Don’t Touch Your Coils!

Do you suffer from hand in hair syndrome? We’ve all been there. Sometimes its subconscious, other times it’s downright blatant! It can be hard to keep your hands out of your hair, but it can make a big difference in the appearance of your curls.

Whether you’re styling your hair in a twist or braid out, wash and go, flexi-rod set or other style, the look of your curls will depend on how much they’ve been manipulated. For example, think of how tight a fresh roller set is when you first take the rollers down. It usually starts compact, but as the days go by, it gets a little bigger and a little fluffier until you have a head full of big curls. The more you touch and separate your coils, the bigger they get. For some, big hair is the ultimate goal. However, touching your curls will ultimately lead to an increase in frizz which may not be what you’re going for. To retain maximum coily definition, keep your hands out of your hair!

Touching your coils too much can also lead to other issues beyond frizz. Your fingers are a great option for detangling, but they can also cause damage if you’re not careful. Ragged fingernails can snag your curls, leading to more breakage. Also, excessively touching your curls can be abrasive to the cuticle of your hair. This can cause your strands to feel rough to the touch and to become brittle. Add obnoxious frizz to that list and you have a one heck of a bad hair day on your hands!

Even with this laundry list of things that can occur as a result of hand in hair syndrome, I know it won’t always deter folks from doing it. I know I’m guilty of it, especially with a fierce twist out, so I’ve got a few tips to help lessen the effects of touching your coily coiffure too much.

1. When separating your hair, no matter what the style, always apply a bit of oil to your hands first. This will help smooth the sections and help keep any flyways and frizz to a minimum.
2. If you stretch your hair out to its full length when separating, you may find that your hair is already visibly divided into sections that you can use to separate twists or braids. This will keeps you from forcing hair apart in unnatural sections which can cause frizz.
3. Flat twists are a great way to create natural separations in your hair for a twist out so that you can keep the definition without increasing frizz when you separate the twists for more volume.
4. There are a few products that can be used on your finished hair to combat the inherent frizz that comes with touching your hair too much. Such finishers like Curl Junkie Curls in a Bottle or Curly Hair Solutions Curl Keeper can be used on your hair to reduce frizz, maintain definition and keep your curls popping.

Final Thoughts

Keeping your hands off your curls is essential to preserving your fiercest hairstyles. You’ll find your definition will remain and your styles will last longer too when you keep your hands off your hair. Our curls are fragile, so we should treat them gently to make sure they stay looking their best. Happy styling!

How do you keep your hand out of your hair?