There’s little doubt that curly hair needs a lot more attention and care than naturally straight hair, but even if you have the best intentions, you might still fall victim to a few common errors that are bad for your curls.
Check out the worst curly hair care mistakes, and find out how to avoid them in order to keep your hair in top shape every day. Fight frizz and dryness and get the definition you want by making sure that you’re not falling in either of these curly hair care traps.
1. Letting Your Curls Dry Out
While some moisturizing products can get too heavy, most help give your curls all the moisture they need without weighing them down. If you use good moisturizing products, from your shampoo to your styling cream, you’ll be a lot more confident about keeping your curls hydrated throughout the day.
2. Giving Up Shampoo Completely
While co-washing can certainly help keep your hair in shape, giving up shampoo completely is one of the worst curly hair care mistakes you can make. If you want to wash with conditioner, do it every other time, but don’t say no to shampoo on principle. Instead, find one that’s designed for curly hair, with extra moisturizing power.
3. Not Sticking to a Good Routine
For curly hair, messing up your routine can easily mean a disaster. Whatever your regular routine includes, from oil rinses to leave-in conditioner, make sure that you keep it up. As long as you know what it works for your hair, keep it up. If you skip one step too often, your hair will suffer and your curls might end up looking less than perfect.
4. Combing Wet Hair
Even the widest tooth comb can damage the natural structure of your curls. While combing dry hair is a recipe for a frizzy disaster, you shouldn’t make the mistake of combing it wet either, not even when you’re trying to distribute conditioner evenly. If you do need some detangling action, avoid one of the worst curly hair care mistakes by rinsing your hair with water again. That will reactivate your curls in a natural way.
More: 10 Life Changing Curly Hair Hacks
5. Towel Drying Before Applying Products
If you want to keep moisture locked in your hair, don’t even think about towel drying before applying your product of choice. Whether you use a styling cream or a good leave in conditioner, apply it directly on wet hair, without so much as touching it with a towel. You can get the extra water out of it later, after using your products.
6. Blow Drying Dripping Hair
Once you’ve used your styling product, don’t reach for the blow dryer before getting the excess water out of your curls. You can either used a very soft towel to blot your hair or simply let it air dry for a few minutes. Exposing your hair to the blow drier when it’s too wet is one of the worst curly hair care mistakes.
7. Skipping the Diffuser
Some curly haired women hate the diffuser, but it’s really the best way to keep frizz to a minimum. Even when you’re traveling, make sure you always have your mini blow dryer with a diffuser handy. Drying your hair without it, even once, can lead to a lot of frizz and a really bad hair day.
8. Touching Your Hair While Drying It
It might be hard to get used to, but keeping your hands off your hair completely is the right thing to do when you’re worring about frizz. It’s one of the worst curly hair care mistakes that many women make, hoping that handling curls gently speeds up the drying. That doesn’t really happen, but touching your hair while drying it, even with a diffuser, makes frizz worse.
See also: Celebrities with Naturally Curly Hair
9. Going for Too Much Heat with Your Curling Iron
There’s only one correct setting for the curling iron when you have naturally curly hair, and you want to add a little more definition to it. The lowest heat setting is the best, and that’s what you should stick to if you want to minimize heat damage. Ionic and tourmaline curling irons can reduce damage, but avoiding the extreme heat is the best thing you can do for your curls.
10. Messing Up the Product Application
One of the worst curly hair care mistakes you can make goes back to the way you apply your products. Even if you’re in a big hurry, work section by section. The last thing you want is a crunchy spot in your hair.
