You gotta love them, curls!

If you are tired of frizz and have had thoughts of straightening your hair then this is exactly what you need to know. It’s time to embrace yourself wholly and fully with your frizz, waves, coils or curls. Good news: once you understand the porosity of your own hair, its protein requirement and give it the care it deserves, you can actually make it work for you.  Hairdressers and curl crusaders have spent years testing what works and here are some tips that can change your curl game:

1. Pre-poo with an oil or a rinse out conditioner.
Condition for 30 minutes or overnight depending on how thirsty your hair is. This is a great way to detangle hair with minimum breakage. Think avocado, jojoba and such. Use thicker oils in winters and something light in summers.

2. No-poo, low-poo or Co-wash – recommends using sulfate, silicon and paraben free cleansers over commercial shampoos as shampoos dry out the hair. Focus on the scalp to remove the residues.

3. Rake – when you condition, use your fingers to run through your hair and detangle. Those with coils can apply heat at this step for a moisture boost. Look up heat caps.

4. Squish to condish – flip your head, use water and squish the conditioned hair from ends to the scalp. Do this for all the sections collecting more water in your palms. This ensures beautiful loops.

5. Plop – or blot your hair with an old t-shirt or a microfiber towel to remove excess moisture. Let it air dry naturally. Bend forward and blot dry by cupping your curls in a towel.

When hair is completely dry, bend forward and fluff from underneath to create a lift. To avoid frizz avoid touching the top layer.

Refresh – with water, packs, rice water rinse and gels in-between your no-poo washes. Second day and third day products are all the rage.

Just like there is no one rule for your wardrobe, there’s no blanket rule that works when it comes to curly hair. “Patience and perseverance are important in the big game of loving one’s curls. The curly girl method is the holy grail for anyone trying to embrace their curls/waves, but within that purview there are multiple methods and the key is to experiment different options and see what works for you and at different times the requirements may change,” explains 33-year-old curlie and holistic wellness coach Pavithra Rajkumar.

Several women themselves don’t know they have curly hair. Juhi Tolani, 25, fashion entrepreneur and a curl crusader says, “When I was growing up I thought I was cursed to have frizzy hair. Thanks to research from various sources, I have figured out it’s a blessing. Some little tips go a long way like sleeping on a silk cased pillow as cotton increases the frizz in curly hair. There isn’t enough talk in media on maintaining curly hair, nor are there many Indians who make curly hair products and it’s strange because most people in the south have curly hair.”

These techniques of hair care work for anybody with dry, damaged and frizzy hair.

Lizzy Liu, 52 has been working with one of Bengaluru’s top salons for the last two decades. She loves working on curly hair clients. “Sealing in the moisture is very important. Even the technique to cut curly hair is different.”

She says. Her tip is to “put a deep conditioning mask or argan oil before shampoo, and a curl cream or argan oil after the shampoo again. One can use an afro comb (wide tooth) when you wash but don’t comb after drying. Avoiding heat treatments is another good thing you can do to your curls. Depending on how dry your hair is, overnight deep conditioning and cold water as the final rinse is also beneficial.”

Here’s to putting an end to struggle and having super moisturised natural curls!