3 Tips to Help Achieve Optimal Curl Definition for Wash & Go’s
Amongst the natural hair community, we often hear that many tight curlies + naturals cannot get curl definition that lasts longer than a few days. As a professional tight curl education company, we’re here to offer you 3 easy tips to help you achieve optimal curl definition when styling your wash and go.
Tip #1: Use the Appropriate Styling Products
Contrary to popular belief, product selection is not trial and error. Before looking for any products it’s imperative that we understand what a product is used for, why we would use it, and what is the desired result from using it.
When styling wash and go’s in particular, the product of choice is 97% gel. Always gel. You want a soft wash and go? Still gel. Otherwise, you will have an unintentional undefined afro. While rocking an afro is amazing, if that wasn’t the finish you were going for, gel will always win the day.
“Pro Tip: Although we know styling foams are very popular amongst the natural hair community, we do not typically recommend using them for wash and go styling, as they won’t result in longevity, lasting a max of 2 to 3 days.”
We like to use base gels on the bare sopping wet hair. Base gel is typically a botanically based product (aloe, pectin, flaxseed, etc.) that either has no plastic-based ingredients or has them very low on the ingredient list.
We then often (but not always) follow up with a topper gel or two. There is a distinct rhyme and reason why we do this. We aren’t just laying any gels on top of each other. Some toppers are to increase the water retention and clumping of dehydrated hair with a compromised cuticle. Some toppers are for climate protection in very arid or very humid locations. Choosing to use a topper and what topper to use is dependent upon the actual condition of your hair.
Tip #2: Make Sure You Hair Is Fully Saturated With Water
Botanical gels tend to be plant-based and water soluble, meaning that they wash out of the hair easily, leaving behind minimal build-up.
Botanical gels typically contain herbal extracts and humectants (such as aloe, flaxseed, okra, pectin or marshmallow root) that are used to promote water retention in your hair by pulling moisture from the air and adding it to your hair.
“Botanical gels can be a little pricey in costs. Consider it the same as buying fresh, organic ingredients from your local grocery store versus quick processed foods from your favorite fast food chains.”
Since humectants are ingredients that attract and bind water, we recommend making sure that your hair is fully saturated with water before applying your base gel (and sometimes adding more water if a section of your hair needs it.) To make this process easier, we typically recommend styling your hair while in the shower if you can, or applying your styling products then placing a shower cap over your hair to hold the water and finish your styling after your shower.
Tip #3: Fully Dry Your Hair
Here at Black Girl Curls, we’re big fans of using a heat source to fully dry your wash and go sets.
Hood dryer, blow dryer with or without diffuser, or air drying? How you dry your hair is a very personal decision. We encourage you to do what works for your lifestyle and styling goals but there are pros and cons to each method.
A hood dryer forces warm air around the hair to speed the air forming of a set. The hair is locked in place quickly and not given time to frizz, loosen, shrink, or expand. This creates sets that are close to what the hair looks like wet.
We find that the hair strand also retains more of the smoothness created during the setting process and therefore the dry set result can end up having more sheen/shine than any other drying method.
The heat from a properly working hood dryer is not dangerous to your hair. If your scalp or forehead skin can sit under the dryer and only feel like it is occupying a summer day in Florida, we promise the dryer heat is doing the same to your hair.
A diffuser takes the high impact direct air from a hand-held blow dryer and “diffuses” it, softening the airflow and temperature by directing it to a larger area of the hair. Diffusing is great to build volume, but if you’re not looking for volume, a diffuser can be a style nightmare.
We advise diffusers be used on tightly curly hair once the hair is at least 60% dry. The diffuser should be angled in a downward fashion and moved through the hair vertically and slowly to not disturb the created curl.
Air drying is likely the most popular, and easily the most frustrating method of drying natural hair. It can take hours, or even days, for the hair to dry. As that hair is drying it is expanding and possibly frizzing due to climate or hand in hair syndrome.
Air drying time is dependent upon density, climate, product, and style choice/techniques, but we routinely see air drying take 2-3 full days for the stye to be dry inside and out.
In need of more personalized tips for how to nail down your wash and go styling? We have robust video content available in our digital consumer education platform—The SeeSomeCurls Visual Library, with new wash and go video content available weekly.
Our 1.2K+ course community of tight curl + naturals are shaving more than 50% of time off their wash day, being showered left and right with hair compliments, and are receiving direct support of a very encouraging community of tight curlies + naturals who have been exactly where you are. If you’re a brand new subscriber, take advantage of our free 7-day trial offer.
