Dry hair is a big problem for women with curls and it’s a struggle that straight-haired people don’t understand. When you have a lot of tight curls, it’s more difficult for the natural oils in your hair to spread throughout your hair, so it doesn’t retain moisture very well. Finding ways to keep your hair well moisturized is so important if you want it to look amazing, but a lot of people don’t know how to do that. 

Women with curls also make mistakes that cause their hair to dry out even more. If you want to fall in love with your curls, you need to learn how to manage them properly and dealing with the dryness issue is the first step. Here’s how girls with curls can stop their hair from getting dry and brittle. 

Use The Right Shampoo

This is probably the most important change you can make and when you start using the right products, you should notice a huge difference to your hair. The biggest mistake people make is using a shampoo that has sulfates in it, which you can be forgiven for because most normal shampoo contains sulfates. If it’s in most products, it’s got to be pretty important for cleaning your hair, right? Actually, it’s not at all, it’s just there to make the shampoo lather up, it has nothing to do with cleaning. But sulfates can strip away all of the natural oils in your hair which is an issue for anybody, but it’s particularly bad if you have curls that are already prone to drying out. Your hair needs those natural oils to stay moisturized and healthy, so you should avoid shampoo with sulfates at all costs. There are more new sulfate-free products on the market than ever before, so if you search around, you should be able to find them quite easily. 

Water Your Shampoo Down

Even if you are using the right shampoo, you should try to limit the amount that you use. Any hair products have the potential to strip away natural oils and make our hair dry, but you can get around that if you water your shampoo down. We are used to using huge squirts of shampoo and lathering them up because we think that it helps our hair, but it doesn’t. Your hair will actually be much healthier if you mix a small amount of shampoo with water and use that instead. You’re only using what you need and not overloading your hair with product, so it still gets clean but it doesn’t dry out. 

Wash With Conditioner

This is a great trick that women with curls swear by. Washing with conditioner might sound a bit weird, but it works so well if you massage it into your hair and manually scrub the dirt out. This cleans your hair without removing any of the moisture, so it helps to prevent dryness. If you only wash your hair a few times a week, you can usually make do with a sulfate-free shampoo. However, even a good shampoo will cause dryness if you wash your hair often, so washing with conditioner is better. If you work out every day, for example, washing with conditioner is the best option. 

When you are washing with conditioner, you need to take a very generous amount and then run it through the length of your hair, but not onto your scalp. Then, very gently massage it through and use a wide-toothed comb to untangle your curls. You can wash it all out or leave some in to maintain moisture throughout the day if your hair is particularly dry. 

Choosing the right conditioner is vital if you are washing with it. Conditioners with silicone in them are terrible for curly hair, so always check the ingredients first. Ideally, you should find products that have as many natural ingredients as possible, without any chemicals. If you use a poor quality conditioner with lots of harsh ingredients, you will notice a lot of hair loss. But if you get the good stuff, your hair will be so much healthier. 

Use Leave-In Conditioner Or Curl Cream

After you have finished washing your hair, you need to lock in all of that moisture to stop your hair from drying out during the day. You can use a leave-in conditioner to do this. Curl creams are also great for maintaining definition in the curls, and they can be used on their own or with a conditioner. Everybody’s hair is different, so try a conditioner on its own, a curl cream on its own, and a combination of the two. Play around with different products to find what works best for your hair. When using these products, apply them to your hair and then comb them through for the best results. 

Be Careful When Styling Your Hair 

When you are styling your curly hair, it’s important to follow the same rules you would when choosing products etc. There are plenty of great curly hairstyles and haircuts that don’t require the use of lots of harsh products. Avoiding any kind of product is the best way to protect your hair and stop it from dry out. Tying your hair back in a tight ponytail can cause damage to your hair and dry it out too, so don’t leave it in this style for long periods of time. The best thing to do is take care of your curls well so they look amazing when they sit naturally and you don’t need to do anything else with them. 

Use Deep Conditioning Treatments

If you keep up with your care routine and you use the right products, you should be able to retain the moisture in your hair. But it’s still a good idea to give it a boost every now and again by using a deep conditioning treatment. Conditioning masks are applied to the hair and left in for a while before being washed out. They will nourish the hair with moisture and plenty of vitamins and minerals to help it stay healthy and stop it from drying out. 

If your hair is very dry at the minute and you are just starting to develop a new routine to manage it, a deep conditioning treatment is a brilliant place to start. But even when you have a good routine in place, you should consider doing a deep condition once a week to maintain your hair. 

There are plenty of great conditioning masks you can buy, but they’re easy to make yourself at home. Simple mixtures of ingredients like avocado, coconut oil, and aloe vera work wonders on your hair, and you don’t have to worry about any harsh ingredients that could damage your hair. 

Stay Away From Heat 

Heat damage is the number one reason that people get dry hair and it’s particularly bad if you have curls. So, if you want to keep your hair healthy, you need to ditch the heat straight away. Your curly hair is amazing, so you can throw the straighteners out right now. Embrace your curls because you do so much damage to your hair when you straighten it and it will end up being constantly dry. Using a hairdryer isn’t great for your hair either so, if you have the time, you should try to let your hair dry naturally. But doing that all the time isn’t realistic because we all have lives to get on with. When you do need to use a hairdryer, put it on the lowest heat setting and use a towel to get some of the moisture out first, so you can limit the time that your hair is exposed to the heat. 

Protect Your Curls While You Sleep

So many girls with curly hair get frustrated because they follow a great routine and get their hair looking amazing, but when they go to bed, they wake up and all of their hard work is undone. If your hair isn’t protected during the night, it will be a dry, frizzy mess in the morning when you wake up. You can use a satin cap during the night to protect your curls, so they still look great in the morning and you don’t have to go through your entire routine if you don’t have time. If you put your hair up in a loose bun and cover it with the satin cap and you’re good to go.

Give It Time 

Changing all of your hair products and starting a new routine should stop your hair from drying out but it’s not going to be an overnight transformation. You will notice some difference after a deep conditioning treatment but you still need to give your routine time to work. People often make the mistake of changing their routine after a week or two because their hair still feels a little dry. But you’ll never see results unless you let your hair settle in and wait for the products to start working, so be patient. 

Tackling dry hair is tough for women with curls, but if you follow these tips, you can stay on top of it and get the luscious curls you want.