The biggest challenge for Afro and tightly curled hair is keeping the curl defined, healthy and frizz free.

It sounds simple enough doesn't it, well it's not, in fact it's an art form and I take my hat off to all of you who achieve success, as its never ending work. The good news is when you do get it right, the results are stunning, there are very few looks that give the wow factor of great looking curly hair, so for us it's an effort well worth making.

So let's start at the beginning. We recommend using a protein based shampoo and conditioner. The protein will keep your curls strong and help reduce frizz, it will also keep them less fluffy so helping tame the curl right from the start. If you have very dry hair then we suggest using an intensive treatment in-between washing and conditioning, this only takes 5 minutes and makes a huge difference. Rehydrating hair is important, but it needs to be balanced with keeping it strong. In the salon we usually tell the spaghetti analogy to make the point. If you hold a piece of dry spaghetti between both hands and apply pressure it will snap in half, not enough moisture and too much protein. Place this spaghetti into a pan of boiling water and remove after 10 minutes, it will be a perfect balance of strength 'protein' and flexibility 'moisture'.  If however you left the spaghetti in the pan of boiling water for too long, it would turn to mush because it has too much moisture and not enough strength (protein).... So your hair should be 'al dente' - the perfect mix of strength and moisture.

Now you have the right condition we need to eliminate the frizz and define the curl. We recommend a cocktail of products that keep hair defined without looking greasy. Start with 5 pumps of 24 Hour Styler to 1 pump of Oil or serum. Apply this mixture evenly through the hair from roots to ends in a scrunching motion. Do this upside down so hair is dangling and allowed to separate, this is important to achieve curl definition. Repeat the application 2-4 times depending on length and thickness, then throw hair back and separate curls with Afro comb, or scrunch with hands. Allow to dry naturally or diffuse on high-heat low-power, but only until 60% dry, as forcing dry will frizz the curl. Once dry you can finish and define curls with oil/serum or a light finishing cream.