Being a curly girl, I have routinely used hair styling products on my curls for years. However, throughout that time, I have definitely had moments where I have gone a couple days without applying anything to my hair — whether that was due to traveling, being in a rush or laziness. Whenever I would do this, I never really noticed that big of a difference in my curls regardless of whether or not they had product in them or not. They still looked soft, were defined, and felt light.
Because of this result, I couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to not use any hair styling products in my curls for an entire week.
Did I really need to be buying all these products? Were my curls actually benefitting from them? Eager to find out, I did the experiment for 7 days! Here’s what I learned.
- Day 1: The first day of my experiment, I cleansed my curls with Jane Carter Solution Moisture Nourishing Shampoo and deep conditioned with their Nutrient Replenishing Conditioner;”>. At first, it was quite strange to not apply any hair styling products — in fact, I found it pleasantly easy to just scrunch with my t-shirt and then diffuse them dry. Overall, I was actually quite pleased overall with how they looked: they felt soft, were defined, and smelled great.
- Day 2: The second day I could immediately see that my curls were losing their shape. I actually was not bothered by this because I was able to achieve a wavy lazy hairstyle. For me, I don’t feel like I have to have my curls always defined to perfection. While it’s nice. I also enjoy just letting them naturally kind of fall apart. My hair definitely looked like a style from the 80’s and I was all about it.
- Day 3: I felt like wearing my short curly hair up; as a result, my curls completely fell apart and lost all definition and shape. However, I simply wore my hair up for the rest of the day and planned to revive it the following morning.
- Day 4: After my bun day, I rinsed my hair completely through using just water and my curls sprung back to life. I was actually surprised by how great they looked and felt despite not having added any product to them. However, by the evening my curls felt pretty dry and had begun to lose their shape again.
- Day 5: Since it had been a few days, I felt that my curls needed to be cleansed. I co-washed them with my OGX Detoxifying + Pomegranate & Ginger Conditioner. Once again, my curls felt very soft, looked defined, and smelled great.
- Day 6: By the time day 6 had rolled around, my curls had lost their shape from the previous day’s wash. While I still had some of my curls, I noticed that I had a lot more waves as well. I tried to use a little water to give them a pick me up but found that the hold did not last long. Therefore, I just kind of let them be as they were.
- Day 7: The last day, I decided to give my curls a little water and once again while it helped. The hold and moisture did not last, though. I once again let my curls be loose, dry, and wavy.
The takeaway?
I found this experiment to be eye-opening for many reasons.
I realized how unbelievably liberating it is to not applying anything after cleansing.
It made my routine so much easier and I felt that my hair actually, for the most part, looked acceptable. The only real issue was that my curls would often be quite dry and therefore I wish that I had had some lasting moisture since using just water to revive my hair wasn’t enough.
I would definitely do this challenge again, but for a much shorter period of time.
Furthermore, I think giving our hair a break from products is a great idea. It gives your curls a chance to breathe and just be themselves to their truest degree. (Hair Styling Product “>
I found that through this experiment, I certainly do not “need” to use styling products at all.
While it takes a bit more work to achieve defined curls, it is possible! However, I will admit how nice it was to go back to using styling products my curls again. My curls had much longer lasting definition and moisture compared to without them. In conclusion, while you don’t “need” to use products, it ultimately all comes down to deciding what is best for you and your curls!
Would you ever try going styling product free?
Let us know in the comment section below!
Read this next: ;”>Should You Go Product Free?
