1. NEVER brush your hair when it's dry
This is probably the worst thing you can do for your hair. If you brush your hair when it's dry, all you're doing is creating frizz and causing breakage. When you brush curly hair dry, you disrupt your curl pattern. When you detangle your hair, make sure you do it in the shower with conditioner in your hair. You might say "Well I only wash my hair once a week!"
It won't hurt you to not brush your hair every day. Curly hair is actually less prone to tangles than straight hair. Your hair will not be matted if you detangle it once a week.
2. NEVER sleep directly on your hair or on wet hair
When you sleep, you tend to toss and turn throughout the night. When you sleep directly on your hair you can crush your curls. This leads to them being frizzy and straightening out as you sleep. If you notice that your hair is frizzy or less curly when you wake up, try a protective style as you sleep. I recommend putting your hair up in a loose bun on top of your head. This is called a pineapple. Also, if you try out the pineapple, make sure you're sleeping on a satin pillowcase to keep your hair moisturized and to prevent breakage.
If you're like me and have fairly short hair, you might find that your hair is too short to put up in a pineapple. Instead of a pineapple, I sleep with hair on a satin bonnet.
This is an example of a bonnet. People like to poke fun at me when I wear this, but it works great for me. When I wake up in the morning my hair is still moisturized, and my curl pattern is intact.
If you choose not to put your hair up when you sleep, then please at least use a satin pillowcase. Your hair will thank you. It will be less frizzy and require less work to style it in the morning.
3. Do NOT Constantly Keep Your Curls Up In a Tight Hairstyle
By keeping your hair up 24/7, you're applying a lot of stress to your hair. This is even worse if you keep it in a tight ponytail or bun. If your hair has no time to be free and loose, then you can develop traction alopecia. Traction alopecia is a condition where the hair starts to thin from constant stress and tightness. The most common cause of this is wearing tight buns and ponytails. I actually have made this mistake, and have developed traction alopecia in the front of my hair. I can cover it pretty well, but it is noticeable. Now, if I wear hair clips in the front of my hair, or keep it up too long, my entire scalp gets sore and irritated. If you must keep your hair up for work, then I suggest keeping your hair as in loose of a hairstyle as possible.
4. Do NOT Choose a Random Stylist
I have ONE person I trust to cut my hair. She always does a phenomenal job. I will go to this stylist as long as I possibly can. Before I met her, I went to my fair share of different stylists. About 2 years ago, I decided to get my layers trimmed. I went to the closest salon and picked the first available stylist. When she started, she said that she had to wet my hair. This should have been a huge red flag for me, because you're never supposed to cut curly hair wet. If you do, you will most likely cut the hair too short. Curly hair tends to be longer when wet and shrinks up as it dries. Then, she grabbed a huge chunk of hair and started blindly cutting it. If you know anything about cutting curly/wavy hair, you would know that you're supposed to cut each individual curl. No curl is created equal. If you cut a huge chunk at once, your hair will be uneven. I could have cut my hair better if I was blindfolded. After she was done, I went home and styled my hair. When it dried, I noticed that the back of my hair looked wonky. The layers were insanely uneven. I looked like a mushroom. I will include a picture of what my hair kind of looked like. Imagine this, but on wavy/curly hair.
It took me months to grow it out. Finally, I went to my current stylist and had her fix it. I will never make the mistake of visiting a random stylist ever again.
5. NEVER Compare Your Hair To Others
It's easy to look at pictures of other people and admire their hair. You might start to feel insecure and wonder why your hair doesn't look like theirs. But your hair is beautiful. It is uniquely yours. Embrace your hair, even if it isn't as curly as someone else's. I know something I struggled with was accepting my curl pattern. I have more than one. Some parts are curly, some are wavy, and some are almost straight. It's hard to style sometimes and makes me want to give up, but it's my hair. It's how it naturally grows. I can't force my hair to be any different, so I decided to embrace it. Your hair is yours for a reason. It doesn't belong to anyone else. Why should it look like anyone else's?
Here's a Video That Could Provide More Information
This video is from one of my favorite curly hair YouTubers that you could watch and learn a little more. She shows you how to NOT take care of your curly hair. I hope you find it useful.
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