Hi,

Welcome to the curly hair club.

First of all curly hair sometimes tends to be more dry so make sure you have a great conditioner, a good deep conditioner and always keep your curls moisturized to keep them looking their best.

As for styling curly hair I like to condition my hair in the shower and comb it while the conditioner is in it with a wide tooth comb. Combing curly hair when it is dry causes breakage and damage;  the curlier the hair the more you should stay away from combing or brushing your hair when it is dry.

After I get out of the shower I do not manipulate my hair very much such as running my fingers through it, you want to keep the curls defined and in their curl pattern so the less you touch it and mess with it the better.

I don’t like using gels, hairspray or mousse on my hair either. What I use is a leave in treatment to keep my hair nice and healthy, such as the Aveeno conditioning leave in treatment or the Fructis triple nutrition spray.  Sometimes I even spray on some argan oil treatment by Live Clean. After that to hold the curls I use a leave in conditioner. I like the Mixed Chicks leave in conditioner because it does not leave build up, it smells good, and it doesn’t leave flakes. I also like it because you can adjust the hold, the more you put on the more hold and definition you get and the less you put the less hold you get. If you do put a lot and it gets a bit hard just use the scrunching method to make it soft again. I also sometimes use the Aussie Hair Insurance which is a leave in conditioner spray. Sometimes I put a finishing serum on afterwards such as my CHI Silk Infusion which leaves my hair very soft when it dries. I’d suggest letting your hair air dry almost completely before trying to style it so you don’t mess up your curl definition.

Good luck