I Finally Embraced My Natural Hair, and These 22 Products Made It So Much Easier

Admittedly, my hair hasn’t gotten the love and attention it deserves from me over the years. Throughout my childhood years, I used to wear it tucked up and out of the way in a picture-perfect ballet bun to get me through hours of dance classes. Then, later on, I began to chemically straighten it using a relaxer in hopes of spending less time washing, detangling, and styling my tight coils, and more time on the things I wanted to do during my teenager years. By the time I reached college, I decided that returning my hair to its natural state was the best thing to do after experiencing major breakage…. then came the big chop.

To this day, one of the toughest transitions I’ve experienced during my twenty-something years on earth has been learning to work with my hair again without the help of any hot tools, chemical straighteners, or extensions. The challenge of working with my coils after years of not having to thing much about them forced me out of my comfort zone and inspired me to try every new natural hair product that came my way. Naturally, I fell in love with a few that made even the most awkward stages of transitioning from relaxed hair back to my natural texture a little less scary.

Six years later, I’ve found comfort in my protective styles (box and knotless braids have become my go-to), but in the few weeks between wearing them, I return back to my roots and treat my hair some much-needed TLC. Below, I’m sharing a few of the products I’ve discovered since going natural that have completely revitalized my haircare routine. There’s something for everyone here—from curl cream to support length retention to treatments that can help you extend the wear time of your faovrite curly styles.

How Can I Know My Hair Type?

One of the best ways to ensure the health of your curls and coils is to shop for products that are designed with your specific type and texture in mind. The Andre Walker Hair Typing System, popularly known across the beauty industry as the “hair typing chart,” created in the 90s by celebrity hair stylist Andre Walker, was developed to help his clients (specifically with natural hair) to understand how to care for and style their strands. The general idea was that by understanding what a specific curl type needs for it to thrive, shopping for the best products to deliver the results you want is made that much easier.

Put simply, “curly hair” is an umbrella term that can be used to describe the textures and patterns of an individual hair strand. Under The Andre Walker Hair Typing System, textures are organized into categories of fine, coarse, and medium coarse. From there, each is determined by the circumference of individual strands, and a hair type is assigned to determine how he hair will act from type 1a all the way to type 4c.

“1a, 1b, and 1c hair is straight hair and will probably be difficult to style and hold a curl, whereas 4c type hair will be coily, but the texture can be fine and delicate even though you might not think it is,” explains curl specialist and founder of Silke London Maria Sotiriou. It’s also possible for a person to be working with more than one curl type on their head and for them to change over time due to anything from heat damage and chemical use to adding hormonal supplements into your diet.

What Is Hair Porosity?

Another major thing to pay attention to while determine which products will do the best for your hair goals is hair porosity, as it can help determine how your strands will respond to moisture. “Hair porosity will play a big role in how much product you need. Depending on how well your hair retains water, you may have to use a more hydrating leave-in,” celebrity hairstylist Sophie Rose Gutterman explains. While it can be hard to determine the porosit of hair while it’s dry, there are expert-approved ways to know for sure.

The float test is an easy way to determine your hair porosity (and can make a big difference in how you shop for curl-friendly products) To do, place a product-free strand of hair in clear glass of room temperature water and pay attention to how it behaves. If your strand floats you have low porosity and if it sinks quickly, your hair is high porosity. If the strand sinks slowly or remains suspended in the middle of the glass, then your hair is medium porosity. Curls and coils can be found across all porosity levels, so it’s important to know yours and shop accordingly.

The Best Curly Hair Products, Listed

• Shampoo and Conditioner: Carol’s Daughters Black Vanilla Luscious Moisture Shampoo and Conditioner Set
• Leave-In Conditioner: Curlsmith Hydrate & Plump Leave In
• Hair Mask: Briogeo Curl Charisma Rice Amino and Avocado Hydrating and Defining Hair Mask
• Curl Cream: Davines Love Curl Enhancing Curl Cream
• Styler: Pattern Palo Santo Curl Mousse
• Treatment: Color Wow Dream Coat Anti-Frizz Treatment
• Styling Tool: Mane Wets Get It On Wet Brush

Cleansing the Scalp and Strands

Hydration Through Leave-In Conditioners

Curl-Reviving Hair Masks

Adding Definition to Curls and Coils

Curl Creams for Length Retention

Extending Style Wear Time

Effective Tools for Detangling and Styling

What To Look For

Depending on which ingredients you incorporate into your haircare lineup, your chosen products can either make or break a curly hair routine. That’s why knowing how they impact the health of your strands (and how to get the most out of them) can revamp your approach to haircare. The products that made my list meet and surpass all expectations since they address my biggest problem areas: breakage, dryness, and lack of length retention. As you shop for curly hair products, keep your personal hair goals in mind and use products powered by ingredients that will help address them.

How We Chose

As with all of our buying guides at Who What Wear, we compile our edits based on original testing and expert recommendations. To decide on the best curly hair products, I tested each product on my 4c strands while also leaning on our unique expertise in the beauty space as editors. We’re aware of how important using curl-enhancing formulas, all-natural ingredients, and intentional use influence are to consider while making smart shopping decisions, so we made sure to list out all the helpful details. Of course, customer reviews and expert guidance are also kept in mind. That said, we scoured the internet for sleeper hits and trending products when compiling our list.

Why Trust Us

Since 2006, Who What Wear has been a digital fashion, beauty, and lifestyle publication and community where people can discover the latest brands, trends, and must-have products to help define and evolve their personal style. Think of Who What Wear as your most trusted style and shopping resource.