8 reasonably priced curly hair tools
Hands up who has a burgeoning collection of curly hair products? Do you have curly hair tools to complement them?
Products can be expensive but we needn’t spend a fortune on our tools and accessories, plus the good ones will last us for years.
You won’t need all of these, but many of them are popular curly hair tools.
I am differentiating between products and tools because, although you can purchase many very reasonable priced hair products, many of the higher price products do include excellent ingredients which do cost a little more.
I go further into making great product choices in my Curly Hair Masterclass.
Curly hair tools, on the other hand, are a great place to keep costs down. I’m going to run you through some of the bargains that will help you keep your curls looking great!
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Let’s dive in
Microfibre Towel
Whether you are plopping, micro-plopping or drying your curls using any of your favourite methods, a microfibre towel is a perfect replacement for your regular terry towel. These are ‘towel turbans’, so they are even easier to use.
You can plop with a t-shirt, of course, but if you prefer a towel (and one that dries very quickly at that), then a microfibre towel is a great option.
Regular towels (with the big bobbly bits) tend to be too rough for curly hair. They cause friction and can roughen the cuticle of your hair, weakening the strands over time.
Wet Detangling Brush
This is my favourite brush and I use it every time I wash my hair.
If you will be detangling your hair at any point in your routine, a great brush is well worth the investment.
We put a lot of time and energy into caring for our hair and the last thing we need is to drag an unworthy brush through it, causing friction and damaging the cuticle.
Hair is more fragile when it is wet so we need to take extra care (even though this brush is also amazing at detangling dry hair).
The flexible bristles glide through wet hair. I would recommend using it with either conditioner or leave-in conditioner on your hair to provide additional slip.
I also use this brush to style my hair. Either brush through styling products before scrunching or create beautiful ribbon curls by wrapping strands of hair around the brush; an all-round winner.
Pick
One of my favourite curly hair tools and my favourite way to increase volume! I use this one by Cantu (I can no longer track down a black one 🤔) on dry hair to make it BIGGER.
Again, there is versatility here. I use this in one of two ways.
To add volume at the root and zhuzh or ‘fluff’ my hair once it is 100% dry.
Insert the pick under your hair close to the root and gently move the hair up and away from your scalp. You can do this with your head upright or upside down. Moving the brush around will fluff up your hair and break up curl clumps for even more volume.
The second way is my favourite. The only way I can describe it is as similar to backcombing, but it isn’t backcombing! You won’t damage your hair.
You use it at the ends of your hair rather than the root. Hold a section of hair loosely and insert the pick at the bottom. Gently move it upwards, taking some of the hair as you go. The wide teeth meant that you won’t create knots and risk breakage as you might if you used the traditional backcombing method. This will also increase the overall volume of your hair.
Silk or Satin Bonnet
This is used at night time to protect your curls from losing their shape, from frizz and from losing moisture.
Silk and satin both have similar, beneficial properties.
Satin is synthetic, whereas silk is a natural protein fibre. They reduce friction, so they help prevent frizzy hair, plus they aren’t as porous as cotton so they won’t absorb as much moisture from your hair. This will help to keep your hair hydrated while you sleep.
Either is a good choice. Silk is more expensive and has a few additional benefits. It won’t make you as hot as synthetic satin since it’ breathes’.
Silk is also hypoallergic which means it is naturally resistant to allergens, fungus, mould and mites.
You can also buy silk or satin pillowcases if you are worried about a bonnet coming off at night. These are a little pricier but can make a great investment.
Buff
A buff is another way to protect curls at night. It is essentially a large tube that you pull up over your hair to keep it in place. It minimises friction to reduce frizz and maintain curl clumps.
These are multi-purpose headwear.
Don’t be put off by the lack of pics of it as sleepwear for curls! They are really stretchy and will pull up to cover your hair (Marge Simpson style 😉).
Metal Root Clips
A popular way to give curls root lift is to clip them like this
While your hair is still damp, put the clips in as shown and take them out once your hair is 100% dry. You can put them at the front or all over taking small sections of hair as you go. You are lifting your hair up and away from your scalp as it dries and the result is root volume!
Silk or Satin Scrunchie
These needn’t be expensive and I would say they are one of the essentials on this list.
Who doesn’t love a bun or pineapple in-between wash days? It really is worth using a silk or satin scrunchie. Normal elastics can cause indentations when removed and, at their worst, can weaken hair when used repeatedly in the same place. This can lead to breakage.
Even Invisibobbles can get caught in your hair. While they are less likely to cause breakage, I find that they can still get stuck and disrupt curl clumps as you remove them.
Scalp Massager Brush
These tools are really useful if you are going to be co-washing your hair.
When co-washing you really need to give your scalp a good scrub to remove all the dirt, skin cells and products. The gentler cleansing agents mean they need extra work on our part to do their job.
We can speed this process up using one of these brushes. Gently massage your scalp while using your cleanser for a thorough clean.
In addition, the brush will stimulate blood flow and aid circulation to promote a healthy scalp.
It also feels great!
These tools will help you along your curly journey. You can start with one or two and build a collection as you go. Pick, scrunch, detangle and protect your curls!
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