Natural Curls Don’t Come in a Bottle

The most annoying phrase to say to a woman rocking her natural curls is: “what did you use to get your natural curls like that”? Or “I’d go natural if my hair did what yours do“. People: NATURAL CURLS DON’T COME IN A BOTTLE!! Your texture of curl may be looser than mine or it may be just as thick, coarse, and tight as mine is. Neither of our hair would look good just getting up out of the bed and walking out the door. That’s not how it goes. There’s work to this, even for short natural curls such as mine that you admire so much.

“But, what products do you use to get your natural curls poppin?”

Chile, if I knew every step I took to achieve a moisturized clean cut, I would sell the bottle myself. When I visit Tamika, for my natural curls self-care, I leave there with a pep in my step because my hair is loved, cleaned, cut, and creamed up with her technique and expertise. (Side note: If you are in the NYC area and want to visit Tamika for a consultation — let her know you found her via simply katricia.)  When I shampoo my own hair, apply the same exact product, and do the same exact method as she does, and it will dry and look like I had my daughter playing in it…and I’m rocking a short natural haircut. Lol

My staples for my natural curls are shampoo, conditioner, leave-in conditioner, and a gel or cream styling product with a light hold and castor oil. I’m Katricia and I’m a product junky. With that said, I’ve been gravitating away from the big brands advertising their line on Instagram or the others on the shelf of the local BSS or store.  Shampoo that’s on sale, is what I’ll pick up and use. For conditioner, I try to be a little more strategic about the purchase. If it’s good for both my and mini’s hair and it’s on sale or found on Amazon, then it’ll be in my bathroom for wash days.  It seems every week, there’s a new product line advertising to do all the things you want for your natural curls.  You pay all this money for the entire product line and then it ends up in a corner of your room because it’s garbage.  No offense, but come on!  I no longer had time for it, so I choose to use products I am familiar with and don’t have to pay $30 for a bottle of shampoo.

Products we are using for our natural curls:

• Dandruff Eeze Hair and Dry Scalp Shampoo, Conditioner, and Scalp Treatment – I found the scalp treatment in a store in New York.  I could see that the ingredients, unlike in the natural deodorants I use, were not self-explanatory.  I gave it a try anyway.  It worked out very well.  I also used this product on her hair while she was swimming in salt and chlorine water so I knew that I had to try it again during another time of the year to see if it really did help with her dry scalp.  It works but don’t be fooled, eczema and the flakes do appear just not as much.
• Briogeo Scalp Revival Charcoal and Coconut Oil Micro-Exfoliating Shampoo & Conditioner – so whenever you Google anything, you know it automatically appears in your social media right?  This product came up all over Instagram and Facebook when I was researching about mini’s dry scalp and how to keep her hair moisturized.  With a discount, I got a package and tried it out.  I used up all the shampoo because even with a discount this product is expensive and not for nothing it did absolutely nothing but made her hair smell nice.  I even used it on my short do and it was alright.  The conditioner is highly scented with peppermint oil – I love peppermint and didn’t feel that tingly sensation at all.  So I decided to use it up in any way I could, even as a shaving product just to get my monies worth.
• EDEN BodyWorks Almond Marshmallow Split End Repair Masque works well as a conditioner for both of our hair.  Since mine is short, the focus is always on mini’s natural and how her natural curls react to these conditioners that claim to do so much.  I would follow the directions to get the best results.
• Crème of Nature Strength and Shine Leave-In Conditioner this leave-in is a great staple to have for both of our natural curl patterns. It does what it says and a little goes a long way.  Too much product can have an adverse effect on what you are trying to achieve.
• EDEN BodyWorks Hibiscus Honey Hydration Custard this cream provides so much moisture to our natural curls.  After trial and error, saw that I could not put more than a drop on a section of her hair, or else there would be product overload on her twists.  Nobody should be walking around with product buildup on their twists, braids, or puff.
• Finally, we use Rooted Treasure to lock it all in. Yes, this Castor Oil has a very strong smell but the concentrated oil can be diluted a bit with a carrier oil so that it’s not as strong.  We don’t do that, I simply add a few drops onto her scalp and massage away.  The remaining on my hands will go on the ends of her hair.

Here are some old images of my hair while using some of the products above.  I need to do a new collage.

What products do you use to maintain your natural curls?

Our natural curls styling routine is pretty simple. For me, my short tapered cut is styled with water, soft hold gel, and a curl sponge. I try to get a shapeup at least once a month and visit my stylist every two-three months aka once a quarter to get self-care I don’t get at the barbershop. For mini-me, if her hair is in individual two-strand twists or loose, I try to keep it up in a ponytail and not accessible for her to play in it during the day. As she gets older, we’ve done more ponytails that require maintenance in the mornings. I’m not feeling it but I guess it comes with the territory with having a pre-preteen.