rules for the softest curls rules for the softest curls

5 Rules for the Softest Curls

What’s the best way to get soft, bouncy curls? Keep them hydrated and always remember to deal with post hair styling product crunch. Lucky for you, these curly hair styling techniques help prevent dry and damaged hair and can leave your curls looking defined and smooth.

Rake & Shake

Define your natural curl pattern by raking a lightweight hair styling product with a lot of slip through your hair. Garnier Fructis Curl Stretch Loosening Pudding conditions hair while styling—thanks to a formula infused with hydrating coconut oil. Grasping your ends, shake the length of your hair back and forth; this movement encourages curl separation and removes hair product crunch, leaving you with softer curls.


LOC

LOC stands for leave-in conditioner, oil and cream. It’s a layering formula that delivers lasting moisture and hair definition to your curly hair. After washing hair, style your curls with a leave-in conditioner like Garnier Fructis Triple Nutrition Curl Nourish Butter Cream Leave-in Treatment. Next, layer a hair oil (try argan oil or avocado oil) through your strands, and then finish with a curling hair cream to seal in hydration.


Praying Hands

Crunchy hairstyling products get in the way of soft curls. With this hair technique, you can evenly distribute your hair styling product from root to tip without overdoing any section. Prep your palms with a hydrating hair gel like Garnier Fructis Curl Sculpt Conditioning Cream Gel and place a section of your damp hair in between both hands. Slide your hands down from the roots to the ends. You can also use this hair technique with hair oil over dry hair to stretch out curly hair and add long-lasting smoothness.


Co-wash Hair

Co-washing hair consists of washing your curls with conditioner instead of shampoo to help boost hair moisture levels. A conditioner like Garnier Fructis Triple Nutrition Curl Nourish Conditioner can provide mild cleansing and smoothing. Just swap it for your regular shampoo step. Apply the conditioner from the ends upwards; detangle, massage and rinse to reveal refreshed, soft hair.


Plopping Hair

This gentle drying method gets rid of excess water without making your curly hair dry and frizzy. All you need to do is wrap up your wet and styled hair in a soft T-shirt or microfiber towel and wait until it’s almost completely dry. (Here’s a detailed, step-by-step hair tutorial to plopping for curly hair.) Why a T-shirt, you wonder? Regular towels can be abrasive on the hair strands, so a gentle fabric is best to keep curls soft and to prevent frizzy hair.