CALLING ALL CURLY GIRLS AND WAVY WOMEN (and boys too but the alliteration didn't work)

If you’re like me you’ve spent years of your life looking for the right products for your curly tresses. I’ve tried them all and I’m a bit over having a shelf full of conditioners, leave in treatments, mousses, gels and masks. They are expensive and often made with ingredients I don’t recognise.

If you want to maximise the health of your hair and get those curls and waves bouncing again read on ….

My benchmark for a while now has been – if you can’t pronounce it or don’t recognise it then don’t eat it or put it on your body.

For example, this product call Ouidad Curl Quencher has a bit of a following, especially in the US. It costs around $40 for 150ml and no doubt makes your hair look more hydrated but what’s really in it ?

Water/Aqua/Eau, Polyquaternium-37, Propylene Glycol Dicaprylate/Dicaprate, Phenyl Trimethicone, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Hydrolyzed Silk, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Fruit Extract, Silybum Marianum Extract, Glycine Soja (Soybean) Seed Extract, Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein, Isodecyl Oleate, Decyl Oleate, Polyquaternium-11, Cetrimonium Chloride, PPG-1 Trideceth-6, Polyquaternium-46, Propoxytetramethyl Piperidinyl Dimethicone, Glycerin, Dipropylene Glycol, C11-15 Pareth-7, Trideceth-6, Cinnamidopropyltrimonium Chloride, Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, Quaternium-80, Bisamino PEG/PPG-41/3 Aminoethyl PG-Propyl Dimethicone, Propylene Glycol, Aminomethyl Propanol, Citric Acid, Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate, DMDM Hydantoin, Butylphenyl Methylpropional, Benzyl Salicylate, Linalool, Limonene, Hexyl Cinnamal, Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone, Fragrance/Parfum.

I don’t know about you, but this looks pretty scary to me. It’s full of chemicals and silicons and I’m not ok with that.

Let’s compare that to the ingredients in Kinfolk’s Pear & Vanilla Moisturising Conditioner – at the significantly cheaper price of $15 for 250ml. Having one product which works in three ways - conditioner, leave in treatment and mask is going to save you lots of money and significantly reduce waste going to landfill.

Aloe vera juice, H20, jojoba oil, macadamia nut oil, panthenol (vitamin B5), castor oil, BTMS (rapeseed derived mild conditioner), cetyl steryl alcohol (plant based 
emollient ), wheat protein, essential oils and fragrance oils.

Nothing scary here – just a whole lot of natural ingredients designed to improve the health, texture and bounce in your curls and waves.

Hair product companies want to sell you as many products as they can. We all know that. To me that means lots of expensive and often unnecessary products cluttering up your bathroom and eventually the landfill.

To get started it helps to know your curl type. Knowing your curl type helps you to decide what to use to get the most out of your luscious locks.

I have fine 3B hair so need lots of moisture without weighing down my hair.

Here's a rare photo of me - and my curl type for reference 

If you have 4A/B/C type hair you will need to use more product to get the same effect.

For 2A/B/C you will only need a small amount worked mostly through the ends of your hair.

Have a look at the chart below and see where you fit.

Curly hair tends to be dry. The trick is getting lots of moisture into your hair without weighing it down. With that in mind, let’s take a quick walk down sulphate/silicon/paraben lane.

In most commercial shampoos sulphates are used to create lots of lather. Sulphates tend to strip the hair of its natural oils and since curly hair is naturally drier than straight hair, it’s better to stay away from them altogether. They can leave curls dehydrated and prone to breakage. You need to use a shampoo like Kinfolk Pear & Vanilla Shampoo Bar where you can feel confident in the ingredients and regulate the amount of product you use. For example, I have chin length curly hair and wash my hair about once a week with 1-2 quick swipes of shampoo bar across my hair.  

A bar of Kinfolk shampoo lasts me more than a year !

Silicones are widely used in hair products to give a feeling of a moisture and slip but in reality, it’s just coating the strands and acting as a filler to artificially make your hair feel smooth. Using silicones on a regular basis causes major build-up and weighs down your hair. By coating your hair it prevents moisture from getting in – like scotchgaurd for your hair – yuck.

Lastly, parabens are a type of product preservative. While parabens allow products to last a long time, they can also enter your body through your scalp. Not to mention that parabens can cause curly hair to dry out and frizz.

So, now that you know your curl type how do you get the most out of your curls and waves.

WASHING YOUR HAIR AND DAILY MOISTURISING

If you’ve been using products that contain silicons you might want to consider changing this. In order for moisture to get in you’ll need to use a clarifying shampoo to strip away all the built up silicon. Once you’ve done this you can get on track with a healthier regime for your hair.

This also applies to anyone who uses gels, mousses or other styling products which can build up on your hair. If you are using these kinds of products consider using a clarifying shampoo once a month for a fresh start and to allow moisture into your hair.

Start using a low foam/low or no sulphate shampoo like our Shampoo Bar.

1. On wash day : use our Moisturising Conditioner after shampooing.
2. Daily use :  after showering gently squeeze excess water from your hair or use a hair towel. Depending on hair length and curl type, apply some of our Moisturising Conditioner to wet hair and don’t rinse (leave in conditioner). This helps to moisturise your hair throughout the day and provides great curl definition and eases styling.
3. If you're not wetting your hair every day consider making a mix of 1 part Kinfolk conditioner to 5 parts water to spray onto your hair on a daily basis to infuse some moisture.  

If you'd like some help with knowing how much to use, I apply a dollop about the size of a 10c piece to my wet hair every morning working it mostly through the ends and leave to dry. This makes my girls feel nourished and defrizzes. If you have thick hair or tight curls you may need to use more.

TREATMENTS

Knowing that curly hair tends to be dry, adding a weekly hair mask to your routine can transform your hair.

This is particularly true for chemically treated hair or hair that has been straightened or heat damaged.

You can use your hair mask after regular shampooing or, if your planning on doing it between washes, simply give your hair a light shampooing with minimal shampoo to open the hair cuticle. Slather your hair in our Moisturising Conditioner and wrap it up in a hair towel or old tshirt

Leave for at least 30 minutes before rinsing.

To up the effectiveness of your mask sit in the sun or give it a blast (through the towel or tshirt- not directly to hair) with a hair dryer to warm and allow more product to be absorbed.

I usually apply the mask, wrap my hair and go to bed then rise it off in the morning.

STYLING

Knowing how your curls and waves work is the first step in getting the most out of them.

There are lots of ways to style your hair such as –

Applying leave in treatment,  gently scrunching to promote curls and leaving to air dry.

Using a Denman brush to stretch out wet, conditioned hair then wrapping around the handle of the brush or your fingers to curl.

Creating a cast then scrunching

There are lots of methods and you may need to experiment to find what works best for your hair type. A quick trip to YouTube will get you started.

However you decide to care for and style your curls I hope you can lovingly embrace your natural hair.

If you have any questions about our products or how best to use them for your hair type please get in touch – we love to hear from you.

E- kinfolksoap@gmail.com