By Gigi (pictured above) of GigisMeanderings.com
I have been on my natural hair journey for about 14 years. Prior to that I was bound to my Revlon mild relaxer like clockwork, I did not even know what my own hair texture was anymore. Now everywhere you look women are embracing their curls. I have watched this natural hair movement explode, from the plethora of curly hair products available, to all the curly girls in the media.
To get consistent results with my hair, I do my routine once a week. Big, fluffy, defined hair is my preferred style, which usually happens day two. “Natural” hair takes a lot of TLC and patience. You have to be willing to go with the flow and accept that natural hair has a mind of its own and lots of factors can influence the end result ie. weather, product cocktail, and workouts are just a few things that can dramatically change your “do”.
1. Oil the Night Before
My routine starts the night before with an oil treatment, this week I used ojon oil, sometimes I use olive oil, or coconut oil. My hair is naturally dry and highlights make it even dryer.
This is my end of the week “need to do my hair do”. It is still looks dry even though it is saturated with oil.
2. Dry Detangle
The first step I do is detangle my DRY hair with conditioner. I take it in sections and use my fingers to detangle, usually I use an inexpensive conditioner like Suave Coconut, but today I used Giovanni Tea Tree Triple Treat. I find that after a week of wearing my wash and go my hair is sometimes super tangled.
As you can see from this picture I have different hair textures, the back is kinky and the front is a looser curl pattern. Once you understand your “head of hair” and what products work on your hair texture, consistent results will be easier to achieve.
This is my hair after detangling with conditioner.
This is an important step for me because my hair is a pain to “comb out” and I want to hold on to as many of my strands as possible. Also I try to limit my use of combs or brushes in my hair and just use my fingers most of the time.
3. Cleanse
I now rinse my “detangler” out and cleanse my hair with a no sulfate shampoo, today I used Hair Rules daily cleansing cream. My favorite is Devachan No Poo, but I am all out, I go through a ton of product, most of which I order online.
4. Deep Condition/Top Knot
Now I apply a deep conditioner, today I used Curl Junkie Curl Rehab, I rotate a bunch of different ones, some of my favorites are Carol’s Daughter hair smoothie, and a new one I just picked up Obliphica spiral hair mask. Depending on my time I sit under the dryer / heating cap for 30 minutes, or sit in my steam shower, today it was so hot I just went outside.
I put my conditioner soaked hair in a top knot which is a good “conditioner do” in case I have to run to the store or something.
5. Cold Final Rinse
Back in the shower to rinse conditioner out, my final rinse is always cold and I don’t EVER use a towel, I just step out soaking wet.
6. Apply Styling Product
Once the conditioner was rinsed out I applied a generous amount of Kinky Curly Knot Today. This is a core product for me that I never substitute and it is always in my cabinet.
I then separate my hair into large sections and apply styling products to super wet hair, I use a water bottle to make sure my hair stays wet. My combination of products varies by what is in my cabinet. I am always adding new products, since I am easily influenced by what I read on other blogs. Today I used Curl Junkie Smoothing lotion, with a little bit of Curly Q’s Gel-les’c, topped off with Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing smoothie. I apply with my fingers making sure to get product from my roots to the ends, making sure to use more product in the back and less to the front.
7. Diffuse with Dryer
My drying method depends on the time of year, where I am going, and what I am wearing. Today I used a diffuser and dried my hair about 70%. If I am in a rush I will use one of my husbands workout shirts, the kind that are designed for absorbing moisture, I carefully wrap my hair with it and keep it on for about 15 minutes and shake my hair out and diffuse for about 5 minutes. When I can I prefer to air dry, which can take half a day sometimes.
8. Flip Hair/Dry Upside Down
I always flip my hair, to avoid the “flat top”. Notice how much product is on my hair, it is sort of white, all the product will be absorbed by the time my hair dries.
9. Do Not Touch!
My hair still needs to dry. It is important NOT to TOUCH at this point, in order to prevent frizz.
10. Air Dry
Now I am just waiting for it to dry completely. I now can go about my day and just let my hair dry.
Big and Fluffy!
As you can see all the product has been absorbed and my hair is light, fluffy and has movement. Tonight I will “pineapple” it (loose scrunchie) and pull all the hair up, and sleep on a satin pillow case. Day two I will spritz with a little water and shake and go. When the weather gets cooler I will do twists outs to avoid wetting my hair midweek. This process takes about an hour and a half to complete from start to finish.
Day 2 Hair
Just added this picture to show how each day is slightly different.
Are you a natural curly, coily, kinky girl? What is your routine?
I Love It!!!!!!
What she said!
Nice. Very pretty. Thanks for sharing your routine.
Nice hair and awesome routine! Thanks for sharing!!!
Great! We have very different hair textures, but your methods are very easy to follow for fullness. I will try them myself 🙂
beautiful hair and very detailed description! thanks!
One of the best articles ever on this site and bonus points for the pictures and story on ONE PAGE!
+1 for the story and pics on one page 🙂
I really like her bathroom though.. dope! lol
this doesn’t work for 4c.……
I don’t think it’s meant to be aimed at tighter textures. I do hope they will do different step by step how tos. I’d like to see twist and curls, roller sets, braid and twist outs and coils/straw sets, flat twists, Bantus and cornrows.
You can find all the tutorials you just listed on Youtube fairly easily.
There are lots of naturals on there that have documented their routines in easy to follow ways.
+1 this is from her blog not a story she did for BGLH
Obviously I know youtube has tutorials but as BGLH is showing some step by step PICTURE tutorials now like um this one, I hope they add more including the styles I listed. It doesn’t matter if this piece is from her blog. It is being used on here so it would follow that other articles of the same nature may appear on here too. Not sure why some of you are so defensive and quick to jump on people here with your plus ones over anything that shoots someone else’s comments down. It’s becoming unbearable to comment without some horrible… Read more »
Wow…you’re really touchy.
And you’re a rude passive aggressive but we live and conduct ourselves as we must.
You’re the only one being rude here, tbh. You say you want more styles, which you’re not 100% guaranteed to see here, and girl says you can easily find those on Youtube. You reply with a Great Wall of China of text about how she’s being defensive and rude, and blah, blah, blah.
So extra.
Not at all, nothing is guaranteed on here, I said I hoped to see more articles like this with more styles. Saying ‘go find it on youtube’ is rude and passive aggressive as though I’m not allowed to voice an opinion. Too many women on here feel they can police others. Not a pleasant site and becoming the youtube of hair blogs so I’ll skip the nasty, tacky comments and just read the articles I want to. Good day to you.
“You can find all the tutorials you just listed on Youtube fairly easily.There are lots of naturals on there that have documented their routines in easy to follow ways.” <- How is that rude or passive aggressive? It is actually pretty nice and direct. She told you exactly where you could go to find what you were looking for… Now if she WOULD have said “go find it on youtube,” then yes, that would have been extremely rude and would have warranted your long winded, although eloquently stated but inappropriate for the situation, response.
That’s because our hair( 4b/4c) does’t do that. Its still a great tutorial for those with this hair texture. My curious question is do you have to wash your hair more since you use so many products to achieve this look?
*RANDOM* I have 4b/c hair and dry detangling is a NOOOOOOOOOOO-Go for me. Doesn’t matter how much oil/conditioner I slap on that bad boy, my hair needs to be wet. Go figure.
Anywho, back on topic.…..also, Taren916 has a good tutorial on Youtube for type 3’s that want to achieve that full-out, Pam Grier-type afros.
This one is lovely too, of course. Wouldn’t say its a “fro” but lovely 🙂
Ok, now I’m embarassed…I seem to be the only one who noticed her banging bathroom…sigh, I have to stop watching HGTV.
I completely agree!
That shower looks amazing!
@EG…haha that’s funny I scrolled up and checked it out! It is nice. I watch HGTV the time it hasn’t gotten that bad yet.=)
I notice the very nice and large bathroom too 🙂
I just thinking she has an awesome bathroom.
nice.
Nu uh lady! That was one of the first things I noticed! The bathroom and that she looks really good for her age.
She is a beautiful lady! My hair will never do that; too thin.
is this the curly girl method that so many have been talking about?
She is a SEXY older woman! I hope to look as good as her when I get to her age! You guys should do a lifestyle post on her to get her secrets lol
Please don’t call an older woman “older woman”…
She said soooo many nice things.…sooo many… yet those things weren’t highlighted… sigh…
she is soooo hot
This is a great tutorial for ppl like me who can’t access YouTube. Hope I get to see more like these in the future.
Beautiful! I used to do my hair like this all the time, flipping the hair over to diffuse is a GREAT tip, hair comes out so full and fluffy but sadly I get so many tangles. Great bathroom!
Your hair is FAB!
Her body is on point for her age! And her bathroom is bomb LOL. We have similar hair texture and she wasn’t trying to say her hair is literally an “afro” like how you guys are saying. She just means voluminous curls, because curls of her texture tend to fall flat if not styled correctly (like her directions).
Great post!!
Excellent tutorial, I think that this format works even better than a video. The pictures and written instructions explain everything so well that it’s hard to even come up with a question. For those of us with type 4 hair, no we generally don’t need to do anything to achieve fluffiness. I almost laughed out loud at the part where she has to dry the hair upside down to avoid “flat top”. For me, the challenge in a WNG is dryness and loss of curl definition/friziness at the end after a few days. I’ve been able to achieve 5 day… Read more »
Awsommmmme!!!!!
Great tutorial, but I have fine neck length 4a with a little b hair & I get perfect supercurly ‘fros with Knot Today & KinkyCurly(I Only do this in spring & summer, BTW) and I don’t have to load down with so many products,which would probably cause buildup on my hair.
Apparently I have a different idea of what a “fro” is…
Agreed. Great tutorial and cute hair, but that’s not an afro.
Wonderful tutorial. she is so very pretty also. Her bathroom is fab too! Not hair related, but I had to say it lol.
Works WONDERFUL on your hair. Would this work on 4c hair?
LOVELY,thanks for the tutorial
Great tutorial! I too have naturally curly hair quite similar to yours, my mom is black and my dad is english with curly red hair; leaving me with an assortment of curls. I have used a similar technique that I learned on curlylikeme.com but I have ran into a few complications. It takes me so long to do that it’s hard not to just throw it up in a ponytail; certain sections of my scalp are flakey and itchy and other sections are pastey and itchy; my hair is not perfectly fluffy when I let it dry naturally; I have… Read more »
I too have naturally curly hair. I’m just weary of putting so much product in my hair as I believe that it would weigh my hair down. I use Giovanni as a detangler, Noo Poo as a cleanser, then Knot Today by Kinky Kurly. I’ve always wondered why ppl put even more than that. Is there a reason for that?
You and your hair are so gorgeous! I couldn’t but think, ” What a beautiful woman,” as I was reading your blog. We have the same hair texture, and I chuckled reading because I do some of those things too. I shall incorporate a few more products ( I was trying not to be a product junkie : fail!). Thanks!
Ifrah
I have 4a hair and if you co-wash you can style with your conditioner. I flat twist with Hello Hydration. It dries clear and my hair is moisturized. The curls are defined. The next day i just water and twist again. I seal with oil.
Did you get the Devachan cut? I have been considering getting it done myself so my hair will have a better shape.
Do you have highlights or color your hair?
This is exactly what I want my daughters hair to look like. As a single Dad it’s hard to figure these things out. Problem is that I don’t see her sitting still long enough for me to do all these steps. Regardless, you are beautiful!
Love this … we have very similar hair!
I like how she gave such great details. Sometimes it is hard to find something like this for those with curly naps.
wow great hair!i like the color too.beautiful woman
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Finally tips from someone with my texture
It works on u perfectly how abt the real negro afro how can i make mine softer and fuller
Can i use regular conditioner or a soecic leave in conditioner?
Love the tutorial I’m just going natural 4 months ago and I’m looking for a routine that works for
my hair and this is perfect my hair is just like yours you are very pretty
U n me both ?
I’m 14 and i did it at night so I’ll get the resin the morning but I loved how you explained it and i love how it looks on your hair
I’m trying to go natural instead of always going to the perm