If you’re a newcomer to the world of curly hair methods or find yourself puzzled by the jargon, don’t worry – the Curly Cuts team has your back!
We’ve compiled a straightforward list of common curly hair terms and their simplified meanings to clarify things.
Here’s a list of common curly hair terms and what they mean.
Cleansing Curly Hair
- No-poo: A gentle, non-foaming cleanser.
- Low-poo: A mild shampoo with less harsh cleansing ingredients.
- Co-wash: Washing with a cleansing conditioner.
- Deep treatment: A highly moisturising treatment.
- Squish to condish (S2C): Conditioning technique: using water and hands to squish in conditioner.
- Bowl method: Similar to S2C but done with a bowl.
Curly Hair Styling
- Roping: Applying products in sections, circling both hands as if pulling a rope.
- Slip: Well-hydrated hair that feels like wet seaweed.
- Finger combing: Gently detangling with fingers.
- Raking: Using fingers in a “raking motion” to disperse products.
- Scrunching: Using the hands to scrunch after evenly distributing the product.
- Prayer hands: Applying styling products by pressing palms on small hair sections.
- Wet Brush: A brush to disperse products on wet curly hair for even application.
- Denman Brush: A brush used similarly to a Wet Brush.
- Finger curling: Twirling individual curls.
- Cocktailing: Using multiple styling products.
- Cast: Occurs when curly hair becomes crunchy due to styling products.
- Scrunch out the crunch: Once dry, loosening up the cast with a gentle scrunch using your hands.
Curly Hair Drying Methods
- Plopping: Use a cotton T-shirt or microfiber towel to position hair at the top for initial drying without twisting or pulling.
- Micro-plopping: Use a cotton T-shirt or microfiber towel to gently squeeze excess moisture from the hair before drying.
- Wet-plopping: using a shower cap to hold hair on top of the head once all styling products are applied.
- Diffusing: Using a diffuser attachment on a hairdryer to dry hair.
- Hover diffusing: Keep the diffuser close to the hair to dry without cupping.
- Cupping: Placing small sections of hair in the diffuser and holding it close to the head.
- Air-drying: Allowing hair to dry naturally.
- Root clipping: Using metal clips or mini claw clips to create root lift and prevent flat hair on top.
Caring for Your Curls
- Pineappling: Loosely tie hair at the top front with a scrunchie for nighttime hair protection.
- Buffs: Cotton tubes for nighttime hair protection.
- Bonnets/caps: Silk/satin protection for hair at night.
- Refresh: Styling hair in the days after washing can involve various methods to refresh your look.
- Wet refresh: Reactivating styling products with water.
- Dry refresh: Adding more product to dry hair.