If you love your natural curls but your curl formation is overly soft and only lasts for one day without cleansing with shampoo or similar formula, you still have options to maintain your curl pattern longer without daily cleansing.

(Image of Gary Sunderland - British Hair Awards - All Rights Reserved).

Soft curls which compress easily after a short period of time can be a challenge curly haired people may encounter but can be overcome.

Maintaining a well formed curl pattern without daily shampoo or related cleansing treatments is definitely possible if you know the tricks.  Over cleansing can leave delicate curls dry and crunchy.  Curly hair always requires moisture, moisture and more moisture.

Even if some or all of your curls regularly “fall out” at night while you’re sleeping you still need to protect your strands by sleeping on a satin or silk pillowcase or by wearing a curly friendly sleep cap.

Although you may need to reapply products on a daily basis to help you maintain the curl shape, it’s possible to use products which do not smother the delicate strands and do allow them to breathe.

If you have softer, looser curls and desire more definition or soft springy curls follow the steps listed below:

1. Once a week (less often if your routine works best with that timing) cleanse hair (with a diluted shampoo or other type of no-poo cleanser)  which keeps your scalp and hair clean without dryness and damage. 
2.  Finish with a cool/cold water rinse.
3.  Apply a leave-in conditioner from the ears down to the ends.  Avoid applying directly to the root area which usually consists of the area of hair near the ears.
4.  Detangle from ends to roots using fingers only.  Do not use a comb, brush or pick which can disrupt natural curl pattern.
5.  Saturate hair with a light leave-in conditioning spray being sure to mist over the top of the hair to avoid overdosing.
6.  Apply a tiny bit of jojoba or other hair oil to fingertips.  Gently dab through the dry end areas.
7.  Separate still-damp hair into desired curl shapes.  Roll into barrel shapes or ringlets.  Pin to hold.  Work around entire head until all curls are defined and pinned.
8.  Let air dry if possible or wet bun it to allow hair to dry with bend.  If you can’t air dry, sit under a hood dryer.
9.  At night before going to bed if there are particular areas which drop curls, apply light moisturizing mist to those sections, wrap around fingers and then pin.  Apply satin or silk sleep cap.  In the morning remove pins and arrange with fingers.

More Information

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Tags: cleansing, compress curls, crunchy curls, curl formation, curly haired people, dry curls, maintain your curl pattern, moisture, natural curls, Naturally Curly Hair, overly soft, satin pillowcase, shampoo, silk pillowcase, well formed curl pattern

This entry was posted on Monday, October 12th, 2009 at 10:48 pm and is filed under Beauty Beat, Hair, Hairstyles, Hairstyling Tips, Naturally Curly, Shampoo Treatments, Women's Hairstyles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.