How I Style My Natural Curls

Since my teens, I've had a love-hate relationship with my hair.  In middle school, puberty always brings lots of awkward changes, and for me, it caused my straight hair to go curly.  I had no idea how to style it and spent a few years looking like a triangle-headed poof ball.

I spent all of high school, college and my early-adult years creating the the perfect cocktail of hair products and methods to (finally) achieve my full curl potential.  (Although, really, curls have a mind of their own and I will never actually be in control over the situation.

Here is how I currently style my hair.

1.  Shampoo and Condition: I start the process with super moisturizing shampoo and conditioner in the shower.  Lately I've loved the Hask products and use the Curl Care line when I style my hair naturally.  The shampoos and conditioners are really affordable and smell amazing!

2.   Combing Process:  I comb my hair in a very particular manner so as not to disrupt my natural curl pattern.  After conditioning, I comb my hair.  Then I rewet it, flip my head upside down, shake my head and then gently scrunch my curls.

3.  Leave-In Conditioner: While upside down, I spritz my hair with this leave-in conditioner.

4.  Plopping:  If you have naturally curly hair and you've never tried plopping.  TRY IT!  Here are your instructions!

5.  Add Product:  After plopping (I usually leave my hair in the towel while doing my make-up), I add product.  First I scrunch in some gel and then some mousse.  Lately I've loved the Ouidad products for curls and I've tried several of their gels and mousses.  I've liked all of them and tend to change things-up every once in awhile so that my hair keeps reacting to the product.  P.S.  How do you pronounce Ouidad??  The French teacher in me pronounces it "weeee-dad."

6.  Diffuse:  Using the diffuser attachment on my hair dryer, I cup small sections of my hair for about ten seconds at a time.  I alternate between doing this right-side up and upside down.  I diffuse my hair until it's about 75% dry.

7.  Spray and Fluff: I spray my entire head of hair with my all-time favorite hair spray, then I scrunch and fluff my hair to add volume and body.

8.  Air Dry and Refluff:  From there, I'm pretty much done.  I let my hair air dry the rest of the way, occasionally fluffing and scrunching with my fingers to encourage the curls.

There you have it!  My curly hair care routine!  Hopefully, if you are like me and are always looking for tips to improve your curls, you've found something here!

Happy Monday and I hope you're having a great hair day!
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Good for You Hair Care with Maple Holistics

Hey, lovely friends!  Instead of talking style today, we're going to focus on something that is just as important in helping us to feel good about our look each and every day...our hair!

With my (sometimes crazy) curly mane, I'm constantly on the hunt for the latest and greatest in hair care.  So, when I was approached by a representative from Maple Holistics asking if I wanted to try one of their shampoo and conditioner sets, I was totally up for the experience!

I have been using Maple Holistic's Tea Tree Oil Shampoo and Conditioner for about three weeks and I'm loving the results!

Let's start with the way the products smell (does anyone else spend lots of time in the hair care aisle smelling all of the shampoos and conditioners before purchasing a set??).  I admit that I was skeptical, having not loved the smell of other tea tree oil products.  But I find the scent of the MH set to be much more subtle than others I've tried.  These products still have the earthy, clean sent of your typical tea tree oil products but is much lighter, making me a fan!

On top of the pleasant smell, this shampoo and conditioner are doing great things for my hair texture. My curls have a couple of different annoying tendencies.  When I wear them naturally, they easily get limp, heavy, and weighed down by product.  When I use my straightener to create waves, I see lots of frizz from my curls trying to escape (ha!).  I'm happy to report that Maple Holistic's Tea Tree Oil Shampoo and Conditioner smooths my frizz without weighing down my curls.  I've used these products before styling my hair curly and wavy and each style looks good!

And there are a few other great things about these products!  All of the goodies from Maple Holistics are 100% natural and cruelty free.  Your hair can look good and your conscience can rest guilt-free.  The price is also great!  You can get a set of the shampoo and conditioner for just under $20!

Even better than the great price point is Maple Holistic's Free Sample Program!  Just fill-out the form on their website and you can receive a product of your choice (including this shampoo and conditioner)!

Check-out their website and Free Sample Program and let me know which products you want to try!
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