People with curls know their hair needs special care. Along with this extra attention, they also speak a lingo specific to naturally curly hair. It’s easy to learn and makes taking care of curly hair feel like you’ve joined a secret club. Once you master the terms in the curly hair guide below, you’ll be the club’s newest curly hair expert!
BIG CHOP: Like the name implies, this is when you cut naturally curly hair that’s been chemically relaxed/straightened and let the curls grow back. It can feel drastic at first, but it’s healthy for regrowth and you get to use Garnier’s Fructis Curl Nourish styling and hair care products. Lucky you.
CLUMPING: Curly hair requires taming. This technique groups strands into larger more uniform “clumps” when wet for defined frizz-free curls. Every clumping routine benefits from calming measures, like applying Curl Nourish Air Dry Cream.
COCONUT OIL: Anyone with curly hair knows it craves deep moisture. Coconut oil is naturally formulated to penetrate into and hydrate the hair shaft instead of just coating the hair’s surface. That’s why Garnier put it in its Curl Nourish Hair Care for Curly Hair.
CO-WASHING: One of the best curly hair tips is to “wash” your tresses with conditioner to lock in moisture and cleanse instead of using shampoo. It’s a great option for preventing hair breakage if your curly hair is prone to dryness. And co-washing curly hair is even better when you use Curl Co-Wash Sulfate-Free Cleansing Conditioner.
DEEP CONDITIONING: Curly hair loves treatment oils for their intense nourishment and the resulting softness. Curls that tend to be extra dry need a product like Multi-Use Hydrating Hair Oil.
DENSITY: This refers to the number of strands of hair on your head and how close they are to one another. Not to be confused with thickness, density can be high or low.
PINEAPPLE HAIR: Curly hair needs protecting overnight to prevent extreme bedhead. Pineappling means wearing a loose ponytail up top to keep curls intact.
PLOPPING: This method involves wrapping your curls at night after a shower to maintain the curl pattern while drying. A faithful ally for your plopping routine is Curl Nourish Air Dry Cream.
POROSITY: Hair porosity is its ability to absorb and hold moisture. High porosity hair has more widely spread out cuticles, so water and oil are easily absorbed – but the moisture may quickly dry out. Low porosity hair stays hydrated longer.
SHRINKAGE: This is how far your curls bounce back up after being stretched out. You can relax your corkscrews and minimize shrinkage with products like our Curl Stretch Pudding Sulfate-Free Anti-Shrinkage Cream.
SULFATE-FREE: Sulfate-free products won’t strip your curly locks of moisture. That’s one of the benefits of Garnier’s Curl Nourish line because it’s formulated to maintain the natural oils on your scalp and hair.
