How can I keep my naturally curly hair under control?

I have naturally curly hair buy it's very poufy and frizzy whenever I wear it down. What can I do to keep it from being frizzy and to control when I wear it down?How can I keep my naturally curly hair under control?
I have naturally curly hair myself, and have worn it that way for the last 15 years. The first thing you need is a good hair cut. Curly hair works best with long layers. This keeps the curls from piling up on top of one another, and gives it some movement - nobody wants helmet-head!



Styling Products:

You will probably have to experiment with different shampoos/conditioners and styling products to find out which combination works best for you. I would suggest the following:

- A Shampoo and Conditioner designed for curly hair (there are tons out there - and no need to pay top dollar for salon brands most of the time). Be sure to use a deep conditioning treatment once a week to re-hydrate. I like Aussie 3 minute miracle, but you can use plain old olive oil or mayo as well - just use before shampooing, and leave on for at least 30 minutes (put on a shower cap and wrap with a heated towel for full benefits).

- An anti-frizz product (Aussie makes a good leave in conditioner/anti frizz combo product, and L'oreal studio line has a decent anti-frizz cream - I liked their old formulation better though).

- Gel or mousse, depending on the type of hold you want. I prefer Frizz Ease mousse - it holds my hair without making it crunchy. I also like the mousse from Suave's curly-hair line (can't remember the name but they're in dark blue-green bottles, and each product sells for less than $2).

- Spray gel or hair spray (I like Aussie's anti-humidity spray...can't remember what it's called). Just a few spritzes on mostly-dry hair is enough to keep everything under control.



How to Style:

I *always* use a diffuser when I dry my hair. I prefer one that has a bit of a bowl and long fingers - my absolute favorite was made by Vidal Sassoon but they don't make it any more. A close second is the Sunbeam EuroAir diffuser. I don't think you can buy it in stores any more, but I found at least one example on ebay - http://cgi.ebay.com/Sunbeam-EuroAir-Diff



Always start with very damp hair (I finger-comb my hair when it has conditioner in it to get out the tangles, and once I rinse it out, I squeeze out the extra water and pull it up in a clip. I don't towel dry my hair at all, and don't own a comb or a brush). When I'm ready to do my hair, I flip my head over and scrunch the products through my hair one at a time starting at the ends of my hair - I use anti frizz, then mousse or gel. This gets all of the layers instead of just the top of your head. This which helps to control the under layers of frizz, and keeps your hair from being crunchy once it dries.



When you're ready to dry your hair, flip over again and use the hair dryer on medium or cool heat, and a fairly low speed - you want to cradle the curls as they dry, not blast the hell out of them - that just causes frizz. Concentrate on your roots (always scrunching with your hand, or resting the curls on the diffuser), drying them most of the way. Stand up, fix the hair to part where you want (or where it wants!), and if you don't have time to air-dry your hair the rest of the way, dry it just enough so that it doesn't feel wet any more. The more slowly it dries, the less frizzy it will be.



It sounds complicated, but it takes me less time to get ready than most of my non-curly haired friends. Plus, if you wake up late one day, just spritz on a little water, re-scrunch and you're good to go. Nobody will know you're having a bad hair day :-)



Good luck!



p.s. www.Ouidad.com is also a nice resource - they specialize in curly hair.How can I keep my naturally curly hair under control?
put mousse in it! my friend has the same hair as you and she looks amazing when she just puts mousse in it
I have very curly hair and I use mousse to control it, cause if I don't, it gets really frizzy. I tried several brands from expensive to cheap one, but the one that has worked the best for me has been Aussie-for Curls (purple bottle with a kangaroo). After I apply the mousse I spay a little bit of hair spray also from Aussie for curls. It smells great and give my hair the perfect curls. People ask me often what do I. Give it a try.