Each month NaturallyCurly receives hundreds of questions in our Curly Q&A section of the website. From at-home hair color dilemmas to identifying your curl pattern, our community members and the NaturallyCurly Editors do their very best to help other curlies out. This week, these were the topics we saw the most, and the here’s what our editors and community members had to say.
Question 1:
How do type 2 curlies sleep with wet hair?
I’m just curious if there’s a way for a type 2 like myself to be able to shower at night and have decent curls in the morning. I have lots of issues with canopy frizz so I thought sleeping on it could help, but I also don’t have good elasticity… I saw this and was intrigued
The answers
dawn97, Wavy Type 2B says:
“Yep, I sleep with wet hair! Since the top layer of my hair tends to frizz up, I lay my hair straight out behind me over my pillow. Before I lay it out though, I flip a small amount of hair from my lower layers towards the top of my head, almost like a braid but with two thick lower strands covering the top layer of my hair. I lay it out in that position and let it dry!”
wavyclare, Wavy Type 2C says:
“I don’t know whether you would get a sweaty and hot head though – if you imagine that your hair is wet, add heat and what do you get…steam! I have 2a/2b hair. I am lazy and have hair that takes hours to dry… so I have a bath very late and when I rinse my hair I get the excess water out, put in a load of hair product (everything – oils, curl creme etc”> and “plop” my hair into a T- shirt. I put a towel on my pillow and just go to sleep. Now, the trick in the morning is to have a spray bottle of water handy. If you wake up and it’s looking a bit wrong just do a couple of sprays sides and back and a wee bit more product and style as normal. I find that I rarely overload my hair as the T-shirt soaks up anything my hair doesn’t absorb. Also you could use a hair net.”
Read the original question posted by 2B member Danniro here.
Question 2:
My 2nd year natural (Type 4C”>, now extreme hair loss, continuous split ends, and no growth!
I have transitioned for 9 months, and have been completely natural for 2 years. I used completely natural products that I made myself and had lots of growth. Lastly, yes my hair is growing down now, but I want my hair to be long like the people with long thick natural hair. My hair is very thick and down, but its only up to my earring hole when it is down. And it doesn’t look proper down because it is just straightish with hardly any definition.
The answers
Prispricacity, Coily Type 4C says:
“You may or may not be experiencing normal amounts of shedding and some breakage from dryness. If you only comb through your hair once a week when you wash, its ok and normal to have a lot of shed hair come out. I would recommend only combing/detangling your hair while its wet and soaked with a good slippery conditioner. Use a wide tooth comb or detangle with your fingers. Finger detangling has reduced a lot of breakage for me because I can be gentler when I feel the tangles and can ease them out. Please do not try to comb your hair when it is dry. If you need to manipulate your hair after it has dried, it should be fine to use your fingers, but only once your hair feels well moisturized. If it feels dry and tangled, spritz with water and apply your leave-in moisturizer to soften up your hair.”
Insubordinate, Wavy Type 2C says:
“What might cause hair loss is fungus and bacteria. shampoo too much can actually makes this worse. why? because when it removes your scalps natural oils your body goes to “o shit” plan “b” mode and secretes more oils. Bacteria and fungi starts to grow rapidly, clogging your hair follicles, causing them to fall out. from what you say you use coconut oil. that should be working… coconut oil is a natural antibiotic and a damn good one at that (also antifungal and antiviral”> try a honey rinse (raw unpasteurized for pro-biotic and anti biotic purposes”> honey balances ph level. then try a witchhazel coconut mix rinse, and massage into your scalp but be careful not to use too much.”
Read the full question by 4C member misznatural here.
Question 3
My hair is heat damaged and very dry. What products are good?
My hair used to be very curly and now it breaks off and I just want to bring my now type 2 wavy hair back to how it used to be; which was S curls. Which products are good for making wavy heat damaged hair healthy and very curly?
The answers
Anonymous, Wavy Type 2C says:
“Warm up about 1/4 cup of oil (olive, coconut, sunflower, etc”> for about 15 (NOT SCALDING HOT”> seconds and deep massage it into your hair (root to tip”>. Then leave it in there anywhere from 20 min to overnight. Wash it very good afterwards. Do this 1-2 times a week!Women in India do this religiously! And stay away from heat as much as possible! That’s the absolute best way.”
Anonymous, Curly Type 3C says:
“I abused heat a lot, summer of 2014 until literally the end of the year, one of my favorite things to get my curls back was using mayo as a hair mask 1 every 2 weeks. I also cut out my ends off trust me it will help.”
Chuchu2000, Curly Type 3B says:
“I had heat damage too from flat ironing. I had very curly hair before and for 2 years i have been straightening it . I wanted to go natural again but my hair was just wavy i lost the curl pattern . After 1 year i got my curl back i have been doing protein treatment and deep conditioning and to oil treatment . Just be patient you will get your curl back.”
Read the original question posted by 2A member averriglen here.
