Blogmas Day 20: Guest Post

How many of you, ladies out there, have curly hair? And how many of you usually iron it? I know, having curly hair is not easy. It can be sometimes a big pain in the a**, but admit it: Don't you love when by any sort of miracle it looks all defined and spectacular? Yes me too, that's why I put so much effort on making it look good (without using too much heat).

Today I thought I could share here a few of my tricks, some of them fruit of years of trial and error and others, found on Pinterest. Since every step on the process is really important, I decided to split it in four different sections, one for each step: Washing, untangling, drying and styling.

Wash your hair:

OK, having curly hair means that your worst enemy is dry ends and your mission is to keep them as moist as possible. For that there are a few things you need to keep in mind:

• Don't wash your hair too often. In my case twice per week does the job. Feel brave enough, finish your last rinse with cold water, that will help your hair to get some

• Look for shampoos with no parabens, silicone's or similar products. The more natural you

• Have you heard of co-washing? Yeah me neither until a few weeks ago. I didn't try this yet

• Switch to warm water. Hot water tends to dry anything, since your skin to your hair. If you go, the better for your splendid mane.body. • Don't wash your hair too often. In my case twice per week does the job.

• Look for shampoos with no parabens, silicone's or similar products. The more natural you go, the better for your splendid mane.

• Switch to warm water. Hot water tends to dry anything, since your skin to your hair. If you feel brave enough, finish your last rinse with cold water, that will help your hair to get some body.

• Have you heard of co-washing? Yeah me neither until a few weeks ago. I didn't try this yet but apparently washing your hair only with conditioner is a thing. Most people do it when their hair needs extra care, so next time you feel your hair is drier than normal you may want to try this.

• Don't wash your hair too often. In my case twice per week does the job. • Switch to warm water. Hot water tends to dry anything, since your skin to your hair. If you feel brave enough, finish your last rinse with cold water, that will help your hair to get some body. • Look for shampoos with no parabens, silicone's or similar products. The m • Have you heard of co-washing? Yeah me neither until a few weeks ago. I didn't try this yet but apparently washing your hair only with conditioner is a thing. Most people do it when their hair needs extra care, so next time you feel your hair is drier than normal you may want to try this.

Untangle:

I suppose you already know this, but untangling curly hair is not easy. Not only because it entangles more than anyone could imagine just because you are using a scarf, but also because you cannot untangle it unless your hair is moist (if you don't want to look like a lion).

• The number one tip on this issue cannot be another one than untangle your hair when you wash it. Whenever possible, of course. The idea is to help yourself with the smoothing cream or a hair mask: apply it from the ends till the roots, wait for about 10 minutes and then untangle. • Use a wide-tooth comb. Forget about the brush, it will break your hair way more than combs will do. • Untangle from the ends till the roots, that way you'll avoid to break either the comb or your hair. • I know, I know, I told you to wash your hair not so often, so finally, there will be times when you need to untangle your hair without washing it. For that I prepare a mix of no rinse hair conditioner and water (50-50) and use it to wet my hair before untangle it.

Dry it:

This step can make a huge difference, it can make your hair look all frizzy and undefined or spectacular if you're doing it right. • First of all, you should consider swap your towel to a T-shirt. Apparently, cotton T-shirt fibers are more gentle than the towels' and so, using it will help with frizziness.

• Another tip to avoid frizzy hair is not rubbing it when drying it with the towel (or T-shirt if you decided swapping it). The idea is to wrap your hair with a towel and let it soak up all the humidity instead. • Don't be afraid of using a diffuser: Wait until your hair has a little bit of definition and lost a bit of humidity and then use the diffuser to dry it, always from the ends to the roots, at medium heat and half/low power. Most people use it with their head upside down, but keep in mind it will give you more volume.

Styling:

It can be very difficult to style our hair, we know that, even our hairstylists know it. But there are some tricks I learned on my experiences with my mane.

• Try mixing different kind of products. In my case some voluminizer and mousse do the trick.

• For those times you haven't time enough for styling, you can braid your hair (I usually use boxer braids because they give me extra volume) and let it dry on the go. • Another quick tip for those days you haven't much time is applying some hair mask when it's still moist and let it dry naturally. It will give extra care while you're doing anything else. • Trim it often. The healthiest your hair is, the more beautiful it will look. • If you want to keep your curls beautiful while sleeping, try the “Pineapple trick”, tie your hair in a loose top knot before going to sleep and the morning after your curls will be almost as beautiful as recently washed.

Finally, don't forget that the best thing you can do for your curly hair is to embrace it the way it is, avoiding iron or curling tongs, heat will damage it quicker than you want.

What do you think, are there any tricks or tips you'd add? Let us know!