Curse Of The Curl or Heavenly Swirl?

I have curly hair. It seems to me the older I have gotten, the curlier and harder to control it's got. Grey hair is definitely more wiry and less inclined to do what you want it to do!

I've always struggled with it. When I was a little girl, it looked like

THIS

You may think it looks alright. However it was short and my Mum would spend Sunday afternoon's putting hundreds of clips in it to give it that 1970's old lady "set" look.

As soon as I was a teenager I started to grow my hair.  It was hard. It grew outwards rather than down. I thought I could have a fringe and straighten it. Nope I just ended up looking like I'd electrocuted myself.

These days, I keep it kind of shoulder length and often it's tied up in a pony tail and not really very looked after.

This week I discovered "plopping".  It's a way of plopping your hair into a towel or t-shirt and allowing it to dry naturally with no heat.

The method I used was this:
Wash hair and gently towel dry
Apply some leave in conditioner and comb through with a large tooth comb.
Apply some more curly product. I used Phil Smith Curly Locks Curl Control Creme but I really prefer Frizz Ease Secret Agent Perfecting Creme. I just didn't have any at home.

Once you have applied your cocktail lay an old t-shirt on a flat surface, like your bed.
Gently bend over so your hair "plops" onto the t-shirt.
Take the bottom ends of the t-shirt and hold them around the back of your neck.
With your other hand take the neck of the t-shirt and pull over the top of your head and pull round to the front.
The t-shirt sleeves should be near the top of your head and you can tie them up and tuck them in.

Then leave it. I slept with my hair in this. It was actually quite comfortable, no lumpy bumpy bits, no wet pillow, no looking like this in the morning.

In the morning, I took off the towel and this is how it looked.

I was really pleased with the overall outcome for the first time.  I applied a little Frizz Ease perfecting creme to the back when I got to work at 8.30am as I felt the back was a little frizzy but I'm sure this could be perfected with practise and knowing how much or little product to use.

Below is a tutorial to help you try plopping. Do you have any hair care secrets you can share?

Hair Plopping You Tube Tutorial