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There are a number of destination cruises that can take you to some truly amazing and culturally influenced sites. Cruises range in length from as little as a week to as long as two months. However, no matter where you plan on sailing or how long you plan on being out at sea, your curls are along for the ride and you need to prepare them well.
A combination of fresh sea air, sun, recycled shower water, chlorinated pools and ocean dives can give your curls and waves a bit of a shock. It’s best to board the ship prepared with the tools and curly hair care strategies you need to keep your hair looking great.
Stay Natural
A cruise is a great time to highlight the beauty of your natural curls and waves. Fighting them while cruising may cost you a lot of time and money. While there are salons on board, these services usually start at $50 and quickly add up, all for a simple blow out.
You may be tempted to try something different for the formal evenings, but keep in mind that a blowout will only last as long as you stay inside. On the decks, not only will you be face to face with fresh sea air and mist, but you’ll also be combating some pretty heavy winds.
Pack Smart
Ships will often offer you small bottles of toiletries, much like many hotels. However, depending on the length of your cruise and the amount of product you use, you may need more than what they offer. Unlike flying, you’re not bound to restricted sizes and amounts of products you can bring on a cruise ship, so feel free to bring along your big bottles of gel, conditioner and mousse.Make the most of your curls and waves by stepping aboard with the right curly hair care products, including a gentle cleansing shampoo, a good leave-in moisturizer, conditioner and a few other favorite styling products.
Be sure to pack your products well to ensure that they don’t leak. Tape the tops of your bottles and double-bag them. Remember that most cruises have blow dryers on board, so you don’t need to bring your own. However, be sure not to use heat styling too often. A cruise is a great time to take advantage of letting your hair air dry.
Don’t forget that you’ll probably be dressing up a bit on your cruise too. Most cruises have a few select formal evenings for dinners as well as after-dinner martini bars, dancing and other nightlife events. For these occasions, you should plan to pack a few glamorous hair accessories to change up your daytime look. Rhinestone clips, hairpins, headbands and beaded ponytail elastics are small, easy to pack and offer a simple day to night change
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You may find that you’ll need to shower more than once a day. Cruise activities such as workout classes, pools, rock walls and sun bathing can add up to a lot of sweat and sunscreen. You certainly don’t want to go into an elegant dinner smelling like that afternoon. Therefore, plan on bringing a favorite body wash as well as lots of lotion.
You may choose to not wash your hair with every shower, especially if you have thicker curls, so consider bringing along a good curl reviver spray.
Even if you don’t shampoo often, you might still want to bring shampoo with you anyway. The salty air, recycled shower water and chlorinated pools will leave you with more build-up than usual forcing you to adjust your curly hair care routine.
For evening looks or days in port, you may want to make use of an anti humectant pomade to help hold your curls and waves in place and frizz free. If your hair is thicker and can handle heavier pomades, try shea butter.
Cruises are a great time for relaxing and getting away, so give your whole mind and body a true rest, including your curls and waves. Simply sit back and enjoy the paradise of a “floating island.”
One of the benefits of having wavy and curly hair is that you don’t have to wash it too often. If you miss a day, it’s okay. Your curls and waves can literally bounce back without a lot of work.
Regardless of how often you wash your hair, this simple revitalizing process can be used for any type of wavy or curly hair. It’s especially good for going from work to a dinner party or special event after a long day. It’s also a wonderful process for styling your curls before you go to bed.
The Basics
Gel + H2O: that’s all you need to revitalize your natural wavy or curly hair. It’s best to have a spray bottle for your water. One that mists is ideal so that you can cover more area on your hair.
Select the right gel for curly hair. It doesn’t have to be costly, and there are some good drug-store buys that are easy to find and won’t hurt your wallet. A few favorite gels for curlies and waves are: La Looks Curl Gel, Biotera Gel (Biotera Glaze is great for finer hair or waves”>, Kinky Curly Custard, La Bella Sports Gel, and Ecostyler gels.
And You’re Off!
Start by sectioning your hair into smaller sections (depending on your length you may have up to 4 or 5 sections”>. Clip each section and apply water with your water spray bottle to the first section, enough to dampen it.
Then, use a quarter to half-dollar size of gel on your section, applying it evenly throughout the section. Sometimes it’s easiest to coat your hands with the gel for each section.
Be sure not to rub your scalp or pull on any parts of your hair as you apply. Gently repeat on each section of hair then blot each section with a damp towel.
Added Features
You may want to finger-curl some sections as you work the gel through. Simply take a part of the section of hair you’ve worked the gel and water into and twist it around one or two fingers, depending on how wide you want the curl to form. You may want to do some random curls and allow others to form more naturally. You can also twist the smaller sections into loops and clip them down to form curls as well.
The When and Where
This process is perfect for the evening or the morning as long as you allow ample drying time. It’s best to allow revitalized curls and waves to air-dry. If you have limited time, use a diffuser and gently allow the curls to dry.
Going from work to a dinner party? The above process may take a bit more time than you have to get from your office to an evening party. You can use a simpler and quicker process by again, having your water on hand and a small tube of gel.
It’s always a great idea to keep some gel at work, or even in your car for those occasional hair date disasters. Instead of creating sections, mist your hair lightly with some water. If you don’t have a water bottle handy, simply use your hands. It’s not necessary to make your hair too wet.
- Coat your hands with gel and work it through your hair. Going from ends to roots may “plump” up your wavy and curly hair a bit more and help style your hair at the same time.
- Apply more gel as needed until you have finished. Use your hands to twist and coax any curls or waves back into place.
- Hairpins If you are headed to a special evening out, be sure to have a few glitzy hairpins with you too. Add them to your revitalized curls and waves for a more elegant or “party-going” look.
Final thoughts
It just takes a few minutes and some inexpensive tools to make second-day hair look sensational!
It’s safe to say that your hair conditioner probably contains wax, which begs the question, what is a wax? In conditioners, it’s basically a fatty alcohol like cetyl alcohol or cetearyl alcohol that, once mixed with liquids, thickens a product, allows oils and water to stay mixed and adds softness to hair and skin. Without these ingredients, your conditioner would separate.
This isn’t your typical paraffin wax which is made from petroleum. The waxes found in your hair conditioner most likely come from plants. These waxes don’t bond to the hair like quaternary cationic conditioners do (i.e. cetrimonium bromide, behehtrimonium methosulfate”>. As a result, they are usually easier to remove and less likely to cause build-up. Bottom line, don’t worry about these wax-like ingredients in your hair conditioner. After all, you’ve been using them already. In fact, conditioners with “emulsifying waxes” and less quaternary cationic conditioners can be a person’s best friend.
If you want your hair to be attractive to potential partners (or even licensed ones”>, or you just want heads to turn, start on the inside. People are attracted to self-confident, comfortable people. The sexiest curly hairstyles are not ones you adopt to impress others or to look like somebody you admire – it’s one you design to fit yourself.
Knowing your face shape and personal style can go along way to creating your own unique and confident look. Oval, round and heart shaped faces benefit from longer hairstyles that are layered, but not too top-heavy. Rectangular, round, triangular, diamond and square faced faces benefit most from shorter curly hair styles that frame the face.
Despite what the bottle may tell you, there is usually no benefit to using an entire line of curly hair products. If you like an expensive styling product and inexpensive conditioner, don’t be afraid to mix and match. In fact, you can save the guilt trip over splurging for that high-end product by pairing it with your favorite lower priced products.
Also, be sure to take note of the ingredients in all of your favorite curly hair products. You may notice that the inexpensive line is more beneficial and you’ll be saving your hair and your pocket book!
Instead of a towel, use an old t-shirt to dry your hair. Towels can create a scrubbing effect on your hair, removing product and damaging curl. The smoother texture of a t-shirt will prevent frizz and help to maintain your healthy locks.
Squeeze your curls gently, never rub, in order to preserve your natural curl pattern. Move along in sections, taking a hand full of hair at a time. Keep in mind that overexposure to any type of touch can cause curly hair to lose volume or become frizzy. For best results, t-shirt dry each section of your hair only once. Be sure to squeeze out excess water and then let the final drying be by air.
When you sleep on a cotton pillowcase, the tossing and turning causes friction between your head and pillow. This can result in hair breakage. Using a silk/satin scarf or satin pillowcase will greatly reduce that friction and maintain moisture in your hair.
As an added bonus, stain pillowcases and sheets help to maintain the moisture in your skin, too! Making the switch from cotton to satin will protect both your curls and your glowing skin from moisture loss and friction.
For many, summer is synonymous with travel, but frequent flying can leave you arriving at your final destination looking less than refreshed. Seasoned traveler, beauty guru and founder of Rahua Haircare, Fabian Lliguin provides a few simple travel beauty tips for a chic landing.
- Use a deep cleanser and wash your face thoroughly prior to take-off. Top off with a light tinted moisturizer to keep skin looking fresh and provide light coverage.
- Get your hair blown out with extra body and waves before flight. During flight put your hair up and secure in place with a spiral pin. After you land let hair loose, apply Rahua Voluminous Spray all over, shake your hair run fingers through and be ready to impress.
- Keep skin hydrated by drinking plenty of water and avoiding dehydrating salty foods, fizzy drinks and alcohol.
- Keep a great humidity tamer, like Rahua Conditioner on hand to smooth out any frizz along the way.
- Apply a light foundation right before landing to arrive fresh-faced. Then cream shimmer above cheekbones and finish with an herbal water mist to set and give a refreshed glow. Add a pop of color with a tinted lip balm or stain.
Final thoughts
So whether you’re popping on a puddle-jumper to the Vineyard or making a bi-coastal journey, these travel beauty tips will ensure that you arrive in style, whatever your destination.
You may have thought it would never happen, but if you over-condition your hair, it may feel too soft and very slippery. Over-conditioned hair may even repel itself as though you rubbed a balloon on your head. Limp or greasy looking hair or hair that looks puffy and undefined are signs of over-conditioning.
To help reverse this, wash your hair with shampoo and use much less conditioner or simply just a lighter formula. You might use a protein treatment, which tends to counter the soft, mushy feeling by strengthening (“stiffening””> hair. You can do this at home by beginning with an apple cider vinegar rinse to remove excess oils. However, “over-conditioning” can also refer to a build-up of emulsifying emollients in conditioners which can be difficult to remove without the help of a surfactant or a mild abrasive like baking soda. Once you have done this, use a protein treatment like Spiral Solutions Repairing Protein Treatment to restore strength and resilience to hair.
Final thoughts
Overall, don’t worry! Over-conditioned hair completely reversible, so keep trying and avoid deep conditioning treatments or using too many “conditioning” styling products.
The use of direct heat on your curls should be limited to a few times per month. Using direct heat on a regular basis will result in damaged hair, which means little to no length retention not to mention split ends and hair breakage.
Whenever you must use heat, remember to use heat protection for hair care like Carol’s Daughter Macadamia Heat Protection Gloss on freshly washed and conditioned hair.
Final thoughts
For those curlies not ready to transition from heat to air styling, be sure to deep condition your hair often to protect it from breakage and damage. Jessicurl Weekly Deep Conditioning Treatment works great as a multi-monthly treatment.
Yoga practice and classes present a challenge for longer hair. A very loose, high ponytail, loose bun or a twist will keep your hair off the floor or mat and out of the way for shoulder stands and bridge poses. If you regularly do headstands, you may want to opt for pigtails or an off-to-one-side bun so your hair won’t distract you.
Using hair ties to pull hair back snuggly and then wrapping hair around the tie, using the tie to secure the style, will keep hair in a secure, but simple bun. To push back fly-aways that can distract you, use a simple headband. Once your hair is out of the way, you can begin to achieve ultimate yoga clarity.
The connection between exercise and hair loss is often misunderstood. Distance running, intense strength-training, swimming, bicycling, or any intense and prolonged exercise by itself does not cause hair loss as long as you consume adequate calories and nutrients, stay hydrated and don’t lose excessive amounts of weight.
The side effects of some of these activities (sun, wind, water”> can be hard on hair, however. If you undertake an intense physical training regimen, give your hair protection from injury too by using products with SPF protection.
When you want your hair frizz-free and defined for a special occasion; refresh your style and add volume with this quick routine for natural-looking, loose spiral curls. These will last longest if you have some natural wave or curl in your hair.
Buy some plastic smoothie straws (also called “bubble tea straws””>. Mist a section of hair lightly with water if it already has styling products in it, or mist with spray gel. Make sure the section is smooth and tangle-free and place the top of the straw near the roots. Wrap the section of hair smoothly around the straw without twisting the hair. Place a clip or bobby pin at each end. Cut the straws if they are too long. Do this to sections all around the top layer of hair. Diffuse the hair until mostly dry on low heat. Allow to cool, unclip and slide the straws down and out. Shake your head, fluff the curls or give them a shot of cool air with your diffuser to soften the ringlets.
Leave in conditioners make sense for people with very dry hair, just like lotion for very dry skin. But if you have fine hair or a loose wave pattern, should you use a leave-in conditioner? If your hair frizzes, leave-ins can dramatically reduce frizz. They can also soften the “crunch” of a hard-hold gel as well as help define poufy or frizzy hair into ringlets, spirals and waves.
The important thing is to find the right leave-in conditioner for your hair type. If your hair is very curly or dry, oils and emollients are ideal. If your hair is fine or easily weighed down, look for moisturizers (aloe, sodium PCA, hyaluronic acid, protein, panthenol”> in a leave-in. Not everybody needs a leave-in conditioner, and it can be as simple as using your rinse-out conditioner, but they can have benefits for every hair type, so it is worth your time to try it out – tomorrow!
Want to win the battle against frizz? Need a new product to make your curly hair look perfect? Need a curl specialist to cut and style your hair? Curls on the Go™ is a FREE app that puts the power of looking fabulous in the palm of your hand.
1. Be Frizz Free
Look great every day with the Frizz Forecast™. Ensure you are always FRIZZ FREE with the tips and personalized products recommendations. Win the battle against frizz now!
2. Products
You can browse and shop for thousands of curly hair products, read reviews from real customers, research ingredient information and buy the products straight from your mobile device.
3. Salon Finder
Curls on the Go™ Salon Finder locks in your GPS coordinates and displays the curl salon closest to you using Google Maps. You’ll have access to reviews from the largest online community of curl friends to find the perfect salon for your curls.
4. Your Hair Type
Find your hair type and get tailored tips, tricks, and products for your exact hair type and have a great hair day, every day.
5. Ratings & Reviews
Read tens of thousands of product and salon reviews. Read real, unbiased reviews and find the perfect products and curl stylist close to home.
6. Photos
Browse thousands of cuts and styles, and bookmark your favorites. See the newest hairstyle trends for curls of every type. Scroll through thousands of haircuts, colors and styles by hair type, then bookmark these photos to show to your new curl styling specialist.
7. Videos
Watch expert tutorials and product videos from our YouTube library. See other curlies with your hair type provide product reviews, tutorials, styling videos and much more.
8. Favorite List
Create a virtual list of all your favorite products, salon and photos to always have them at your fingertips. Make your shopping experience easier with your top products easily accessible via Curls On The Go.
9. Coupons & Deals
Get exclusive salon and hair product coupons and deals. Save on the perfect products and salon services.
10. Share
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It’s fun! It’s user-friendly! But, best of it, it’s FREE!
Do you have an iPhone & love NaturallyCurly? Download the app now, and then give us a 5-star rating! We’d love to know what you think! And of course, the higher we’re rated in the App Store, the more people will find the app and learn how to love their wavy, curly and kinky hair. Curl power!
And stay tuned for even more fabulous features for Curls On the Go—coming soon! Also, find our Android version here.
Browse and read reviews of thousands of curl-specific products.
Find a nearby curl expert and get honest reviews from curlies just like you.
…and then get custom product recommendations, videos and tips and tricks just for you!
Determine your hair type….
If your hair has very tight curls, it is especially prone to breakage from combing, wearing hair in a ponytail or from twisted styles. If you notice a lot of hair shedding, first determine if you are experiencing breakage or actual hair loss from the scalp. Examine the hairs that have fallen: broken hairs are often short sections and have no root attached.
If you choose to see a doctor about hair shedding, it may be helpful to bring some of the shed hairs along with you so that the doctor can determine if the hair is broken or have actually fallen out.
Hair breakage can be solved and avoided in the future by choosing to air dry rather than heat style, using deep conditioners, wearing hair down when you sleep, and by visiting your hairstylist regularly.
With the first day of summer upon us, we embark upon a season that requires the most attention to your daily hairstyling regimen—the season of summer frizz. Don’t spend your mornings in frustration, piling on oily products to tame that unmanageable frizz.
Santa Monica-based American Beauty Hair Salon owner, expert colorist and inventor of the Ferrum Professional Styler Barbara Abbasi has provided these simple frizzy hair remedies for the summer.
Cut It Out—Don’t Go Short
Though the scorching summer heat will have you ready to shorten those locks, keep your hair long. Short hair is more likely to bulk up in hot humid weather, so save those short curly hair styles for the fall. Leave those locks long!
Showering Your Routine with Changes
To make sure you steer clear of summer frizz, don’t over-wash your hair. Try changing your regular routine. Natural oils will help tame your hair. Also, use a good conditioner and leave it on for a while before rinsing. When rinsing, leave a very light layer in your hair to help combat frizz. Add a small amount of moisture block to your towel dried hair. Change it up!
Steer Clear of Hair Volumizing Products
Stay away from products that give you more volume and body, resulting in summer frizz. Go light on the products and do your research!
Shift Your Focus
The clock is ticking. It is almost 8:30 a.m. and you are nowhere near ready for work. Sometimes, the solution is to shift your focus. Put your hair in an elegant twist and play up your makeup or those fabulous long earrings you recently purchased. Channel your inner Lauren Conrad and quickly section a part of your hair, braid it and create a messy bun. Play up your outfit to match your look.
“Mild,” (lye-free”> or home hair relaxers often contain a reducing agent such as calcium hydroxide, lithium hydroxide or guanidine hydroxide as the “active ingredient.” Lye is sodium hydroxide and is considered a “strong base” in its chemical activity—but the other straightening agents are also “strong bases” which break bonds in the hair shaft in order to allow the hair shape to be altered. If you use a relaxer to straighten or loosen curls, make sure you are extra gentle with your hair and use plenty of moisture and protein if tolerable. Always provide protection for the skin and eyes when using these products, and use in an area with good ventilation.
