Curly hair craves moisture. Dryness can creep in to tousle up our ringlets and make our coils tangle. Infusing moisture into your curls, coils & tight textures is essential to keep every hair strand soft, defined, and tangle-free.
When it comes to how to moisturize curly hair the key for all types of curls is to introduce moisture in every step of the wash, styling, and maintenance process. There are several natural hair styling products that work well but our Hydration Shampoo is creamy and boosted with Aloe Vera Leaf Juice, Coconut Oil, and Honey to gently cleanse the scalp and hair without stripping away moisture.
Each of the four conditioners (Lightweight, Medium, Heavy & Intensive) are products for high porosity hair specifically deposits moisture into a variety of hair type textures and porosity levels, from super tight 4C hair to almost straight hair, to help protect against breakage & dryness.
The PATTERN Leave-In Conditioner provides moisture that lingers to make itself at home with your freshly washed curls and coils, providing a protective layer of nourishment that stays with your wash & go, twist out or any other style. For extra nourishing curly hair care essentials, explore our collection of medium porosity hair products.
Our styling products like the Styling Cream & Strong Hold Gel each containing Castor Oil to provide a finishing dose of moisture & an oil-rich, touchable hold, while the Hydrating Mist quenches thirsty curls with essential nutrients and additional moisture between wash days.
How do you keep your curly hair moisturized?
PATTERN describes curly hair dryness as, "a curl’s cry for hydration; an invitation to give your coils the moisture they deserve; an opportunity for your natural hair texture to be restored and replenished."
Therefore, there are 4 key steps to keeping natural hair moisturized:
1. Use moisture-rich products. Choose hydrating and moisturizing shampoos and conditioners, as well as strengthening hair treatment masks for optimal moisture-protein balance.
Try: PATTERN Hydration Shampoo, Medium Conditioner, Treatment Hair Mask
2. Keep your curls protected. Wearing a satin bonnet at night helps to protect your hair from the back and forth friction that happens when your hair meets a cotton pillowcase. Satin bonnets also help to preserve the moisture in your hair while you sleep. If you prefer not to use a satin cap, opt for a satin pillowcase.
3. Watch out for breakage. To prevent hair breakage, keep your regimen simple and manipulation to a minimum. To balance all the moisturizing hair products that curlies love, include protein-based deep conditioning or mask treatments, such as PATTERN’s Curly Hair Mask, at least twice a month. It contains the strengthening properties of rice protein to help keep the hair strong and elastic. Hair that’s balanced with moisture and protein is a lot less prone to breakage.
4. Trim & detangle to prevent split ends. Keep your hair properly hydrated and deep conditioned, reduce manipulation, and always use proper curly hair accessories such as a wide tooth comb or detangling brush, while it’s damp, from the bottom up when styling. The ends are the oldest part of your hair, which means that they’re typically drier and more prone to splitting. If the hair starts to split, it could travel upward and cause weak points in the strand, eventually causing it to break. Schedule regular trims to get rid of that part of the hair so your ends can stay healthy and strong. Regular, for you, could mean every 6 - 8 weeks, 3 - 4 months, or 6 - 8 months, depending on the condition of your hair.
How can I hydrate my curly hair at home?
Hydrating your curly hair at home is simple once you have the right products. Layering moisture-rich formulas in your wash & styling process is key.
Use heat or steam paired with a microfiber towel to help our ultra-moisturizing formulas such as Moisture Milk, sink into your natural hair & receive the nourishment & hydration it craves.
For dry hair or brittle hair with major frizz, leave a rinse-out conditioner such as our Intensive Conditioner (featuring Shea Butter as a main ingredient) on strands for 10 minutes as a repair treatment mask to help restore & revitalize your curls.
After your wash routine, seal in the moisture absorbed by your curls in the shower. While curls are still damp, treat your curl pattern to the Leave-In Conditioner prior to using styling products. To rehydrate and refresh your hair throughout the week, spritz with the Hydrating Mist.
To keep hair hydrated when styling curly or wavy hair, try styles, such as rod sets and twist/braid outs. Pop in some small perm rods at the ends of your twist/braid outs to mimic natural curls or coils. Feel free to air dry or sit under a hooded dryer. Try to avoid styles with a lot of tension and manipulation, as they can cause the hair to break.
Keep in mind, for curly girl hair, shedding is natural and shouldn’t be alarming in moderation. Hair shedding does not mean your hair is dry or unhealthy. Even when hydrating curly hair at home, shedding will occur.
It’s perfectly natural to shed between 50 - 100 hair strands, daily. There’s no need to be concerned about shedding unless it becomes excessive. In the case of excessive hair shedding, consult your physician.
How do you make dry curly hair soft?
Dryness and damage can come from many factors, but with different approaches to caring for your textured hair & the regular use of hydrating curly hair products, hair can revive to be healthy & hydrated once again.
Heat or chemical damage, dry environments, too-infrequent hair trims, product build-up, formulas with harsh ingredients & too much time out of protective styles are some of the factors that can contribute to dry, fragile strands.
Use heat or steam to help our ultra-moisturizing formulas sink into every hair follicle and receive the nourishment & hydration it craves. For example, our Jojoba Oil Self-Heating Packs, like a traditional hot oil treatments, help seal the hair's cuticle to help retain the moisture. (Apply to damp or wet hair for best results.) The heat helps lift the cuticle so that the oil can truly seal every crevice of the strand & prevent moisture loss. Moisturized hair can be more flexible & therefore, less brittle or prone to breakage.
Products with silicones can also help. Not all silicones are bad. For the most part, they coat the strands, lock in moisture, block out humidity, add shine, and can make the hair feel soft and luxurious. However, when you use products that contain silicones, it’s important to shampoo regularly, because they can build up on the hair, preventing vital moisture from entering the strands. Eventually, your hair will start to break & become dry or dull-looking.
What are the best products for moisturizing curly hair?
Curls & coils crave as much moisture as they can get; our delicate strands need hair care and protection to prevent breakage. Our hair loves to spend time in protective styles to remain moisturized, to support our delicate ends & to aid in length retention.
Consider one of PATTERN’s beauty bundles to pair the perfect products for your hair type
18 comments
What happened to the hydrating masque? I bought the products a few months back and now can not find the item.
I would love to have a product that makes my very very black hair shine. No matter what product I use it always looks dull. I love the pattern products it was the first product after trying many where I could detangle in the shower.!
I love the product, been using it for a few months, will not go back to my old products!
Love the product line! My hair journey started in 2020 due to salon closure, leaving me to learn and love my hair in its entirety. Thank you for easing that road, that feels difficult to navigate at times but absolutely essential to living your authentic self. I love my hair. Thank you.
My hair is 3c-4b and I love your products. They work amazing for my hair type