Every Day Curly Hair Routine

We spoke about my favorite cleansers, so now it's hair time. After years of trial and error with my hair, you would think that I have been able to perfect my every day hair routine. However, life isn't always easy and that is not the case. Your hair changes with the weather, so the products I would use in the summer aren't necessarily the products I would use in the winter. The products I used to use about 5 years ago on my hair also might not work for me now. I find that if I stick to a certain styling product for too long, it ceases to amaze me after a given period of time.

When I was younger, my hair was wavy with large curls at the ends. Reaching puberty, my hair turned into this big mess of curls and I had no idea what to do with them. Gels use to be my favorite thing because I was very into defined, tight curls. The older I got, the more I appreciated when my curls were voluminous and all over the place. The products that you use on your hair are all about what type of look you want to achieve. The way I like my curls to look could be very different from yours. My sister for example, tells me my curls are frizzy and my hair is big some days as if it's a bad thing. That being said, I pretty much want it all. I want volume and definition. To achieve that with my hair, it's hard to only use one product. My hair routine will probably change within the next month and I'll make an updated post, but in the end it's all about progress and learning what works with my hair and what doesn't.

FIRST THINGS FIRST, if you do not already have one - get yourself a diffuser. 

I am not kidding when I say this will change your curly headed life as you know it. Wavy heads, if you're looking to curl your hair up a tad bit more, this goes for you as well. A diffuser will reduce the bad frizz, and amp up the volume and definition of your curls. A diffuser is something you attach to your blowdryer, if you have no idea what I am talking about. Honestly, before you even try any of the products I am about to list, go take a walk to the beauty supply store, Ricky's, Sephora, wherever. Just grab yourself a diffuser. I know heat damage very well, and I have had my curls look like ramen noodles. A diffuser will not harm your curls, as long as you use it with some common sense. Do not leave it on one section of hair on the highest hottest setting, that's about it. Not that your curls would burn off, that just isn't the smartest thing to do in any scenario. 

Now that we've got that out of the way, we can talk styling products! I am still perfection my washing routine, so that will go in another post. Gotta keep some anticipation alive. After washing my hair and either finger combing it in the shower with a TON of conditioner, or just brushing it through with a wide toothed comb, I flip my head over swing my head back and forth and lightly dab at my hair with a cotton t-shirt. For the love of God, do not rub your hair between a towel. Your curls are going to not only be frizzy (the bad kind of frizzy), but they will not keep the pattern they should have. Drying your hair lightly with a cotton t-shirt will help retain the moisture and keep your curls defined.  I never completely dry my hair though, I simply make sure it's not soaking wet like it would be straight out of the shower.

The first time I got this product was as a sample in Sephora. I had no idea what it did, but this was at the time after I had decided to fry my curls by going blonde twice, then back to blue black. Needless to say, I NEEDED ALL THE HELP I COULD GET. I actually have an exact picture of when I used this product on its own the summer of 2015, after my curls had begun to slowly look normal again. That picture is the one shown right there, on the left. I sprayed this primer in my hair and diffused my curls, and voila! Now let me tell you why I continued to buy this product after receiving the sample. Because I have too much hair and the sample lasted two uses. In all seriousness though, this product is amazing. Not only does it make your curls feel like soft clouds when you touch them, it protects your hair from any heat that comes its way. Diffusing is not bad for your hair but there is still some heat involved, so I spray my locks up with this before I put anything else in! I do believe it adds a little bit of definition and volume too, I don't think that was their full intention with this product but it's so great that it does it anyway. It protects against heat and UV rays! Curly hair is dry enough to begin with, and being out all day in the summer will dry our beautiful curls up. The solution? Bumble Hairdresser’s Invisible Oil Primer. It does not weigh your hair down, I spray the hell out of my hair with this and it does not feel like I have anything nasty sticking to it bringing my curls down. I use this before anything else goes on my hair, and after to refresh it all. My curls go all the way down my back, so this 8.5oz bottle ($28) lasts me maybe two or three weeks. But it's completely worth it so I am going to keep buying it. It makes your hair shiny too, your curls definitely will not look dull. It contains the signature oils of this line which are Argan Oil, Coconut Oil, Macademia Nut Oil, Sweet Almond Oil, Safflower Seed Oil, and Grapeseed Oil. Off rip I'm into this because you guys know how much I adore my oils. It contains no alcohol, no Parabens, no mineral oil and no Phthalates. It has a subtle clean smell to it, and it is not sticky at all. So go ahead and spray that all over your precious head of curls. Or wavy hair, or straight. You can buy this at Sephora here.

Since it is important for your hair to be moisturized, I always follow up with a leave in conditioner. I feel like even though these products are typically meant to simply help your hair out against heat damage, dryness, and breakage, it helps style my hair too. So it's an added bonus. My current favorite leave in conditioner is Kinky-Curly Knot Today Leave In Conditioner/Detangler!
Now let me tell you, for whatever reason I did not want to try and like this because I did not know how great the brand was. The only thing I will say I somewhat dislike about it, is that if I air dry my hair and leave this in, it sort of acts as a gel and hardens my hair just a little bit. It definitely defines it, so if that was the look I was into, that would be fine by me, but I like when my curls are more spread out and all over the place pretty much so that's why that bothered me. Keep in mind my hair is WET, when I put all my products in. It's not soaking wet where it's still dripping so much, but it's not dry one bit. So I would NOT tell you to put this in your hair when it's somewhat dry, at all. OTHERWISE, this is a beautiful product. It doesn't have a strong smell to it. That's another thing, I try not to mix too many smells that would not go together. I want my head to smell like a beautiful garden so I make certain all my products aren't too different. My hair tangles like nobody's business. I have been using this product for about a month now and I have no trouble brushing through my hair in the shower, no chunks have fallen out due to it being so tangled I can't fix it. It definitely does what it claims to do. You can use it in the shower to detangle your hair, but if you have thicker curly hair I would recommend it as a leave in conditioner. I can't tell you how much to use because my hair is different than yours. Your curls could be shorter and thinner, and my amount could be too much for you. I don't drench my hair in it because I do have other products I want to pair with it, so I make sure to just evenly, lightly distribute it from my roots to my ends. You can get this pretty much at any pharmacy for about $12.


I almost do not want to put this product in because I have mixed feelings about it. BUT, this is my every day curly hair routine. So I'm not setting these in stone as my favorites, although I mean, some pretty much are. The reason I have mixed feelings about this product is because I am yet to try it on its own. And I feel as though if I did, nothing out of the blue would happen. Or maybe it's just the fact that it wouldn't do everything I want it to (give me volume PLUS definition). That makes sense though, because it is gel based. But I feel like it's just my strong hate of the smell of this product that makes me dislike it a small amount. However, this product COMBINED with my whole routine!? Perfection. I absolutely adore it. My hair is literally frizz free, my curls are defined and I believe it's because of this exact product, and my volume!? Lord. With all of these products combined my hair has been looking lovely each time. Curls Blueberry Bliss Curl Control Jelly was recommended to me by an employer at Ricky's and I just got it on a whim honestly, without even checking the reviews. It comes inside of an 8oz bottle for $18. It says $25 on their site, and I am pretty sure that is how much I got it for, but I think they lowered it. So bless up and buy it with a discount. Despite me saying that nothing out of the blue would happen this really is a wonder product because it does exactly what it states. But when I use products on their own I like for them to have everything I want all in one, or the greater desire of mine being the dominating factor. This is a jelly, and my focus is on volume rather than slicked down definition so of course this wouldn't be my go to on its own product. That does not mean that it's bad at all, and I would definitely recommend it. Also because it does make my curls look glorious. The actual smell doesn't stick to my hair when I dry it, I just do not like the smell of blueberries in products for whatever reason. The great thing about this product is that there are added benefits to it, like the fact that there is blueberry leaf extract in it. The plant chemical that is found in blueberries, which is Proanthocyanidins, helps your hair grow. It also slows down graying and hair loss, yay! I also love that there aren't that many ingredients in this, and if you go on the website here, they tell you exactly which ingredient does what. This jelly also contains castor oil, which is amazing for hair growth. So as far as what I said before, I do love the product, but the look I tend to go for is different that just a jelly look so that's why I combine it. Beautiful product and I will continue to keep buying it. A little also goes a long way but I have more hair than a human needs so I will probably need to repurchase every one to two months or so. You can buy this product directly off of the site, Target, or Ricky's.

Alright alright, I know you're thinking this might be a bit too many products. But the first is to protect, the second is to condition, so those don't fully count to me. The third is to define, and this last one will give me extra volume! ALSO, this works for my hair, and none of these products have bad chemicals in them. So I don't feel the slightest bit wrong for it. I fell in love with Moroccanoil years back when I first cut my long locks and then started growing them out again to be healthy with the help of this amazing smelling hair oil. This oil helps your hair grow, and it leaves it shiny. A lot of you ladies ask me how I grew my hair out so long. I kept cutting it whenever it was damaged, then I simply thoroughly examined the ingredients of every product that I used. All of the products that I use in my hair incorporate some sort of oil that help my hair grow. I use to use Shea Moisture products (which I still do sometimes, they just don't work as great on my hair anymore, but I love them). Those helped my hair grow, now as you see the Blueberry Bliss jelly has hair growth qualities within it, and now so does this next product I'm about to tell you about! The last thing I put on my hair is the Moroccanoil Volumizing Mousse. Which you can buy at Ricky's, or Amazon here. It costs $28 for 8.5oz. It is sort of pricey for a mousse, but I love the brand, I love what it does and a little goes a long way! This mousse does not flake, it does not make my hair sticky, and it does not make my hair dry. Mousse's have a bad rep within the curly haired community because it is believed that they dry your hair out. Which can be true, for the ones that contain alcohol in it. One of the main ingredients is Argan oil, which will hydrate your curls and help with the growth. This styler does in fact do what it claims to, it gives me volume that lasts all throughout the day.


After that, I simply sacrifice my neck and I stand with my head flipped over and I diffuse my hair for what seems to be 10 years. I flip my head over and admire the result of all the products combined! Though hair products seem to be pricey, it is so worth it to invest in yourself. I will always drop however much I need to on my skin and hair. I love taking care of myself and I know I'll thank myself in the long run. Read the ingredients of your hair products! You might think that just because an item does not have that many ingredients to it that it will not do much for your hair, yes it will, stay away from items with an immense amount of things inside of it. They are just thrown in together with chemicals and it will do your hair no justice. I am afford to layer products because all of the products I use are light and beneficial for my hair. I do have products that I haven't listed in here that I love using, and unfortunately I will leave those for another time. I have so much I want to share with you guys but this is simply my every day hair routine at the moment, since that is really the main thing people ask me when it comes to my hair! Of course, I plan to share my all time favorite curly hair products with you all, whether it be for styling or keeping it healthy.

Thank you so much for reading! Stay tuned for more hair care posts, and if you have any questions or comments please drop them below.