Curly Hair Check-In ♥ Summer 2025

I haven’t posted a curly hair update since March! So, this post is long overdue! I have so many hair products that I’ve been trying! Going forward, instead of breaking these updates by month, I’m going to break my check-in posts by season because that just makes more sense. If you’re new to my curly hair updates, these are quarterly posts where I update you all on the current hair products and techniques I’m using in my curly hair routine.

I also want to give this Substack, The Curl Diaries, a shoutout. If you’re new to embracing your curly hair, definitely check out The Curl Diaries. They have a lot of informative posts about how to take care of your waves, curls, and coils!

DISCLAIMER: Links included in this post might be affiliate links. If you make a purchase with the links I provide, I may receive a small commission at no additional charge to you.

My HAIR TYPE
I have curly/wavy hair, I’m a type 2B-2C. I have thin, medium porosity hair, and my hair frizzes easily. I’ve been on my natural curly hair journey since late 2020. I wear my hair naturally curly 99% of the time and the only heat-styling tool I use is a diffuser. I no longer follow the Curly Girl Method rules but I am mindful of what ingredients are in the hair products. I use this website to help me identify the ingredients.

CURRENT WASHING ROUTINE
I use an oil to dry brush any tangles before I wash my hair in the shower to reduce the amount of breakage or hair fall out when I’m washing my hair in the shower. I do a bond treatment once a month and then alternate between using a deep moisturizing or protein mask. I will sometimes skip a week and not use any treatments at all if I think my hair doesn’t need them. Below are all the products I’m currently using in my hair cleansing routine.

Oil: Mielle Rosemary Mint Scalp & Hair Strengthening Oil
Bond Treatment: Palmers Bond Repair Complex Bonding Conditioning Masque
Hair Growth Shampoo: HASK BIOTIN BOOST Thickening Shampoo
Hair Growth Conditioner: HASK Argan Oil Repairing Conditioner
Hair Mask: HASK Keratin Smooth Deep Conditioner (once every 2 weeks)

HAIR STYLING ROUTINE
The styling that I’ve been following for several months (and loving) is the flip, coat, scrunch method. After cleansing my hair, I apply a bit of leave-in and brush to distribute the product evenly. Next, I flip my head upside down, coat my hair with a styler (a gel or mousse), use my hands to scrunch the product in, and finish off by scrunching using a microfiber towel. I follow this technique and then let my hair air dry until 50-70% dry (the time varies depending on how busy I am) and then finish off with a diffuser and blow dry until completely dry. If I have any crunchy curls, I use an oil to “break the cast” by scrunching in the oil to get soft curls.

Brush: Tangle Teezer The Ultimate Detangling Brush & Tangle Teezer Detangling Mini Hairbrush
Microfiber towel: Microfiber Hair Drying Towel Hair Wrap
Leave-In Conditioner: Lottabody Love Me 5-in-1 Miracle Creme OR Marc Anthony Strictly Curls Curl Defining Lotion
Mousse: Lottabody Coconut & Shea Oils Wrap Me Foaming Mousse OR Pantene Soft Curls Shaping Mousse
Gel: Pantene Flexible Waves & Curls Gel
Diffuser: Conair Hair Dryer (with diffuser attachment)
Oil: Aussie Miracle Moist Intense Hydration Oil

how i sleep with curly hair
I flip my hair over and try to make a loose bun (aka a pineapple) on the top of my head and secure it with a satin scrunchie. I also sleep on a satin pillowcase to prevent frizz.

how i refresh my curls
The following morning, I take out my hair from the scrunchie and let gravity do its thing before deciding whether or not I need to refresh my curls. I’m a pretty reckless sleeper, so I toss and turn a lot. Sometimes I need a major refreshing due to my hair looking too fluffy and having wonky curls, but sometimes I can get away without doing anything at all. It really depends on the day.

When I refresh, I will spray a bit of water in a water bottle throughout my locks and apply a bit of whatever styling product I used the day before. I distribute the product through my curls and let them air dry, and follow up by breaking the cast (if any) with an oil.

FAVORITE PRODUCTS
Fine Mist Continuous Spray Water Bottle
Pantene Soft Curls Shaping Mousse
Pantene Flexible Waves & Curls Gel

NEW DEVELOPMENTS
More Washing
With it being summer, I’ve been washing my hair a lot more! For years, I heard that you shouldn’t wash curly hair as overwashing can prevent hair growth because you would be washing away the natural oils. But, this isn’t true at all! In fact, not properly cleansing your hair can prevent your scalp from producing new hair growth, which you know is a problem for me. Even though I find washing my hair annoying sometimes, I want a healthy scalp and hair.

Trying out hair plopping
When I first began my natural curl journey, I heard so much about plopping. Plopping is a technique of placing your wet and styled curls in a microfiber towel (or t-shirt) to minimize frizz, enhance curl definition, promote volume, and reduce dry time. The reason I never liked plopping was that I felt like I had to wait longer to dry my hair, and I hate having wet hair! However, I tried plopping my hair the other day, and my curls did look more defined! I’m going to attempt to plop my hair in the third quarter of the year just to see if it gives me better-looking curls.

Started using OGX Refreshing Scalp + Rosemary Mint Scalp Treatment
My mom recently gave me another hair growth treatment. Remember when she gave me Minoxidil last time? Yeah, I didn’t see an improvement, but I heard you have to keep using it to see results, and I only had one bottle that I quickly used up. Anyway, I just started using the OGX Refreshing Scalp + Rosemary Mint Scalp Treatment recently. I’ve only used it like 2-3 times so far, so I haven’t noticed anything yet. I’ll report back (if I remember) if I notice an improvement. Have any of you used this product?

Are you a curly girl? What hair products are you currently using?