8 tips to enhance natural curls

Curls are amazing, however they require extra work to keep them healthy and beautiful. There is a fine line between having wild, frizzy, curly hair and having days where your curls do as you want. 

You probably know if you are blessed with natural curls. From nature's side curly hair is drier than other hair types. Haircare with plenty of nourishing ingredients is therefore essential for achieving a shiny curly hair. The solution can be to introduce the perfect haircare routine that will make your curls - and you - shine.

How can you add new life and definition to your wavy or curly hair? Read on below and get our experts' 8 best tips for beautiful, natural curls.

ZENZ Organic CURLS

Why do you get curly hair? 

The reason one gets curly hair is that the shape of your hair follicles determines whether the hair that grows out is straight, curly, wavy, or kinky. If the follicles are U or C-shaped, one has very curly hair.

Curls are characterized on a scale that ranges from 2, which is wavy, to 4, which is kinky. These types of hair are further divided by texture - from thin and fine to thick - that are rated from A-C. So, you can have a combination of hair patterns that take into account texture and curl. For example, 2B or 4C. Here 2B would be wavy hair and 4C is tightly packed kinky curls. It's also seen that many people with curls can have several different types of curls depending on the section of hair in question.

It can have an impact on which haircare routine you should base your hair on.

1. Shampoo for curls

An important remedy in your haircare routine is choosing the right shampoo. In general, with all the products you should go for if you have curly hair, are products that add moisture to the hair. If you have curly hair, you should avoid products that either dry out your hair or make your hair heavy.

You should ideally go for a mild shampoo and be aware that many regular shampoos are too harsh for delicate curls. If you want to take care of your curls, it's a no-go to use shampoo with sulfates in them. You can read much more about why sulfates are bad for hair - especially curly hair - here. Among other things, sulfate-containing shampoos can cause overproduction of sebum (sebum) in the scalp.

You should also ideally avoid washing your hair with shampoo too often - you can risk washing out some of the essential natural oils.

2. You curls require a lot of moisture 

Curly hair can have a difficult time staying moisturized because the hair strands are naturally drier and more porous. That's why it's important to go for products with ingredients that don't further strip the natural oils from the hair. These can be products with parabens, phthalates, sulfates, and some types of alcohol (the types of alcohol that dry out are alcohol denat, ethanol, and methanol).

Hair follicles produce the natural oil, sebum, which for curly hair, can take longer to travel through the curly hair. This is one of the reasons why the ends of curly hair tend to become very dry.

You should also avoid products that block the moisture-absorbing effects. Therefore, you can almost not add too much moisture to your curls! It can be done both by using oil or a good conditioner. It's important that you go for an oil with natural ingredients, minerals, and vitamins. The oil can help preserve the moisture in the hair - and it can control the frizz, and make your curly hair much easier to handle and style.

Choose a good, moisturizing conditioner like Deep Wood Conditioner no. 08 and let it sit in the hair after the shower as a leave-in conditioner.

Conditioner Deep Wood no. 08 fra ZENZ Organic

A weekly hair treatment with rebuilding, natural proteins will also work wonders for your hair. Use Treatment Pure no. 03 mixed with a little Oil Treatment Deep Wood no. 99 for an extra moisture boost. If you massage the oil into the scalp, you will also be able to boost blood circulation, which will promote hair growth. It can be a good idea to invest in the HairSpa Treatment Booster cap and optimize the effect of your treatment and reduce the treatment time.

CO-wash as part of the Curly Girl method

An element of the Curly Girl method is the so-called CO-wash, which stands for conditioner only - where you only use conditioner and water to wash curly hair and thus skip shampoo.

ZENZ conditioners are all silicone-free, which is why they can be used from root to tip, so that your tips and scalp get care and moisture - without clogging the scalp. Through the CO-wash method, the hair strands are closed, so they are protected and in this way, the CO-wash method creates a healthier and more natural balance in the hair.  

ZENZ Organic Curls

3.  Be careful when you dry curly hair 

The best thing for curly hair is to air dry. Avoid rubbing your hair with a towel, instead use a towel to gently squeeze out the excess water. Choose a towel made of pure cotton to reduce frizz. According to the Curly Girl method, it is also recommended to put wet hair up in an old t-shirt - preferably one made of 100% cotton.

If you dry your hair with a blow dryer, be sure to use a diffuser. It helps to distribute the heat and makes blow drying milder on the hair.

Turn your head upside down and blow dry from the tips downwards. Avoid blow-drying close to the scalp, and always use a heat protecting product. Try Styling Gel no. 12, which protects the hair from heat and adds moisture at the same time. You can mix your styling gel with Oil Treatment Deep Wood no. 99 for extra care.

Oil Treatment Deep Wood no. 99 fra ZENZ Organic 

4. Choose styling products for curly hair 

When looking for hair products for curls, it's important to choose products without silicone and other drying ingredients. You achieve the most beautiful curls when your hair is healthy and well-cared for.

We recommend our Styling Gel no. 12 and Hair Styling Mousse no. 91. Apply the gel or mousse to wet hair, scrunch the product through your curls starting from the bottom and working your way up towards the roots. Once the hair is almost dry, you can give the tips a few drops of Oil Treatment no. 99 or a little extra Styling Gel.

If you have curly hair, you should ideally avoid using hair spray that has a high amount of alcohol - as this will make your curls stiff and less natural-looking.

Produkter til krøllet hår fra ZENZ Organic

5. Wash your curly hair in cold water - and remember to detox your hair and scalp 

Hot water can dry out the hair, and your curls do not need that. That's why our experts recommend avoiding scalding showers. Cooler water helps the hair strands to close, so that the hair retains moisture and shine better.

Before washing your curly hair, it can be a good idea to loosen the tangled curls with your hands. You should be aware that it is not recommended to comb the hair when it is dry - so it can be an idea to comb your hair in the shower. You can add your conditioner or hair treatment and comb the product through the hair. That way you make sure to break as few hair as possible when combing your curly hair.

Your hair also benefits from a weekly detox treatment. Use Hair & Scalp no. 87 to remove dirt, lime, product residues that weigh down the hair and can clog the hair strands and scalp. Regular cleansing treatments will help you get the full benefit of your caring products and keep your curls healthy.

Hair & Scalp Rinse Fresh Herbs no. 87 fra ZENZ Organic 

 

6. Protect your curly hair with a nourishing hair colour

Natural and nourishing hair colour that helps to protect your hair from drying out and from getting damaged, as the hair colour forms a layer of protection around the outside of the hair shaft. The colour also adds extra shine.

You don't have to go for a whole new hair colour to benefit from this tip. If you are already happy with your hair colour, you can choose a shade that matches your own.

It is important to choose a mild, natural hair colour and not a permanent, chemical colour, as the latter degrades rather than protects the hair shaft. For example, try our caring and 100% natural henna hair colours, which gives a natural look with lots of colour play.

See all our organic products for curly hair.

7. Take care of your curls during the night 

To keep curls from losing their shine overnight, some use the so-called Pineapple method, a method where you put your hair in a pineapple before bedtime. This method involves putting your hair up in a high, loose ponytail and gathering it on top of your head - preferably with a silk or satin hair elastic, such as a scrunchy.

The Pineapple method puts the hair in a way that is most likely to avoid curling, flattening curls, and avoiding knots in the hair. If you want to ensure extra security for your hair, you can tie a silk or satin scarf around your hair. You can also choose to invest in a silk or satin pillowcase, which has less friction than cotton. This can help avoid filtering and curling of the hair.

8. Avoid split ends 

It is almost inevitable that you will not get split ends. But split ends can make your curly hair appear more frizzy and dry, so it's important that you treat your hair in a healthy way. This can be by always using heat protection products and using oils and hair treatments.

If the ends are very split, it is recommended to have the ends cut by a professional hairdresser - preferably every 2 or 3 months. Here you can also get many more good tips on how to treat your particular curls. Curls are different with varying curl types and patterns - and therefore require different treatment.

Book a hair salon appointment and get more expert tips for natural care.

Get more expert tips for natural haircare

Now you have hopefully learned much more about how to enhance your natural curls and take care of them. If you implement some of the tips into your daily hair care routine, you are many steps closer to beautiful, curly hair.

If you want to learn more about how to maintain healthy hair, well-groomed skin, and a balanced scalp? Read on in our blog posts:

Guide to hair treatments: Find the best hair treatment for dry hair

You can explore our entire blog universe here.

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Use the BLOG-CURLY10 discount code and get 10% off all our Curly Girl-friendly hair products. You can also subscribe to our newsletter and get 20% off your entire order. Sign up here!

 

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