Curly Girls with 3C Curls, this article is just for you.
3C curls are definitively tighter than 3B curls—think the size of a straw or pencil—and thickly packed together, giving your hair some major volume.
Despite the density and elasticity of your coils, 3C strands tend to have a finer texture (although you may still have some coarse pieces), which means they’re more prone to dryness, breakage, and loss of definition.
Yes, that sounds all sorts of ominous, but it’s not (clearly, since you’ve been living your 3C life just fine up to this point). A mix of moisturizing creams, puddings, oils, and conditioners will keep your curls happy, and the right application technique can bring out the perfect level of shine and definition.
The higher you climb on the curl scale, the drier your curls tend to be, and 3C is no exception. Start off your routine with a leave-in conditioner (look for one with lightweight oils like argan, jojoba, or grapeseed). After scrunching out the excess water from your sopping-wet hair, rub a quarter-size dollop of leave-in between your hands and finger-rake it through your curls, making sure to coat every layer evenly.
Once you’ve applied one layer of moisture, it’s time to add another (sensing a pattern here?). If your coils are on the coarser side and/or you experience a lot of shrinkage, try using a curl pudding, which tends to be heavier than a curl cream. If your curls look like Laís’s, here, who has some looser 3B textures mixed in with her 3C, reach for a rich curl cream and gently scrunch it into your wet hair, working section by section to really push the formula into your curls while avoiding tangles and knots.
To keep all that moisture you just layered on your curls from evaporating throughout the day, finish with a mid-to-heavy oil, which acts like a sealant for your hair. Laís swears by straight coconut oil for her curls, which she gently glides over her hair (praying-hands style), in sections, until it’s fully saturated. Coat your ends by lightly scrunching coconut oil into them, and use the tips of your fingers to massage the oil into your roots.
To dry your curls, you can plop them with a T-shirt, let them air-dry, or diffuse them on low heat until they’re 80 percent dry.
3C Curl Products
* Leave-in Conditioners with (argan,
* Curling Puddings
* Argan, Jojoba, or Grapeseed Oils
Source: CHLOE METZGER senior beauty editor Chloe Metzger is the senior beauty editor at Cosmopolitan, covering all things hair, skin, makeup, and health for both print and digital.