If you have fine curly or wavy hair, you need to ensure you are using the right styling products and tools for your hair to look its best. To learn how to style thin curly hair, I went to visit my hairdresser who showed me the best hair care range and tools. This post is all about caring for fine curly hair.

My hair is both thin and curly. The two main issues I have are creating volume, and defining my curls. If I’m not careful my hair can become frizzy, and since it’s quite thin, it can look flat if I don’t use the right products.

I’ve been seeing my hairdresser for 14 years and she’s amazing at being able to style my hair so it’s not frizzy or flat. In this post I show you all the tips she gave me for caring for curly hair so that it looks defined and bouncy.

This post is all about how to style thin curly hair, and was made with the help of my hairdresser Dora

How to Style Thin Curly Hair

My video below is a vlog showing me heading to North London to visit Sallys in Golders Green, and get my eyebrows shaped before heading to my hairdresser. If you want to jump straight to the demonstration for styling curly hair, it starts at 04:39 in the video.

7 Top Tips for Caring for Thin Curly Hair

1. Use the Correct Shampoo to Wash Your Hair

The Kerastase Manifesto Range for styling thin curly hair

It’s important that you use the right shampoo and conditioner. Curly hair tends to be drier than other hair types since the oil from the scalp finds it harder to travel down curls than straight hair strands. For this reason curly hair types need to use moisturising and hydrating hair products.

If you have thin hair and fine curls, you may also want to select a product that adds volume as well as moisture.

The products that my hairdresser used on my hair were from the Kerastase Curl Manifesto range. They help to moisturise the hair strands, and make the hair look smoother. They also help to add volume to thin curls.

2. Ensure the Hair is Damp not Wet When you Apply Conditioner

After you have rinsed the shampoo out, it’s important to ensure the hair is damp rather than wet before applying the conditioner. If you apply the conditioner to wet hair, it won’t absorb well into the hair shaft and moisturise the hair.

Before applying the conditioner, squeeze the water from the hair and if possible place a towel over your head to remove any excess water. Make sure to squeeze rather than rub your hair in the towel, as rubbing the hair can cause the hair cuticles to become raised, and encourage frizz.

If you have long hair make sure to concentrate on massaging the conditioner into the ends as this is the driest part. When applying the conditioner, first put the product into the palm of your hands and then smooth it down the hair.

3. Comb the Conditioner Down the Hair

Demonstrating how to comb conditioner through the hair

After applying the conditioner to your hair make sure you keep smoothing the product downwards. You can either use your hands, or a comb as shown in the photograph above. By combing downwards you are helping to smooth down the hair cuticles and make the hair smoother and shiner.

4. Apply Styling Cream Whilst Hair is Still Wet

When you have washed the conditioner out and you are ready to style your hair, ensure that your hair is wet rather than damp. If you apply the styling products to damp hair they won’t help to retain moisture as well as if you apply them to wet hair.

The styling products are an important part of curly hair routines. They help to enhance curl patterns, seal the hair cuticle, and prevent frizzy hair. The two styling products that my hairdresser used were the Kérastase Curl Manifesto Crème De Jour Fondamentale, and the Organic Colour Systems Control Glaze.

The amount of cream you should apply to curly hair

The photograph above shows how much of the Kérastase Curl Manifesto Crème you should apply if you have medium length hair, like me. Curl creams help to moisturise and condition the hair, and are a great way to encourage curls to form.

As you can see from the picture above, you don’t need much product, so one tube of the Kérastase Curl Manifesto Crème should last you a long time. Apply the cream to the ends of your hair, rather than the top of your head near the roots.

5. Scrunch the Control Glaze into the Hair

The Organic Colour Systems Control Glaze

The next step is to apply the Control Glaze. Whereas with the curl cream, you should rake it through your hair with your fingers, the Control Glaze should be scrunched into the hair. This encourages natural curls to form. The photograph below shows how to scrunch the product into the hair.

How to scrunch the glaze into the hair to encourage curls to form

Also ensure you scrunch the top of the hair as well as the ends. This will help to enhance your natural curl pattern, and define the natural texture of your hair.

6. Diffuse Upside Down for Extra Volume

It’s best to let the hair dry naturally if possible, but if you want to use a blow dryer, make sure to place a diffuser attachment on the end. Diffusers help curl clumps to form, and will reduce frizz. They can also help to create voluminous curls if you dry your hair upside down.

To use a diffuser place sections of hair into the diffuser with the diffuser facing upwards. Then move the diffuser towards the scalp as shown in the photograph below. If you want to add extra volume, use the diffuser with your head upside down.

The hairdryer my hairdresser used on my hair was the Parlux 385 Power Light Hairdryer, as shown in the photograph. It helped my natural curls to form. Try to air dry your hair if you can though, or use a low heat to prevent heat damage.

The Parlus 385 Light hair dryer with diffuser

7. Spray the Hair on Day Two to Refresh Your Curls

The photograph below shows what my hair looked like after it was dried with the diffuser hairdryer. The next tip to ensure your curls stay looking fresh is to spray them with a refreshing spray.

The spray that my hairdresser used was the Kérastase Curl Manifesto Refresh Absolu Second Day Curl Refreshing Spray. This product is shown in the photograph below. It is a lightweight mist that helps to enhance and refresh curl definition, and add extra moisture between washes.

The Kerastase Curl Manifesto refresh spray

To use the product you should spray it onto the hair the day after wash day, to keep curls looking bouncy and fresh.

How to spray the curls on the second day

Styling Thin Curly Hair: Before and After

You can see from the before and after photograph below that my hair has much more volume and texture after using the curly hair products and diffuser.

I would recommend anyone who has thin curly hair to use a deep conditioner treatment regularly to keep the hair moisturised. Also use a diffuser upside down to create a more voluminous look, and only apply lightweight products to avoid the hair becoming weighed down.

Best Haircuts for Thin Curly Hair

If you watched my video above you will see my hair was cut to medium length. I have researched different thin curly hairstyles, and think the shoulder length cut suits me best.

If you need help deciding on the right cut for you however, I have linked some helpful posts below to give you some ideas. They include photographs showing different hair lengths from short hair to long layers. I hope they will help you pick the right curly hairstyle for you.

More Information on Caring for Thin Curly Hair

I have other posts on my website relating to curly hair, with guides to help you choose the right products, such as clarifying shampoo, dry shampoo or hair gels. I have selected the best posts relating to thin curly hair, and linked them below. I hope you find them helpful.

POST FROM OTHER BEAUTY BLOGS

If you found this article helpful, you may enjoy the following posts from other beauty blogs that I follow and trust.

BYRDIE

NATURALLY CURLY

CURLY NIKKI

MANE ADDICTS

GET THE GLOSS

This post was all about how to style thin curly hair

Thanks for reading my post about how to style thin curly hair! The recommendations in this post would work well on either thin curly or fine wavy hair.

In Summary