My Favorite Products for Curly Hair

look at that five year-old’s head of hair!

I am very, very excited to dive into this post. Today I’m talking about the only beauty topic on which I have any expertise what-so-ever: how to manage curly hair. Before I go into my product and styling recommendations, I thought it would be fun to take you through my awkward curly hair journey. (If you have curly locks too, I’m sure you have your hair journey as well!) I hope we can still be friends after I share some of these photos…!

Wrangling my hair is something I’ve dealt with my whole life. Starting at the age of 8, my curls went from silky and adorable, to wild and unruly. When puberty hit around age 11, my locks became frustratingly kinky and made me incredibly self conscious. I tried every gel and serum under the sun, but nothing seemed to tame them.

exhibit A.

Having grown up with the same hair texture, my mom understood my struggle and would often blow out my hair for me while I was too young to do it myself. I remember her telling me that if there were ever a way to chemically straighten my hair, she’d let me do it in a heart beat. The tears were simply not worth it.

Posh Spice outfit with Scary Spice hair!

Lo and behold, Japanese hair straightening made it way onto the scene in the early 2000s and upon turning my 14, my mom and I both made our very first of many, many appointments at Sei Tomoko in Greenwich Village, Manhattan. Having straight hair (finally!!) changed my entire demeanor. I became more confident and, curiously, less hyper according to my friends who believed my energetic personality lived in my curls. For the next 10 years, frizz was nothing but a nuisance of the past.

two curly girls with top notch Japanese perms

Flash forward to my first months out of college living on my own in New York City. Newly charged with supporting myself in an expensive city, I had no choice but to make some sacrifices. There was no way I could afford a $200 perm every nine months! Luckily, I’d been observing that the curly hair that slowly grew back after each treatment was softer and less kinky than I remembered. I spent the next two years growing out my curls before making an appointment at DevaChan, a salon that specializes in curly hair.

My first haircut at DevaChan was another life changing experience. Revealed to me that day was a shiny head of gorgeous curls that had supposedly emerged once my surging hormone levels finally balanced out. Instead of constantly fighting my hair or paying someone to fight it for me, my curls and I could FINALLY live in harmony.

fresh after my most recent DevaChan haircut!

I share this story because I suspect there are many of you out there who are still fighting your curls and I want you to know it does not have to be that way! All it takes is a great haircut and the right army of products. Below, the curly products I CANNOT live without, my favorite tools for the occasional blowout (because we curly girls know that the best part about having curly hair is that we can have it all), and my entire hair regimen for both.

1. & 2. Bröö Moisterizing Shampoo & Conditioner (c/o) // 3. DevaCurl Ultra Defining Gel (c/o) // 4. DevaCurl Supercream (c/o) // 5. Wide tooth comb // 6. DevaCurl DevaTowel (c/o) // 7. Scünci No-Slip Grip hair clips // 8. Invisibobble hair ties // 9. Elchim Classic 2001 Dryer // 10. TRESemmé Heat Tamer Spray // 11. Viscal Round Brush

MY CURLY HAIR REGIMEN

When it comes to shampoo and conditioner, I like to opt for ones that are silicone, sulphate and paraben free like the ones from Bröö’s line of natural, beer-based hair products. Not only do they leave my hair feeling healthy and shiny, they also smell amazing. When conditioning my hair, I comb the conditioner through with my fingers or a wide tooth comb and let it stay in my hair while I wash my body, shave, etc. before rinsing out only about 50% of it. (If I plan on blowing out my hair, I’ll only condition the bottom half of my hair and rinse it out completely to prevent my blow out from getting greasy too quickly.)

While my hair is still soaking wet, I comb DevaCurl’s Supercream through my sopping locks and then add gobs of DevaCurl’s UltraDefining Gel, which I scrunch into my hair in small sections, squeezing out water as I go. I then reach for my DevaCurl DevaTowel to scrunch out any remaining water before twisting up my hair in a very loose turban. Once I’m dressed I simply let my hair air dry and let the products work their magic. For best results, I wash my hair in the morning, but if I have to wash my hair at night, I’ll place the DevaTowel on my pillow and drape my hair over the back of the pillow.

If it’s a special occasion or simply too cold outside to bear letting my hair air dry, I still love an occasional blowout. I always use heat protectant spray before applying heat. A large round brush and professional hair drying with a thin nozzle are absolute MUSTS for a silky smooth and frustration-free blowout. This is the exact hair dryer I’ve used for ages and I can tell you firsthand that it is completely worth the price tag. (You can find plenty of blowout tutorials over on YouTube.)

Whether my hair is curly or straight, I only use two types of hair accessories: invisibobble hair ties, which leave zero dent and don’t crush your curls (hallelujah!), and Scünci’s No-Slip Grip hair clips. I’d seriously be a mess without them.

And when it’s time to get a haircut, DevaChan is still the only salon I trust. There are two locations in NYC: SoHo and the Upper West Side. If you’re not in NYC, you can use DevaCurl’s stylist locator to find a DevaCurl-trained stylist in your area!

Still have curly hair questions?? Leave them in the comments below or email me at marisa@theneonteaparty.com!

Peace, love & neon,
Marisa

A special thank you to my friends at DevaCurl & TLCommunications for providing some of the products mentioned in this post! All opinions are my own genuine thoughts. 🙂