Conditioner for Curly Hair: Highstreet V Luxury

Curly hair is a total nightmare! If you do it right then it can look really nice and everyone with straight hair think curly hair is the most amazing thing they have ever seen (not being vain I just keep getting comments about how amazing curly hair is by straight haired people). If you do have curly hair then I understand your pain, the amount of product you have to put on it in order to make it look vaguely presentable is unreal which is why finding the best hair shampoo and conditioner is important. Going back in time to 5 or 6 years ago I reached a point of being so frustrated with my hair that I finally found a hair dresser with the same type of hair as mine so I went for a hair consultation and she told me that you want to be using a cheap hair styling product and an expensive hair shampoo and conditioner. Coming forward to the past year or so I decided to put this to the test because as a student paying £15 for a 300ml bottle of shampoo and again for conditioner is an expensive way to live. I am going to compare Redken All Soft shampoo and conditioner against TreSemme Moisture Rich shampoo and conditioner which is about £3/£4 for a 500ml bottle, you can however buy 1000ml salon sized bottles of Redken for around about £30 each depending on where you buy it which I prefer as it works out a lot cheaper in the long run.

Redken All Soft Shampoo and Conditioner is incredible, it makes my hair so soft even once I have added styling products to it. TreSemme makes my hair soft but not as soft as Redken and I generally tend to find it harder to put the brush through it as well. I also find that my hair looks a lot better and doesn't dry out as quickly (its already very dry, lets be honest) with Redken unlike TreSemme where I find myself wanting to wash it more often and it frizzes slightly more when I leave it to dry naturally. Basically Redken wins for me but as a cheap alternative I have been happily using TreSemme for the past 2 years or so whilst paying for every other part of my life as well.

They say its bad to brush your hair in the shower but again people with curly hair I feel we have an exception as it makes life SOOOOO much easier to brush it in the shower as the brush goes through the hair a lot better and stops it from frizzing as a result of brushing it dry. I wash and brush my hair once or twice a week, it doesn't get greasy in the same way as straight hair and to be honest...I don't feel that it needs to be done more than that, once a week is on a lazy week and I'll wash it more than twice if I'm going out for a special occasion or if its particularly dirty because I've been at work meaning it smells bad or something like that.

After the shower I wrap it up in a towel whilst getting dressed to absorb some of the water before then generously applying the L'Oreal Studio Line Curl Mousse, I have to use an awful lot of this product to stop it from looking frizzy and the best way to apply is with a feathery scrunching of the hair method. Tipping my head upside down so that the hair hangs freely then using my hand filled with mousse I move it up and down into the hair scrunching it as I go, until the curls have started to form frizz free. Fudge Urban Iced Raspberry & Vanilla Styling Mousse also works really well but it makes the hair quite clumpy and sticky meaning I again want to wash it more frequently however it does smell amazing. I then use a small amount of hairspray all over the hair, again with it still hanging upside down, no particular spray just whatever is cheapest at the time however I do love the L'Oreal Elnett hairsprays as they aren't sticky and smell great, I always tend to use the strongest one that they produce. Using a diffuser on the end of my hairdryer on a medium heat and a medium to low power still again with my hair upside down I lift it into my hair with the curls resting on the diffuser and continue to do this on all of my hair, tilting my head until it is 100% dry. Don't panic at this point, hairdryers are a big no no for curly hair so using a diffuser spreads the hot air equally unlike a blow dry which blasts it making the hair frizz. It can take 30-40 minutes if done properly however I find its fine after being done for 15-20 minutes, I again then apply the mousse and hairspray giving them a chance to dry before styling in place with how I wish to wear it for the day. Letting the hairspray dry before doing this is great because otherwise it sets the hair with a mark in it from the hair band/tie/grip/clip.

My hair type is 2C/3A, when properly styled it tends to be very curly down the sides and quite flat on top, I have found that Naturally Curly is a great website for advice on curly hair as it is very specific to your hair type which you can also find out on there well. Although it is an american site and most products I have tried through recommendations on there I have had to order online however it is still considerate of the UK and recommends hair dressers based in
the UK on there as well. From time to time I will use the site to find a deep conditioning hair mask to try and rescue the dry curls.

Old Photo but....its an alright photo of the curls