I am the first female in my family to be born with curls. You may think that this should not be a problem. However, no-one ever taught me to manage my curls. Consequently, for 30+ years, I did as I was taught and brushed my hair every morning – particularly after I had washed it. After all, knots are not to be tolerated? Or are they? I grew up thinking that I was stuck with the curse of frizzy, high volume hair.

It turns out that the worse thing you can do with curly hair is brush it through – all it does is produce extra volume and frizz. I have rather unusual hair. It’s pretty fine (but for the odd thick strand or two), but with lots and lots of it. Which gives the impression of it being very thick. Unfortunately, this combination of masses of fine hair makes for flyaway, high flying frizz at just the merest hint of moisture in the air. It also makes it very vulnerable to split ends, so I only need to get the hair dryer or GHDs out of their box and the ends will split… Plus, why does every hairdresser that I visit seem to think that I want to have my hair blow dried with lots of volume in it? Just because they can, doesn’t to say that it should be done…

Luckily, like every fairy tale, my knight (well damsel) in shining white armour told me how to manage my frizz. I only wish I had met her twenty years earlier.

Here are my golden rules to keeping your curls curly rather than frizzy:

1. Only brush your hair immediately after washing it (always)
2. Try and wash your hair in the morning rather than sleeping on it wet.
3. Use a good shampoo and conditioner – and choose one formulated for curls. I personally use Frizz Ease’s curls around. Then:
   1. Comb through a leave in condition after washing. This helps to weigh down the curls and stop them getting airborne
   2. Choose a serum or mousse for curls and scrunch this in, after the leave-in conditioner. Grab handfuls of your hair, and close your fist as your lift your hair up to your scalp. Spend about 30 seconds to a minute doing this. Do not skimp this stage, as this is possibly the most important step
   3. Select a few small sections of hair and wind these around your fingers to further encourage them to curl. I do this with the hair around my face, curling it so it curls neatly away from my face
4. Avoid touching your hair after you have styled it – it can encourage it to frizz
5. Try not and get your hair wet & if possible avoid wide open windy spaces!
6. If the worse happens and your hair frizzes, wet it, use some serum and scrunch it up again. If this doesn’t work, then clip or pull the offending strands back…
7. Limit your use of hair straighteners, hair dryers, back combing or anything which dries out/stresses your hair – such as aggressive hair treatments.
8. Experiment with a few different combinations of mousses, serums and leave in conditioners, until you find the right combination for your hair
9. choose a hair dresser with naturally curly hair – they will really know what cuts your hair can cope with.

The great news is that ever since I embrace my inner curl, rather than having to try and blow dry it straight, my hair is incredibly reliable and low maintenance. A minute and I’m done…

How do you minimise your frizzy hair, and maximise your curls?