Product of the Month for Curls

I use to have only a few waves in my hair. But over the years my hair has turned curly. And during this transformation I have been on a search for products that truely work on curls. You would think that since I have the whole beauty industry at my disposel this would be easy. This is far from the truth.

Since I have worked with REDKEN products for the majority of my carrer this is where I started. I used the whole Fresh Curls line.  The shampoo, conditioner, and the styling products. To my disappointment they did not work.




My second choice was MATRIX curl life. Again I used the whole system for my hair. It was actually better than the REDKEN. But I still had frizz and usually stiff hair.

I also tried the drugstore brands such as Gariener soft curl cream. Though this was probably the best so far it left my hair feeling sticky.
I look at pictures of hair all day long and as a hair dresser I feel I sould be able to obtain the hair in the pictures. Then it hit me why I could not. I needed to practice what I preached to my clients, "Don't expect the same results when you do your hair yourself!" I tell my clients this all day as you can not do your hair as someone else who is standing over you with two hands. It occured to me that the girls with those beautiful curls have 1. not stepped foot outside in the elements, and 2. have not done their own hair.




Now I live in Texas where there is never a shortage of hunidity. Humidity and curls do NOT go together. Even when I straighten my hair it will look great until I step outside. Then wham! Intstant fluff in the means of frizz.

What I tried next was PAUL MITCHELL. I have always loved their products but until recently never really worked where they were sold. And as a firm belief of mine, I try to only use what we sell. So I ventured and spent more money. I went for the Super Skinny Serum and the Round Trip. And gratefully went back to my REDKEN All Soft shampoo and conditioner. This combo works perfect on my curls.
First I shampoo and condition with All Soft shampoo and conditioner.
Second I towel dry my hair
Third I apply the super skinny serum starting at the ends and working my way up.

Fourth I apply the round trip. I flip my head upside down and apply a bit that way, never running my fingers completly through the hair. Just sort of scrunching it. Then I flip my head back over and apply a bit more using the same scrunching motion.
And I am done! I never blowdry my curls. Even on a cold day. While my hair is air drying I will fluff it to add to the body. But NEVER blowdry your curls even with a diffuser. The heat and amount of air blowing on your curls will frizz them no matter how much product you apply. I once heard a hair stylist say the the "do not disturb" slogan was really meant for curls. This is so true. Do all your work to them while they are wet, then when they are all the way dry. And NEVER run your fingers, brush or comb through the hair. You want defined curls, not the crimped frizz that we managed to achieve in the 80's. That is what you get when you do that to your hair.  
Here is another tip.
When you towel dry your hair how do you do it? Do you take the towel and ruffle your hair between it? If so, stop. All you are doing is ruffing up the cuticle. When you rub the hair the wrong way it frays the cuticle of the hair. And this causes frizz. Instead, wrap your hair in you towel for just a few minutes. Then take the hair out and gently squeeze the hair between the towel. This will not disturb the cuticle.
With curls it is all about defining them.