The Ulimate Guide To Defining Curls In Natural Hair - 7 Methods

Contents

• Shingling
• Finger Coils
• Three Strand Twists
• Twist Out
• Braid Out
• Flat Twist Out
• Bantu Knots

I remember the night I big chopped like yesterday, I had transitioned for 6 months and I was ready to get rid of my relaxed ends almost immediately once I decided it was time.

One of the things that drove my decision was the fact that I wanted to try all the different styles I was seeing on youtube and I really wanted to see how they worked on my hair. Little did I know it was not going to be as easy as I thought because I was not used to styling my natural hair nor did I know the best products that worked with the styles I was trying. I knew early on that I wanted to focus on figuring out how to enhance my curls and keep them healthy while experimenting with styles.

As we all embark on our natural hair journeys most of us tend to look for ways to define our curls and find that this is often a top priority. Defining your curls simply means using various methods to enhance your own curl pattern or using tools and techniques to manipulate your curls creating different looks for your natural hair.

Experimenting with just what your natural hair can do can be loads of fun because you quickly realize how versatile your hair is and just how creative you can get when changing your look from week to week. In this post, we want to take a comprehensive look at the different ways you can define your curls giving you the ultimate guide to all the ways you can manipulate your hair and change your hairstyle.

However, before we get into the techniques we want to give you a brief synopsis of the foundation to any style because once you nail down the foundation you can create any style you choose. Before you do any style here are the best practices you need to consider.

Always start off with freshly washed hair

The foundation to any style should always be a clean clear canvas because you will get the best results from your products when your hair is not weighed down by old product or build up. We always recommend that you shampoo or use a cleansing conditioner to clear your scalp and hair of debris for the very best style results.

Make sure your strands are hydrated

Moisturized hair molds better than dry brittle hair period. Whether it is a twenty-minute deep conditioning* session or just layering your product on your hair to keep the moisture sealed in you have to figure out what will keep your hair hydrated for the duration of the style. When your hair is properly moisturized your style will automatically look amazing.

Product selection

Everybody’s hair is different so when you choose your products you have to pick the best ones for your hair type and needs. If your hair is porous you want to focus on using products that have adequate amounts of protein to help your hair retain moisture. If you find that your hair is extraordinarily dry, pick products that have ingredients geared towards hydrating your curls.

If your hair is fine you want to avoid heavy products that weigh down the hair and that will eventually ruin any style you choose to do.

For coarser textures, your hair can handle heavier products so you have to figure the best combination that will hydrate your curls as well as define them significantly enough for you to avoid frizz.

Be patient

Styling your natural hair will take some practice because for many of us we are learning about out hair as we go especially for those of us who are used to styling relaxed hair.

If you are learning about defining your curls for the first time we encourage you to be patient and do not be afraid to try a technique a few times before giving up on it. You will find that practice makes perfect but you have to get through it with a ton of patience.

In this next section, we will describe in detail 7 ways you can define your curls and provide video tutorials that will demonstrate just how to do each one.

This is by no means a complete list but we have covered most of the styles that every natural has tried at least once in their journey. With that said here are 7 ways you can define your curls:

1. Shingling

The shingling method to define your curls is a styling method that was actually developed and created at Miss Jessie’s salon to manually “turn kinks to curls” . The Miss Jessie’s product company has been around for years and one of the things they did was actually show their styling process through video content on their website.

By doing this method you can achieve maximum curl definition and elongation because you are adding styling product to your hair when it is soaking wet.

How to Shingle:

Starting on very very wet hair moisturize and seal your curls then use gel to define super small sections of your hair and allowing your curl pattern to shine through once your hair drys.

Watch this video tutorial:

2. Finger coils

Finger coils is a stying option for women at various stages in length and who want a style that can last for at least two weeks. This method defines your curls in a more uniformed manner creating medium size ringlets that can be separated after your hair is dried.

How to finger coil

Start by washing and conditioning your hair and then section the hair into a small row ensuring to clip away the rest of your hair as you work one row at a time.

Section small pieces of your hair in less than an inch square boxes using a rat tail comb* or your fingers to detangle and twist the hair into place. For each square section your will need to add your moisturizer and setting foam or gel to help the coil to remain intact until it dries.

Once your hair dries you can choose to leave the coils as is or you can separate the curls for a very curly look on your natural hair.

Watch this video demonstration to see how it is done:

In this next section we will be talking about styles that define your curls by using methods that mold your hair without the hair being soaking wet.

Typically we do not think about styles like two strand twists or braid outs as a means of defining your curls but they are in essence very much a part of the conversation because you are manipulating the shape of your hair using products and specific techniques to create a certain look. The following styles are what I like to call unconventional methods of defining your curls.

3. Three Strand Twists

3 strand twists will give you maximum definition because of the technique used. This method of twisting your hair isn’t easy because as you learn how to do it you will find that your brain naturally wants you to braid your hair as you twist.

Three strand twists are much easier to demonstrate than they are to describe because you are essentially using three strands of hair twisted around each other to create very defined, uniformed stretched curls.

Watch this video to see how it is done:

4. Twist out

Twist outs are a much simpler version to the three strand twist technique because it only involves two sections of hair and twisting in this manner comes naturally to most of us.

The key to a great twist out is great product layering as well as ensuring that your hair is absolutely dry before releasing the twists. To create perfect two strand twists you want to start at the root and twist the hair tightly so that it naturally moves down the strand to create a solid twist that wont unravel.

Watch below:

5. Braid out

Similar to a twist out but with braids you tend to get more stretch to your strands. Braiding has been around for years so this technique is very familiar with most of us. Again the best braid out happens when you find the right combination of products and you allow your hair to dry completely.

One of my favorite braid out tutorials was done by Mini Marley, I swear by her method and you will too. Watch below:

6. Flat twist out

Flat twists are a little harder to master especially when you do it for the first time but they are a great alternative to just a regular twist out and they are a great protective style as well.

This is also the type of style that is much easier to demonstrate than it is to describe and the tutorial below will help you to thoroughly understand how to do it.

7. Bantu Knots

Bantu knots are very much a part of historical afro hair styling and are an awesome way to stretch your curls and create unique uniformed curls all over your head. We almost did not include them as a method of defining your curls but found that leaving them out would be a gross injustice to our readers because they are such a staple for many of us.

Bantu knots are created but twisting sections of your hair in one direction so much so that the section curls on itself creating a neat knot on top of your head. They can be worn as knots or the knots can be removed to create awesome curls that when fluffed become a pretty dope style. The thing about Bantu knots is that once released your strands are not as defined as the previous styles which typically why they tend to be excluded from these lists.

Learning to do a bantu knot is still important because it adds variety and they are a ton of fun to rock. Watch this very detailed tutorial below:

Flexi-Rod, Perm-rods, and Curl Former sets

Finally, the market has helped women create different shapes with their curls by creating products like, flexi-rods, perm rods*, and curl formers that all help to manipulate your curls in different ways.

We all have one or all of these tool in our collection and tend to pull them out on special occasions or for those weeks we need very stretched style that lasts a long time. They are definitely a viable part of the styling conversation though they are not the first thing we think about when we say ‘defining our curls”.

Final thoughts

At the end of the day all of these techniques and methods are a direct result of just how creative and versatile we have been within this industry over the years with our hair.

Every style starts off with one person daring to do something different with their hair so we encourage you to get creative as well as try a few of the methods outlined above. With that said comment below and let us know what is your staple way to define your curls!