How to Get Curly Hair for Black Men Easily? [6 Best Ways]

If you are searching for how to get curly hair for black men then let us tell you that a curly hairstyle doesn’t have to be difficult for a black men to achieve! Here’s how to style your natural curls or create curls from straight hair.

A curly hairstyle can enhance your hair’s natural texture and keep it healthy, especially for black men. Achieving that effortless, naturally curly hair look doesn’t have to be hard! Stop looking at expensive hair treatments that will damage your hair. These methods will keep your hair healthy and allow you to try out a range of curly hairstyles for black men.

Why Curly Hairstyles Can Be Hard to Get

No one man’s hair is the same! Some prefer long curly hair, some prefer a natural fade. Some black men might want looser curly twists, while others want to achieve that wavy hair look. The best curly hairstyle for you will depend on your natural curl pattern, the length and thickness of your hair, and the type of products you like to use.

Check out this curl pattern chart!

• 1 is straight hair.
• 3a are nice, bouncy curls.
• 4c is the tightest curly texture hair can hold.
• Black men can have any of these patterns, but many black men’s hair type is around 4a.

Depending on your curl pattern, you may be more likely to pull off afro hair or struggle with frizzy hair. Fear not – because no matter your hair type, there are tons of curly hairstyle options you can choose from!

1. Wash Your Hair

The first step to any curly hairstyle is a deep cleansing. Clean, damp hair is the best for most styling methods. You can visit a hair salon or barber to ask for a clean, or you can do it at home. We recommend you prepare with hair products that will keep your hair healthy, shiny, and strong.

This might include deep conditioner or leave in conditioner, moisturizing shampoo, a wide tooth comb, a hooded hair dryer, and a scalp massager. If you want to do some extra hair care, you can use avocado oil or other natural oils as a hair masque.

If you have coarse hair, a hair masque can improve its texture. Massage it into the scalp to stimulate blood flow to the hair follicles. Use rinse out shampoo to clean it off, then gently pat your hair dry with a towel.

Shampoo and Deep Conditioner For Curly Hair

To a great curly hairstyle getting the right cleansing products for your natural hair is important. Find the best shampoo for your type of hair, and deep conditioners filled with natural ingredients like argan oil, coconut oil, and marshmallow extract that can help you get curly hair.

Avoid tangles or an itchy scalp by making sure your shampoo and conditioner are compatible with the rest of your products. Try to find curl defining shampoo and conditioner that are formulated for black men. For example, a clarifying shampoo can help your hair look thicker and promote scalp health. A leave in conditioner can detangle curls while keeping them strong.

Many black men and women adopt a hair washing routine, which occurs once a week or even once every two weeks. This washing day uses hair products that prepare hair for a curly hairstyle which will stay in between washes. This minimises the time, effort, and money spent on maintaining your curly hair.

2. Detangle Your Hair

You can also let your wet hair air dry, or use a hair dryer with a curly hair-friendly diffuser attachment. Next, gently comb out any tangles with a wide tooth comb, which works for both longer or shorter hair. Damp hair is the best for getting your curly hair styled. You might want to add in a hair serum to protect your hair and follicles and keep them strong while curling.

3. Prepare Your Hair Styling Products

You’ll need several basic hair styling products depending on the curly hair you have and the hairstyle you want. Hair gel, hair styling creams, coconut butter, or shea butter are great natural products to use to hold your curls in place and keep the curls moisturized, no matter the style you’re going for.

Hair mousse is another great option to define and hold curls. If you want to use a hair curler or a hair straightener to smooth curls, look into a heat protectant spray. This will keep any damage to the hair at a minimum. You can also use sea salt spray in a bottle to stiffen your curly hair for a more natural look.

4. Try Sea Salt Spray

There are several methods black men can try, but natural is best. Here’s how to get curly hair for black men. Leave behind the hair sprays full of alcohol that dry hair – switch to a sea salt spray. They are amazing at helping you achieve the best curly hairstyles by emphasizing your natural curls. To make a sea salt spray, you can combine:

• 1 cup of warm, distilled water
• 1 tbsp of salt (either table salt or sea salt)
• 1 tbsp of Epsom salt

Optionally, you can add natural oils like coconut oil, or two drops of essential oils for fragrance. Make sure the salts are fully dissolved into the water, before using it on your curly hair. This spray is great to add volume and give you natural looking curls that hold for longer.

Black men should ensure their hair is mostly dry when using this hair spray method. Use your fingers to part your hair, then spray at a slight distance. Repeat until you have sprayed enough throughout your hair to make it slightly damp. Use a wide tooth comb or your fingers to style your short curly hair until it’s satisfactory. You can blow dry your hair while styling to help it set faster.

5. Try Hair Gel

Hair gel is often used to slick back straight hair, but it’s also great to use on curly hair for black men. There are many hair gel options created to style hair for black men! Hair gels like ECO, Mielle Organics, and Briogeo are amazing to both scatter smooth curls or to style afro hair.

You can use hair gels to create a protective style, which works very well for shorter curly hair. Waves and braids are two examples of protective curly hair styles that can stay in for up to six weeks! You can also use it on long curly hair to lay back edges or to hold in tighter curly twists.

6. Use Styling Creams

There are many specialised styling creams for curls. The Shea Moisture cream is great for styling and hair care, as the shea butter and neem oil are super moisturising, air drying, and taming. Other popular brands of styling creams include Cantu, DevaCurl, and Briogeo.

These hair products work great for short hair or long curly hair. They can help you tame kinky curls while avoiding the curling iron or dehydrating hair sprays. For older black men with greying hairs, no worries!

Hair creams can also be used to revitalize your hair color. There are many hair creams and hair waxes which can temporarily dye back your curly hair. This is especially great for filling in a temple fade and making sure it looks uniform.

Hairstyling Clay

Hairstyling clay is great to add and control volume in your hair. It also has the ability to draw out dirt and other impurities from the hair as it stays on. Plus, it can repair damage to the hair from over washing. Even clarifying shampoo, which removes buildup on the scalp, can dry out your curly hair if used too often.

How To Curl Your Hair At Home?

Hair salon treatments can be expensive, draining, and long! Plus, some hair stylists aren’t experienced in working with curly hair for black men. There are several methods you can try at home that are cost-effective, and will define your curls.

1. The Straw Method

Don’t have curlers and want tight coils? Use straws! Depending on how much hair you have, you’ll need a big handful of straws and an equal number of hair ties. First, use argan oil to gently comb out and moisturise your hair.

Take a small section of your curly hair, and wrap it tightly around a straw. It should be wrapped from root to tip. Then, secure the hair piece with a hair tie, pinching the free end of the straw down with the hair tie. Repeat this process until all of your hair has been secured in straws.

You can then gently add in a cream to set the curly hair, as well as blow dry the curls on a low heat. If you decide to blow dry them to get them to stay in for longer, make sure to apply heat protectant spray first.

You can go about your day with these in, or sleep with them overnight. Keep them in for at least six hours. It might take a little bit to get used to curling your hair with this method. If you use the right products, these curls can last up to three days!

2. Try Finger Coiling

This method works at home and only takes an hour! First, thoroughly wash and detangle your hair with a pick. Make sure it is completely moisturised – with your hair dry, you won’t be able to detangle it effectively.

Then, apply indirect heat for fifteen minutes. Put on a hair cap or towel while using a blow dryer. This will sink the moisture further into the hair. Next, grab your curling cream. Thoroughly apply it all over the hair with the palms of your hair. You can mix the cream with hair gel to get it to a slightly thinner consistency.

Don’t press down too hard as you rub in the cream, and use swirling motions. This will naturally enhance your curly hair. You can also use a spray bottle of clean water while rubbing in the cream if you feel it’s getting too dry.

Use your fingers to gently form your curls, wrapping the hair around your finger tightly then pulling the hair away slowly. Your curly hair will form beautifully and hold their shape as it dries with natural air. If you’re in a rush, apply low, indirect heat to get your curls to dry faster.

3. Two Strand Twists

Another popular method is the two strand twist. This method is super long-lasting, and can stay in for two to six weeks! If you want to rock a fashionable look and not have to worry about haircare for several weeks, this is the method to try.

While many women wear these twists, it looks just as good on black men. Here’s how to get curly hair for black men into two strand twists! First, prepare your curly hair for styling. Most men like to wear their twists in somewhat larger sections, but you can also do smaller ones. They simply take longer to put in. Twists can be used on any length of hair, but they look great with a temple fade combination!

Next, thoroughly cleanse your hair with a moisturizing shampoo and conditioner. It’s important to get curly hair completely washed down to the scalp, so that the twists can stay in for longer.

Tips for Washing Your Curly Hair

There’s a few things you can try to get your curly hair perfectly prepared for styling.

• Don’t use a towel, use a microfiber cloth or clean t-shirt instead. The longer fibers on most towels will actually pull at your hair as you dry it, resulting in more frizz.
• Pat and squeeze your hair dry, don’t rub. Rubbing with a cloth will cause more friction on your hair and damage it.
• Test the dampness of you hair by gently pulling at a strand between your fingers. If it drips water, it’s still too wet. It should be holding water, but not dripping at all.

Once it’s damp, you can continue to detangling. Run a comb through your hair gently. If you encounter any knots, use the comb to softly pull the hair apart instead of trying to yank them out. You can also add in argan oil at this point, which will help in getting out any tangles.

Next, part your hair from ear to ear, over the top of your head. You can use the pointed end of a comb to do so. The shape of this part should be similar to an upside down U on your scalp. Use a claw clip to hold the front section of your hair up. Divide the bottom half of your hair into three sections, lengthwise.

Use smaller hair clips or hair ties to keep these section separate. Do the same thing to the top half of your hair, sectioning it into three equal sections lengthwise and securing each section. Starting with the bottom section, take it out of its clip, comb it through, and rub in hair cream.

Separate a small section for a twist. Secure it tightly with a hair tie closely to the roots, then split it in two. Take the two strands of hair and twist them over each other very tightly, until you reach the end. Use a pea-sized drop of hair cream or wax to curl the end of the twist and hold it in place.

Repeat this for the rest of the hair section, and then work your way through twisting all the rest of the hair. You can also add hair accessories to the twists, from colourful hair ties, hair beads or barrettes. If you want to fully dry your hair before going out or going to sleep, you can apply heat protectant spray and use a blow dryer.

To get curly hair in twists that last for weeks at a time, make sure you sleep in a satin headscarf! You can also use satin pillowcases. Satin is especially good for curly hair because its a super smooth fabric, which will decrease frizz.