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Even for the most curl savviest amongst us, it’s tough as nails to maintain cute curls in a high humidity climate with a lot of salt water in the air. While hanging out in coastal towns and frolicking on the beach is good for the soul, without proper care, it can wreck the hair making it brittle, frizzy and dry.

In Miami, my hair demands a different styling routine than the one I use in New York (click HERE to see video and read my full curly hair styling tutorial from start to finish).  When skipping around more humid climates, I use heavier products from Moroccanoil that are infused with argan oil, anti-humectant and have tons of hydrating moisture. To keep the hair from frizzing up like a fuzz ball, I layer these creamy, yummy smelling products from back to front to weigh the curls down.

HUGE thank you to Chanel of Miami for putting me on the MoroccanOil products. PS: If you ever get a chance to hear her perform, don’t walk, RUN! She is a STAR!

***PLEASE NOTE THAT YOU CAN PURCHASE EACH PRODUCT LISTED BELOW THROUGH AMAZON BY CLICKING ON THE HIGHLIGHTED TEXT OR THE IMAGE.  HAPPY SHOPPING AND HAPPY HAIR DAYS AHEAD!

STEP 1:  Wash & Condition with Moroccanoil Curl Enhancing Shampoo and Conditioner (whatever shampoo/condition you use, make sure they clearly state “sulfate free” as these unhealthy and unnecessary additives crucify curls).

Follow the same techniques for washing and conditioning curly hair that I lovingly layed out for you in this POST HERE.

STEP 2:  A hair primer, prep or anti-humectant base product is SUPER important in a humid climate. Your hair must first absorb a base product that will fight humidity. The type of product you use is dependent on your hair texture and curl pattern. You will likely need to play around with a few concoctions and formulas to get it right. Here is a place to start. However, please note that no matter your hair type, alway apply this first step to dripping wet hair. Apply base product to the back of the head, scrunching the product into the wet hair from middle of the shaft to the ends.

For Super Thick & Tightly Coiled Hair: Apply one pump of Moroccanoil Intense Curl Cream. This is a heavier product that will weigh thicker hair down and reduce shrinkage.

For Wavy Hair: Apply 5-7 spritzes of R&Co One Prep Spray. This product will help repel humidity, protect the air from sun damage while adding moisture and elasticity.

For thin spirally hair more like mine: Apple 5-7 spritzes of NEWAY JAPAN nano amino Design Repair Mist Spray (hard to find product). This fine mists repels humidity, add keratin which repairs damaged hair and builds volume at the crown. I should have been born in Texas cause my mantra is the bigger the hair, the better.

STEP 3:  Layer 1 pump of Moroccanoil Curl Defining Cream on top of the base product of your choice.  Always start applying product from the back of the head, scrunching middle of the shaft to the ends.

STEP 4:Either air-dry hair or dry with a diffuser. As I wrote HERE, I don’t like the way my hair looks after air-drying.  I prefer to manually dry my hair with the Deva Curl Devadryer & Devafuser.  Please note that in high humidity climates, it will take at least 50% longer for hair to dry so be patient and don’t get frustrated as rushing leads to frizzy, crazy looking hair (uggghh….learned this one the hard way).

Hairdrying Note: In high humidity climates, it will take at least 50% longer for hair to dry so be patient and don’t get frustrated as rushing leads to frizzy, crazy looking hair (uggghh….learned this one the hard way).

STEP 5: My hair is fine and looks limps easily so I always finish the curls with a couple sprays of hair spray. Again, I like the Moroccanoil Luminous hairspray because it provides long-lasting hold, shine and also helps fight humidity.

Jackie’s Deep Conditioning Tip:

The salt in the air is seriously drying for curly hair so I deep condition my hair at least twice per week when in a more humid climate. For deep conditioning, I use Moroccanoil Weightless Hydrating Mask. Using a palm sized amount, I use a “wide tooth comb” to gently apply the hair masque to wet hair while in the shower. If short on time, I leave it in for 10 – 15 mins before rinsing. However, for best results, I let the hair masque penetrate my hair all day all day under a baseball hat or sleep with it applied overnight and rinse in the morning.

One of the benefits of the salt & humidity is that my curls look good up to 3 days after wash day. Hating product buildup and stiff hair, I originally thought the Moroccanoil products would be too heavy for my curly cues.  I was pleasantly surprised after a few test runs that my hair is shiny, defined, touchable soft and most importantly, not frizzy! I did learn to get used to a different hair texture while down in Miami. Because the salt is constantly in the air, my hair always feels a little tacky. The good part about that is my curls still look cute on day 2, 3 and even 4. That never happens in dryer climates like NYC!

On non-wash days, I take my hair down from the sleeping bun (loosing twirled in a bun and secured with bobby pins on top of my head), spray Moroccanoil Curl Re Energizing Spray to dry hair (super important to spray on dry hair) and then scrunch my hair back to life. I also use a couple spritzers of this magic spray to refresh my curls in the evening or to tame frizzy spots when I dry it on day 1.

As always, thank you for stopping by Jackie Unfiltered.  Even with all these excellent products, curly hair has a mind of its own and will just not act right sometimes. On those days, I put a hat on my head, swipe on a bright lipstick and carry on with my day. Remember what I said, “your hair should be the least interesting thing about you.” Okay, I am off to the gym and then getting ready for an epic few days of birthday behavior!!

Xoxo,
Jackie

PS:  We do get a paid a small percentage if you purchase products from the links listed here.  Don’t you dare judge!  Jackie has to live too.