overload and how to fix it
My favourite lightweight conditioners:
TréLuxe Untie the Knot Leave-In (can be used as a rinse-out): TréLuxe website US (get 15% off when you buy through this link) | International stockists
L’Oreal Paris Elvive Dream Lengths 8 Second Wonder Water: LookFantastic | Boots UK | Amazon UK
Putting too much conditioner on my roots
Another thing I was doing wrong with my conditioner was slapping it on top of my head! Applying conditioner directly to your roots can make your roots look greasy and limp – again, this is especially true if you have fine hair, which can’t hold as much product as coarse hair.
It’s best to apply conditioner on your ends first and work your way up. I also like to stop at ear-level and then squish my curls upwards to my roots to distribute the conditioner in a lighter way.
Using a regular towel to dry my hair
Normal terry towels have raised loops which can cause extra frizz on textured hair, and they can also remove too much water before we get the chance to style (see below). Instead, your curly hair will benefit from a flat-weave towel, such as a light microfibre towel, or even an old t-shirt or tea towel.
My favourite flat-weave towels:
Boucleme curl towel: Boucleme website (use discount code COAST15)
No Knot Co Waffle Texture Towel: NoKnotCo website
JSL Essentials microfibre hair towel: JSL Essentials website (use discount code COAST15)
Applying curl stylers while my hair was damp
I used to keep my hair in a towel for ages and whack in some air-dry cream once it was damp, but this only created a frizzy mess that lost definition very quickly! Styling on wet hair is key to creating those juicy, shiny curl clumps. When you scrunch your hair, you should be able to hear that ‘squish’ sound. If you stop hearing that sound, use a spray bottle to make your hair wetter again.
This might seem like it’s diluting the product, but in fact, styling products need a certain amount of water in order to adhere to the hair and work properly. Try styling on different levels of wetness and see how your results differ!
Suggested water misting bottles:
Only Curls misting bottle: Only Curls website (use discount code COAST5)
Boucleme mist spray bottle: Boucleme website (use discount code COAST15)
Other spray bottles: Amazon UK | Amazon US
Only using curl cream and expecting my curls to hold
Speaking of air-dry cream…curl creams and leave-ins are basically an extra conditioning step, and they don’t provide much hold on their own. To achieve long-lasting curls, I needed to switch to using curl gels – and once I did, it was a total game-changer!
Worried about that crispy feeling that mousses and gels leave? Don’t worry – this is a good thing! Once your hair is 100% dry, you can “scrunch out the crunch” by scrunching or smoothing down your hair to break that cast and release the curls within!
My favourite curl gels:
TréLuxe Hi! Defintion Styling Gel: TréLuxe website US (get 15% off when you buy through this link) | International stockists
Boucleme Seal + Shield Gel: Boucleme website (use discount code COAST15) | Amazon US
Ouidad Advanced Climate Control Gel, Stronger Hold: Amazon UK | Amazon US | Ouidad website
Brushing my hair downwards to style it (and not scrunching!)
Brushing your curls while your hair is wet does help smooth the strands and distribute your products, but brushing your hair downwards means that you’re missing out on some potential root lift! My favourite way of styling is now to brush upside down, scrunch, then flip upright for more scrunching. The scrunching is also key to bringing out your natural curl pattern and creating bounce!
If you can’t or don’t want to go upside down, make sure that you are always brushing away from the face – either sideways or upwards – to encourage that lift again.
My favourite styling brushes:
Bounce Curl Define EdgeLift Brush: Bounce Curl website (get 10% off with code CURLSBYTHECOAST10) | Amazon US | International stockists
Tangle Teezer Ultimate Detangler: Amazon UK | Amazon US | Boots UK | LookFantastic (use code LFTFCOAST)
Tying up my hair while it was still wet
Because I didn’t know how to deal with my hair, I used to tie it up in a low ponytail while it was still wet, then let it air dry. Unfortunately, this meant that the section of hair underneath the hair elastic would never dry!
Leaving your hair wet for very long periods of time, such as sleeping with wet hair, can cause damage to your strands, as the hair is weaker when it’s wet. It can also lead to scalp problems – that warm, damp environment can be a breeding ground for bacteria.
Using bobby pins and hair elastics too much
Doing the same ponytail every day, along with using bobby pins along the front of my hair to pin down the fluffy baby hairs, inevitably lead to a lot of breakage. I no longer use them – I use claw clips, scrunchies, invisibobbles (aka spiral hair ties), and banana clips to tie my hair up instead, all of which pull on the hair less and result in less breakage.
My favourite gentle hair accessories:
Invisibobble spiral hair ties: Amazon UK | Amazon US | Boots UK
Claw clips: Kitsch (use discount code CURLSBYTHECOAST) | Amazon UK | Amazon US
Not protecting my hair while sleeping
The hardest part of trying to look after your curls is figuring out what on earth you should do when you sleep – curls can go so frizzy overnight! It took me a bit of trial and error, but I’ve finally found what works for me: a silk or satin pillowcase, plus a buff or head wrap that keeps my curls gathered on top of my head. If I’m feeling lazy, I might just put my curls into a high ponytail/pineapple using a scrunchie or spiral hair tie.
Bonnets don’t work very well for me because my hair just slides around inside them, but other curlies get on great with them, along with scarves or clipping their hair on top of their head. Check out my post The importance of sleep protection for curly hair to see examples of these methods!
My favourite sleep protection:
Bambonn hair wrap: Bambonn website (restocks every Friday) | Etsy
Silk pillowcases: Boucleme website (use discount code COAST15) | Amazon UK | Amazon US
Satin pillowcases: Tréluxe website US (get 15% off when you buy through this link) | Kitsch (use code CURLSBYTHECOAST) | Amazon UK | Amazon US
You can see how just a few tweaks made a massive difference to my curls – and not all of them were necessarily about buying new products! Curly hair needs to be treated differently to straight hair, and the techniques we employ while washing and styling our curls are just as important (if not more)!
Curls by the Coast 
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