Are you a guy looking for a way to tame your wild curly hair? If yes, rest assured that you’ve found the right blog because in this post I’ll sharing with you one of my best methods when it comes to taming curly hair for men.
If this is your first time here, My name is Thomas from the Men’s Long Hair YouTube channel, Thomas In Action. I’ve been creating mens hair videos on YouTube for a long time now and the main topics I cover on my channel include:
- Curly Hair for Men
- Man Buns
- Mens hair care
- Long Hair for Men
- Mens Hair Growth (I’ve currently been on a hair growth journey)
- A bit of mens fashion
- Occasional mens grooming
If any of the above sounds like something you are into and want to see more of, feel free to make a visit to my channel and hit the subscribe button so you don’t miss any updates.
If YouTube isn’t really your thing, I’ve also got a Facebook group where we all check in and update each other on what we are doing with our hair.
It was originally designed to be a place for guys who were growing their hair out could check-in and support each other through the awkward stage, however, it’s now a hub for any guy who is looking for some “hairspiration”
There’s heaps of content in there and on my channel that covers curly hair for men and I’d like to invite you to join us. I’m completely aware that there is a shortage of content regarding curly hair for men and it’s something I’d really like to change by using my platforms.
I myself have really crazy curly hair and before I learnt how to tame it, I used to hate it and now, I couldn’t be happier with the hair I was naturally blessed with.
Taming Curly Hair For Men (what’s the big secret?)
When it comes to taming curly hair for men, there’s multiple ways to do it that allow you to achieve different results. Your task is find which hair curling method is the best for you.
I’ve tried bantu knots, using a pencil and a hair iron, hair curlers, curl defining creams and the list goes on. But one of the most effective methods that I’ve come across lately is using a mixture of braids and hair paste (Chaptr styling paste in particular).
Naturally, when I wake up, my hair is very poofy and frizzy (I’m guessing if you are reading this you can relate) and I’ve found this method to be one of the most efficient and fuss free ways to tame curly hair for men.
What You Need to Perform This Hair Curling Method
First up, you're going to need a few things. If you are a guy that’s brand new to experimenting with curly hair for men, you may not have these yet, which is totally normal and the products needed are affordable and easy to find.
#1. A Hair Dryer
As mentioned earlier, we are going to be putting our hair into braids/plats while our hair is damp and then using a blow dryer to set our hair in place.
To begin with, it’s probably easier to just borrow your girlfriend, boyfriend or sisters hair dryer, but if you don’t have any of those, here’s a nifty cheap one I found on Amazon:
Conair Vagabond Compact Folding Handle Hair Dryer - $15.43
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#2. A Styling Cream
The second thing you will need to perform this hair curling technique is some kind of styling cream. Styling creams are great to use in curly hair as they are good for:
a) adding a bit texture and definition to curly hair.
b) They give decent hold, whilst still allowing flexibility.
Using products with extreme/high hold can look a little bit funny on long curly hair because it restricts “flowyness”. Walking around with long, stiff, rock hard curls isn’t best look in my opinion lol.
For this hair curling method, I like to use Chatpr styling cream.
Chaptr Styling Cream Benefits:
- Decent hold without flow restrictions.
- Is easy to apply
- Affordable in price
On top of that Chaptr Styling cream has been created by 2 credible YouTubers in the hair and style sector, Jordan O’brien & Carlos Roberto.
Both are amazing at what they do and at some point I suggest you check them out.
#3. A Heat Protector
If you have watched any of videos on curly hair for men, you’ll know that more often than not I reach for either my hair straightener or my blow dryer. This is because my hair is SO damn unruly, I usually need some form of heat to tell it who’s boss (hence why a hair dryer is the first thing on this list lol).
The problem with using heat excessively to style your hair is that is can completely damage it. That’s why I always recommend some for of heat protector when styling curly hair for men AND women.
The cheapest and most reputable that I’ve seen on the market is by tresemme. Tonnes of other hair Youtubers use it and you can pick it up on amazon for around $5 -$7.
TRESemme Thermal Creations Heat Tamer Protective Spray
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A while ago, I did a blog post about how heat protectants work and why you should use one. That post covers an entire range of good protectors on the market plus my favourite one. If you want to read that post, just click the hyperlinked text just above.
#4. Hair Elastics
Hair elastics aren’t a necessity. You could just use hair ties for this method, but I find they are quite bulky and loose.
Especially because the tutorial below requires multiple braids/plats, your hair will be divided, meaning that the ends of each braid/plat will be significantly thinner as opposed to just having one big fat one.
So if you going to have a serious crack at this tutorial, I definitely suggest you grab some elastics. You can also grab these for real cheap on amazon.
Diane Rubber Bands Black 500-Pack - $3.96
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#5. A Leave In Conditioner
Another thing to note when it comes to curly hair for men, is curly hair by default can be rather dry (you know the feels?)
The technical reason behind this is because the cuticles (the microscopic fish like scales on the outside of the hair) are usually more open as opposed to straight hair.
I’m not going to get your head spinning any more than it needs to be but because the cuticles are more open, they let go of moisture far easier. This is why curly hair becomes so dry.
Now to combat this, using a leave in conditioner can be extremely useful. The one I use is from my most favourite hair care brand ever bhave, but there are also other cheaper alternatives that still do the job like Garnier Fructis Leave in Conditioner.
Garnier Fructis Leave in Conditioner - $3
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Before I started using bhave leave in creme, I used Garnier Fructis Leave in Conditioner and it worked just fine for my crazy frizzy hair and I’d recommend this as a starting point.
#6. Someone Who Can Braid
The final thing you will need in order to complete the hair tutorial below is someone who can braid or plat. Again you can ask your mum, sister, girlfriend or whoever that you know to do it.
OR
You can learn how to do it yourself. If you are serious about learning how to tame your own hair, I’d strongly recommend this option so you can be in-dependant and not need to rely on anyone else for awesome looking curls.
Honestly, I thought braiding was the most difficult thing ever until I just sat down and actually gave it a go. It’s just like learning to drive a manual car. Once you know what your doing, it’s easy.
I’ve also made a heap of tutorials over on my channel about this that can help you and just to make life easier for you, I’ve embedded them just below for you haha.
Unfortunately I don’t have an amazon link that enables you to buy a hair braiding session but my tutorials can certainly help.
Now Your Ready To Tame Your Curls!
So now that I’ve covered all the things you’ll need, you might be thinking “WOAH this is way more than I expected” and unfortunately that’s just how it is with curly hair for men.
Our hair can look freaking awesome… but it takes work.
With that said below is the process I use to tame my curls using ALL of the items mentioned above.
Step #1 - Lightly dampen your hair.
Step #2 - Apply a decent amount of leave in conditioner.
Step #3 - Grab a good fingers worth of styling paste and rub it between your palms to emulsify the product.
Step #4 - Apply styling cream into the hair as evenly as possible
Step #5 - Apply an even amount of heat protector to your hair.
Step #6 - Begin braiding or platting your hair into multiple different sections
Step #7 - Blow dry each braid//plat until they feel dry.
NOTE: You’ll want to poke your finger through the middle of some of them to check for any excess moisture.
Step #8 - Once all your braids are dry, let them cool down for 3 minutes.
When hair is heated it’s much for shapeable, so it’s important to let them cool as this is what actually tames your curls.
Step #9 - Remove each braid and style as desired.
Conclusion
By the end of the process, you should have far better control over your curly mane and the styling cream with ensure they stay in tact!
As you can probably tell by this stage, taming curly hair for men can seem like a large and argues task, however, if want to maximise this amazing asset you’ve been given it can be extremely worth it.
The other cool thing is this doesn’t need to be a huge expensive project. There plenty of product on the market that do a great job for a cheaper price, you just have to be willing to make the effort.
I really hope you got some great value from this post and I’d like to encourage you to swing by my channel for more awesome content on curly hair for men.
Feel free to let me know how you went with this tutorial in the comments of this post or you can just swing me a comment on one of my videos.
Good luck and keep rocking those curls!
Yours in good hair,
Thomas.
