Understanding Natural Movement In Hair

06 DEFINING & SETTING YOUR HAIR UP TO DRY

All curl types (besides true waves, which are very rare) have natural groups that they can group/clump into. We call this DEFINITION.

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CURL GROUPS = DEFINITION

A base of good, lasting definition is the key to beautiful, easy curls. All curl types (besides true waves, which are very rare) have natural groups that they can group/clump into. We call this DEFINITION. Even those who have “kinky” hair can group into curl groups. I believe kinks really are small, tight coils that aren’t being given what they need to be healthy or interacted with in the way they need to be to group together and define out. Once healthy and treated right, we will see them naturally organize themselves into curl groups.

The size of your natural curl groups (the amount of hairs in each one) is one of the unique Elements of your hair. Even though we can set strands into different-sized groups, they will always tend back to their natural-sized groups, especially the healthier they are. We can take advantage of this fact when we want to do the quickest, easiest process of defining and setting the hair up to dry (most people’s goal). For a lot of curls, it is easier to just encourage the strands to group organically into larger groups than the natural curl groups (especially the more length we have). We know that as they dry and are given some time, they will auto-correct and pop into their natural groups. Another way to think of this is that we don’t always have to make sure we put the curls into their exact, natural curl groups because healthy curls will get there themselves at some stage of the drying (or refreshing) process. This doesn’t always work for all curls. Some curls need us to be more specific and help them get into their exact curl groups. It depends on the combination of Hair & Movement Elements and the health of the Curl Pattern. Confused curls often need us to do some of the work for them until they let go of the bad memories and start doing their thing on their own. The process of “doing the work for them” is something I call The Curl Rehab Process. I will explain it in-depth later in the chapter.

REMINDER: WET CURLS IN THEIR CURL GROUPS ARE AT THEIR MOST CONDENSED, COLLAPSED, AND ORGANIZED PLACE. Again, it is helpful to have the hair dry in this place so that it will hold that organized place as a memory that it will tend back towards with only minimal encouragement when we Refresh (see Section 4 on Longevity, and Section 7 on Refreshing). You don’t have to worry if you don’t like the look of your curls condensed, collapsed, and organized because the groups will expand as they dry. For some, they’ll get more curly; and for others, they will lengthen out —especially once everything is dry and the Curl Cast is broken (more on that ahead).

TIPS FOR SETTING YOUR HAIR UP TO DRY

SIDE NOTE:

The steaminess of the shower setting can be helpful for Low Porosity Hair or Stronger Strands (with more layers of cuticle) to keep the cuticle doors open and help product sink in a bit more. In these cases, I recommend staying out of the water flow, yet keeping it on as you apply the first product—the Moisture that sinks into the hair.

I highly recommend having a Hair Professional, who understands curls, show you how to set up your curls to dry—not because it is difficult; but because there are aspects that can be customized to your specific Curl Patterns & size; density; health & happiness of hair/curls; and the style/shape.

We Interact With the Hair When It Is Drippy Wet—

We want to control the drying process, and not have any of the curls’ Dried Memories be before they are in their curl groups. Also, water to product ratio is important—your curls will group together better when they are drenched and it will help the products sink into the strand more. When the hair is wet, we can interact with it as much as we want—brushing, combing, raking through wet curls won’t hurt them. Even if we rake through the curl groups or pull the curls straight, it won’t hurt them. We can easily get them to group back together and curl back up if they remain drippy wet. So deal with your hair right away.

For some people, staying in the shower/bath while applying product and setting up your curls works best.
For some, putting a towel around your shoulders is a good way to stay dry when interacting with your wet curls out of the shower.
HAVE A MISTING SPRAY BOTTLE READY to keep the hair wet—especially if you have High Density (a lot of hair per square inch) or are doing the Curl Rehab Process (this is a simple technique that is used to help find the natural curl groups and support confused or damaged curls until they have recovered).
Again, we don’t want any of the hair to start drying until we are done interacting with it and are ready to air-dry, diffuse, or hood dry it. For a lot of people, the process of setting up the curls in their curl groups to dry is a pretty quick process and they don’t have to re-wet the hair while doing it.

SECTIONS

We Think Of Our Hair In Sections

so that we can make sure that we get to all of the hair. This doesn’t have to be exact and you can break it down into even smaller sections if you have a lot of Density (a lot of hairs per square inch). The goal is that you can systematically go through the hair; get to every strand; lift all of the strands off the head; and can distribute products evenly.

Here Is My Simple Sectioning Recommendation:

FRONT AND BACK- I think of a headband—everything from behind the ears and forward is the Front of your hair. Everything from behind your ears and back is the Back of your hair.
IN THE FRONT—we have the two Side sections and then two Top sections.
IN THE BACK—we have two Top (crown) sections and at least two Bottom sections underneath.

We Lean To Let The Section We Are Working On Hang Down In Gravity

It is easier for us to rake from the head downwards through the strands than having to lift our arms and strands upwards. This also helps us to take each section straight out from the head (90 degrees).

RAKING PRODUCT THROUGH

We Rake Products Through From Roots To Ends--

for longevity’s sake, we want all of the strands evenly coated because we want all of it to stay hydrated & moisturized, and to have support holding the Hydration & Moisturization in and holding the curls in their curl groups. I know that some curly perspectives say to leave the curl groups undisturbed and apply product gently to the outside. I don’t find this to be helpful on the following days as the curl groups expand. The hair in the middle of the curl groups doesn’t get coated with product and doesn’t retain the hydration as well as the hair that gets coated with product. This normally leads to dryness, frizz, or melty curls (and often makes people feel like they have to add more product on non-Cleanse Days instead of just refreshing the product that is already in the hair). It is okay for us to rake through the hair when applying products, because we can get the hair to go back to its curl groups easily if it stays drippy wet.

We Start With Raking Through The Product That Provides Moisture That Sinks Into The Hair; Then Add The Product That Encapsulates The Strands; and Always End With The Hold Product.

(Section 5 on Product explains this). We apply the amount of product to our hands that our hands can control and get more when we need more. We want to feel that all of the strands are coated with each product. It is more about feeling than an exact amount. If you only allow yourself a certain amount and it doesn’t get all over all of your strands evenly, then you will have inconsistent results. Apply evenly. If you have curls in certain areas of your head that are struggling, then start applying there. Make sure any little guys and new growth are getting the products as well.

DEFINING CURLS

SIDE NOTE:

For heavier hair; larger Curl Patterns; and naturally melty curls when Air-Drying—it is easy to feel like you should scrunch your hair more during the drying process, yet DON’T DO IT! You will have better results and longevity if you leave it alone. We know that it can curl up more … and it will, once the hair is dry and the Curl Cast is broken. For some, the curl won’t fully kick into its full potential till things are refreshed the next day, and that’s okay. It will still look good. If you want the full curl potential on Cleanse Day, then consider using a blow dryer with a diffuser to speed up the drying process and allow it to dry scrunched up.

Defining Your Curls

(True Wavy Hair can skip this step)—For many, this step happens as we apply the last product—the Hold Product, or else right away after applying it. We are finding or allowing your curls to group together in their natural curl groups, which is what they want to do in this situation (even if they are confused). We are organizing the strands next to each other as they come out of the head and then give them a little shake or tap and they will naturally pop into their curl groups—it’s amazing. There are a number of techniques that are used to define curls. The best one for you depends on your Hair & Movement Elements, curl health and happiness, and style/shape. The more your curls are given what they need and allowed to live doing their natural thing, then the happier they get and the stronger the definition gets. They go to their curl groups quicker; and they auto-correct as they dry even if they are put into a neighboring curl group. AGAIN, I RECOMMEND HAVING A Hair Professional GIVE YOU HANDS-ON CURL DEFINING GUIDANCE FOR YOUR SPECIFIC HEAD OF HAIR. The process is similar, yet not the same for everyone. IF YOUR CURLS ARE SAD AND CONFUSED THEN YOU SHOULD DO THE CURL REHAB PROCESS (explained in Section 7).

Scrunching

(if you have an extra strong Curl Pattern that doesn’t need help consistently curling up the entire strand, then you can skip this step)—AFTER getting the curls to group into their curl groups (or raking the products through Wavy Hair), and BEFORE the drying process starts, we want to gently scrunch all the curl groups up.

We work through in sections that are small enough for our hands to control and for us to be able to all of the groups in that section up to where they come out from the head.
We lean so that the section we are scrunching is in its natural hang from the head.
We gently coil up the groups in our palms from the ends all the way up to the scalp and strongly squeeze and hold for a moment. We can then do a series of softer, quicker scrunches if we want to.
WE WANT TO SCRUNCH THE HAIR BEFORE THE Curl Cast IS SET AND NOT SCRUNCH IT AGAIN (except with a Diffuser or in a Bonnet Dryer ) UNTIL THE HAIR IS DRY. If we keep scrunching, then we will break the Curl Cast too soon and mess with the longevity we can get with our curls.

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Understanding Natural Movement In Hair

06 DEFINING & SETTING YOUR HAIR UP TO DRY

CURL GROUPS = DEFINITION

TIPS FOR SETTING YOUR HAIR UP TO DRY

We Interact With the Hair When It Is Drippy Wet—

SECTIONS

We Think Of Our Hair In Sections

We Lean To Let The Section We Are Working On Hang Down In Gravity

RAKING PRODUCT THROUGH

We Rake Products Through From Roots To Ends--

We Start With Raking Through The Product That Provides Moisture That Sinks Into The Hair; Then Add The Product That Encapsulates The Strands; and Always End With The Hold Product.

DEFINING CURLS

Defining Your Curls

Scrunching

<< 05 Products

07 Curl Rehab >>