If you’ve had a goal to obtain the perfect curls, you’re not alone — and you don’t have to be! Mell Guido, a 22-year-old textured hair specialist and a curly girl herself, has dedicated her life to sharing how to get perfect curls that anyone can achieve. Mell, also known as “your ‘mane’ girl” on Instagram, has discussed all her tips and tricks for rocking a curly hairstyle on her YouTube channel and Instagram, @manesbymell. According to Mell, all you need is the right products and procedure to feel confident in your curls.
1. Do a deep clean
To achieve the perfect curls, start by deeply washing your hair. It is essential that your roots are squeaky clean, so don’t be shy showing your scalp the shampoo. It is important that your hair is stripped of any products!
2. Brush it out
Brushes are commonly discouraged among the curly haired crowd; however, for these tight curls, a brush is highly recommended. While your hair is still wet gently detangle your hair. Next, brush from the roots and pull outward away from your head to bring volume to your hair. This allows your hair to curl more instead of being weighed down.
3. Apply products
After your hair is thoroughly brushed through, apply a styling cream such as mousse or gel. Avoid having a heavy hand with these products, and apply the product starting at the ends and work your way up to your roots. When applying the product, make sure to evenly distribute the product and avoid clumps. Leave a couple of inches of the roots untouched by the styling cream. If there is too much product on the roots, the hair will lack volume.
4. Diffuse
Make sure that if you are using a hair blow dryer to dry your curls you are using a diffuser. This will immensely help to define the shape of your curls. Start the diffuser process by turning your head upside down and keep the diffuser a couple of inches away from your hair. Start to dry on your scalp area. Once you start to feel your hair dry, move your head in different positions while continuing to dry the rest of your hair. At this point you should feel a thin cast-like layer on your hair (this will be due to the product you applied earlier), which will bring you to the next step.
5. Finish it up
For the final step, take the diffuser and put it to the ends of your hair and gently scrunch your curls in an up and down motion. This will help your curls become tight and bouncy. While diffusing, it is important that you do not use your hands to try and achieve the curls. Allow the diffuser to do all the work!
Recommended Products
Now that you have all the steps to obtaining luscious, natural-looking curls, Mell also provides you with her tried and true products that will give you the best results.
Hair dryer
Although expensive, the Dyson Supersonic hair dryer is loved by Mell and is also gentle yet effective on your curls. This product is truly an investment worth making for the most perfect looking curls.
Diffuser
This is one of the most essential tools to get the curling job done! The diffuser helps define the curls to be tighter and gives curls a natural-looking shape. No matter what hair blow dryer you use, make sure to invest in a diffuser. Mell uses the Dyson Supersonic Diffuser attachment which easily attaches to the dryer.
Styling brush
Mell recommends the Denman Classic Styling Brush 7 Rows – D3 for raking through your curly mane. This brush doesn’t cause breakage or separation of curls you may already have. This brush allows you to brush large sections of hair away from your scalp.
Styling cream
The Curlmix Pure Homeade Flaxseed Gel is the perfect all-natural and healthy choice for your hair. This organic gel is also water-based so it will lightly coat your curls to keep them from frizzing, but not weigh down your mane.
Satin bonnet
After all this hard work to get the perfect curls, why ruin them? Go to sleep wearing a satin bonnet and wake up refreshed with luscious curls for the next day!
Tweet us, @VALLEYmag, with your curly-hair tips or tag us on Instagram, @VALLEYmag, with pics of your completed curly-hair look!
