Your Extra Curly Hair Essentials Care Guide with Our Curl Specialist Cameron Lane Lugo Part 1

Embracing your curls is truly a lifestyle choice, but that doesn’t mean it needs to be difficult either. Cameron Lane Lugo is the curl specialist at The Colour Bar. They work with a wide range of curls behind the chair, including extra curly hair. I sat down with Cameron to learn exactly what they recommend for their clients home care routines to ensure that their curls are getting the basics of what they need to be healthy.

 

Cameron has been working behind the chair for 8 years now, 7 of them spent at The Colour Bar. After spending time working on friends and family with curly hair, they made a point of taking the texture honors courses, graduating from beauty school with honors for curls. They have a passion for helping people embrace their natural curl patterns no matter what that looks like. Over the years, they have taken many classes through Davines that are focused on curl care. They understand what curls need to live their happiest curly life and has deep respect for clients’ desire to see their true curl potential.

In this blog, we are going to use “The 4 R’s” as we define the different routines needed to care for curly hair. They are:

• Reset: This refers to a clarifying wash. Think of it as if you completely shut down and unplugged your computer. A complete restart for your hair routine.
• Restyle: This refers to when you are washing your hair, but not including any clarifying products.
• Refresh: More of a daily check in before walking out the door. What does your hair need so you can move on with your day?
• Rest: It’s really important to protect your curls while you sleep. This routine focuses on how to care for your hair  when you’re hanging around the house.

Here is Cameron’s Extra Curly Hair Essentials Care Routine:

What is Extra Curly Hair?

There is a variety of curls within each curl category. Extra Curly hair is categorized by the shape and tightness of the curl. It can be a coiled pattern or even a zigzag shape.

Extra Curly Hair Reset Routine:

1. Detangle your hair. Doing this allows the water fully wet your hair and helps to prevent additional tangling and possible loccing during the washing process. Because having extra curly hair truly is a spectrum, depending on your exact curl type, you may find it easier to detangle before or after wetting your hair.
2. Once your hair is completely wet, emulsify a clarifying shampoo in your hands and shampoo just the roots of your hair. The shampoo will naturally move down your hair strands getting any dirt and debris with it along the way so there is no need to scrub the mids and ends. Rinse thoroughly.
3. If it has been more than 2 weeks since your last reset routine, follow up with a cocktail of a clarifying shampoo and a hydrating shampoo. emulsify both of the shampoos in your hands repeat step 2.
4. Wash with a Cleansing Cream to remove any remaining product build up and oils. Rinse thoroughly.
5. Extra curly hair tends to need the most hydration; Cameron recommends making a custom cocktail of conditioners/masks to hydrate them properly. Mixing a hydrating conditioner like the Momo conditioner or the Love Curl conditioner with the Nourishing Vegetarian Miracle Mask and the Love Curl Mask will give you the perfect mixture. Apply generously, enough to make it slimy, and leave on for 10 minutes. Rinse thoroughly.
6. Use 1-2 pumps of your hydrating conditioner as a leave-in conditioner before getting out of the shower. This helps to start the styling process.

Cameron recommends a reset about every 3 to 4 washes depending on how much product you are using in your hair.

Extra Curly Hair Restyle Routine:

This will typically be your wash and style for the week.

1. Detangle before getting into the shower so you are able to get your hair completely wet.
2. Use a hydrating shampoo, like the Momo shampoo or the Love Curl shampoo for your first shampoo. Rinse thoroughly.
3. Using a curl cleansing cream for your second shampoo to help keep the moisture in your curls while also removing any built up product and oils.
4. Use your hydrating conditioner as directed and rinse thoroughly.
5. Add 1 to 2 pumps of your conditioner back in as a leave-in product to begin the styling process.

Extra Curly Hair Refresh Routine:

Everyone spends a second in the morning making sure they don’t look like they just rolled out of bed. With this daily refresh routine, you’ll be able to walk out the door with confidence.

1. Remove any protective coverings you used in your rest routine.
2. Re-fluff
3. Apply any styling products needed. Cameron recommends a spray on shine!

Extra Curly Hair Rest Routine:

Taking care of your hair before you go to sleep is super important! This is why Cameron made a point of including a rest routine in his essentials guide.

1. Apply 1 to 2 drops of Oi Oil over curls if you are needing some extra hydration.
2. Protect hair by wrapping it with a satin or silk hair bonnet or scarf.
3. Use a satin or silk pillowcase to ensure that if your scarf/bonnet falls off, your hair is still protected. (It’s good for your skin as well!)

Cameron recommends using as many of the rest routine tricks as possible. It helps to ensure that no matter how hard of a sleeper you are, your curls will never be compromised.

After a Reset or a Restyle routine, you will follow up with more products for your specific hair type. Cameron recommends that you see a professional you can help guide you through what products your curls specifically needs.

Cameron and I sat down and talked about care routines for both curly and wavy haired people as well. Stay tuned over the next few months for those blog posts to come out!

Until Next Time,

Josie ♥