I just got re- digital permed last weekend and it reminded me that I need to share my favorite styling products with the rest of the permed hair world. I've tried tons of different products from drugstore brands to special curly hair salon brands and here are my favorites and how to use them...
(A reminder: I can only vouch for how these work with permed hair since I naturally have stubbornly straight Asian hair and would never have even though I would be in the market for specifically curly-haired products until this life-changing digital perm was invented)
Moroccanoil Intense Curl Cream
$31.99 at a local salon
There are so many fancy curly hair products on shelves these days, but the Moroccanoil has given me the best results when air drying. One of the annoying things about the digital perm was that I felt like I always had to blowdry in that special twisty way if I wanted curls. With the Moroccanoil Curl Cream I just apply like leave-in conditioner after towel drying, scrunch scrunch scrunch, and air dry (continuing to scrunch while it is drying). It dries to look like naturally wavy hair, which is a great everyday option when I don't feel like making those perfect bouncy waves. There also seems to be some sort of ingredient in the Moroccanoil that makes my hair dry faster.
The only downside is that, even though it says it is a leave-in conditioner, I do feel like it dries my hair out if I use it a lot. I just got the the Original Moroccanoil Treatment, which is supposed to completely hydrate your hair...so maybe they are supposed to be used together to avoid drying your hair out (either a marketing scheme or the best way to have great hair).
Fiber wax
(like Nigelle Lafusion Contrastmove Wax)
Whether I completely blow dry or just loosely dry a little, the key to keeping my curls from frizzing is to use a fiber wax. Don't ever use the regular greasy wax that men use! The fiber wax will hold the curls together so you can have big clumps of curls (I usually divide my hair into six sections of curls) instead of tons of separate curls that can get frizzy. Make sure to use the wax at the bottom tips of the hair to shape the curls.
I started using the Nigelle Lafusion wax because my hair stylist in Japan recommended it, but I think it's pretty difficult to find in the U.S. I think that Shieseido makes a fiber wax, but you can always just ask your hair stylist to recommend something similar.
From what I've found, the salon products are significantly more expensive, but they do a much better job than the drugstore brands.
This is my report for now, but I'm always continuing to try out new products. And I'm still on the hunt for the best conditioner....let me know if you have any recs!
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