Summertime is here! The sun is out, and so are we. You’re probably spending more time swimming, sweating, exercising, and just enjoying life outdoors. If that’s you, make sure you take care of your beautiful, sexy curls this summer with these few care tips!
Use Shampoo
If you’re unfamiliar with the curly girl method this probably seems like a given. However, the curly girl method advises curly girls to use little to no shampoo on the regular. Instead, we’re supposed to just co-wash (wash your hair with conditioner) or rinse. This may work for you, and may definitely help during the drier winter months. But in the summer months, your scalp probably gets dirtier quicker. Think about it, you go for an afternoon run and sweat for half an hour only to let that sweat sit on your head for a whole week. This will quickly lead to build-up and can even hurt hair growth. Find a sulfate-free shampoo and wash your hair thoroughly throughout the summer. Your curls will thank you for it.
Switch Up Your Styles
If you have curly hair you know how easy it is to fall into a routine. You wear your hair the same way after wash day, and you part it the same way always. While this isn’t inherently bad for your hair, switching up your hairstyles, and even your parts, can help promote a healthier scalp and keep you from developing balding patches. Low manipulation styles can be a lifesaver, but if all you ever do is keep your hair in a sleek bun or a tight hairstyle, you’ll be sure to see a receding hairline in your future.
Make Sure Your Products Mix Well
If you’ve walked down the ethnic hair aisle at Walmart or Target, you’ve seen the slew of products marketed to curly girls. There are custards, creams, milks, and honey it almost sounds like you’re getting ready to bake! And while many of these products work really well to do their specific job, they don’t all mix well once they’re in your hair. This leaves flakes and white streaks or frizz, and often leads to more frequent wash days. You can test their ability to mix on a small strand of hair before committing to your whole head. Because we’ve all done our hair only for it to fail and once it is done the only way to reset it is to wash it.
Don’t Use Heat
If you want to maintain your beautiful, sexy curls this summer, try and stay away from heat. This goes especially to my curly girls out there who live at the beach. If you’re spending all day in the sun, and you use a ton of heat by flat iron or diffuser, that’s a lot of heat for your hair. You can get heat damage from too much sun exposure, so wear a hat or skip the diffuser. If you have to diffuse your hair, try a hooded dryer on low, or diffuse on the cool setting.
At the end of the day, no two curls are the same. If your curl routine is already working for you, don’t worry about implementing any of these new tips. However, if you feel like you’ve hit a wall with your curls, and they aren’t as vibrant as they used to be, try switching it up for beautiful, sexy curls this summer!