How to refresh curls and coils in between wash days

Having coily or curly hair is nice until you have to maintain it.

Curly hair tends to be the driest of all hair textures because the shape of a curled strand makes it difficult for the natural oils produced by the scalp to travel down the hair shaft. To keep it healthy, this type of hair needs to be moisturised regularly because the scalp’s natural sebum is not evenly distributed.

Both curly and coily hair do not need frequent wash because they are naturally dry (over-washing the hair strips off its natural oils). However, there is something that you can do to make sure your hair stays fresh, hydrated and moisturised in-between washes.

Taryn Gill, a nuturalista and founder of The Perfect Hair, a natural, vegan range of innovative curl care, shares insights into her hair care regime and how she keeps her hair moisturised and refreshed in-between washes.

“Refreshing curls in-between wash days is an art. If you know, you know. Everything about the process of trying to style curls and coils when you have not started with sopping wet, clean hair is a test of patience and resilience! You really want to simply spray-n-go before work or school, but it’s often only that easy for straighter locks that don’t fight back,” she says.

Here are Gill's top three tips for refreshing curls and coils in-between wash days:

• Water is your friend. Use a spritzer of warm water or the steam from the shower to get curls damp before refreshing.
• You will need a light blend of three products: firstly, apply a leave-in cream to moisturise from root to tip. Secondly, spray-on oil to seal in that goodness and thirdly, a gel to tame edges and ends to minimise frizz and fuzz.
• Use your fingers or a wide-tooth comb to gently de-tangle your hair once your moisturising leave-in cream has been applied.
• Gill prefers to use fingers to twirl curls and reshape them, and a comb at the roots to add lift and shape, then an edge tamer to tidy everything up at the roots.

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