DIY Curl Cream

DIY Curl Cream

As a curly girl myself, I must confess I am a bit of a product junkie… I must admit I’ve tried more curl products that I can shake a stick at.

But this can get expensive, especially if you have thick, coarse curls like myself that require a lot of hydration; I get through a tub of conditioner in a few weeks!

There are countless ingredients needing to be avoided, like non-soluble silicones, sulfates, waxes, mineral oils, and more. So I’ve found a way to opt for maximum curl benefits without the harsh chemicals, going DIY! I love creating DIY recipes for my conditioning treatments; it saves me a few bucks.

Plus, my curls love me for it too.

Creating your own DIY styling products is very marmite for curlies. For some curlies, creating their own curling cream is legendary; for others, not so much.

But this recipe came across my feed a few months ago, and before recommending it across this platform, I wanted to try it first, and let me tell you, my curls haven’t loved me more!

So let’s talk about the benefits and how to create this amazing DIY curl cream at home.

Benefits Of The Natural Ingredients In This Curl Cream:

There are four main ingredients in this DIY curl cream recipe for ultimate hydration, moisture retention, and curl definition.

This homemade curl cream contains shea butter, honey, aloe vera gel, and coconut oil. It can be used on any curly hair type but mostly benefits hair with high porosity.

It can be used as a DIY leave-in conditioner as well as a DIY curl-defining cream for curly hair. But let’s talk about how each natural ingredient can benefit curly hair.

Shea Butter:

Shea butter is a great natural ingredient for curly hair; it helps massively with moisture retention it helps to lock in moisture within the cuticle.

Shea butter is often in often found in curly hair treatments because of its emollient qualities. It locks in moisture without leaving curls looking greasy or heavy,

It aids in fastening moisture within the hair, which also helps protect hair against the weather, especially humidity. It helps prevent frizz and is extremely beneficial in curl creams.

Raw shea butter helps to detangle, moisturize and elongate curls. It is perfect for coilies as it helps eliminate shrinkage and helps keep curls healthy.

Raw shea butter is made up of essential fatty acids, which means shea butter can even help with hair growth and improve the overall condition of the hair.

Shea butter even acts as a natural heat protectant that creates a barrier around your hair strands; this shields them from heat damage. Shea butter is a brilliant emollient and occlusive, so it works well to hydrate strands and nourish the ends.

It is also anti-inflammatory, meaning that it can help relieve skin conditions and help remove dead skin cells from the hair. There are some serious benefits of shea butter.

That being said, you should use less shea butter if you have low porosity hair as it can be quite heavy. But there are some serious benefits of moisture retention by using shea butter on low porosity hair.

Coconut Oil:

Coconut oil works by sealing in water in your hair strand, preventing it from evaporating. This means your hair is more hydrated and the moisture barrier restored.

It also helps seal split ends and strengthens hair to prevent breakage. The high vitamins and essential fatty acids penetrate deep into the hair strands to moisturize the hair.

Fatty acids are crucial to the health of your hair. It can help improve the health of your hair from the inside; they are full of nutrients and proteins, which help strengthen the hair strand and even reduce hair loss.

Coconut oil really benefits those suffering from hair loss; despite it not directing hair growth, it helps protect the hair and slow the process of hair loss and strengthen brittle and weak hair, so hair appears thicker.

Thanks to its moisturizing qualities, it can help promote the natural shape of the curl because it improves the overall condition of the hair.

But it doesn’t just benefit curly hair. It can be used on damaged straight hair to help with protein loss and repair damage from within– as long as the hair is high porosity.

For low porosity, argan oil offers similar benefits as coconut oil, but it has a small molecular structure, so it penetrates deeply into the cuticle instead of sitting on top.

Aloe Vera Gel:

Aloe vera gel is a brilliant natural gel that works wonders for curly hair. It offers massive humectant benefits as well as protecting hair from the environment.

There are some super benefits of aloe vera for curly hair. 

Aloe vera gel is brilliant for curly and wavy hair as it contains vitamins, minerals, and fatty acids while remaining super lightweight and not weighing your hair down.

This DIY curl cream will heal damaged hair as well as it is full of essential fatty acids that repair hair from within. It contains proteolytic enzymes, which help repair dead skin cells and promote healthier and faster hair growth.

It should be a staple in all DIY curly hair products as it is a great humectant; it penetrates deep into the hair shaft and penetrates deeply. It can even help balance the pH on your scalp.

Honey:

Honey is the final ingredient in my DIY curl-defining cream recipe, and this is the ingredient that works the magic when it comes to promoting the natural curl.

Honey is a humectant and an emollient, so it helps restore moisture loss as well as retain moisture within the strand. It helps curls hold onto water molecules in the air; honey helps replenish moisture and fuse vitamins and minerals into the hair strands.

It is the perfect match for high porosity hair as it works wonders for smoothing and softening the hair. It helps smooth the outer cuticle layer of the hair, so hair appears shinier.

However, it can be used on both hair porosities as it is super lightweight.

It smooths edges and reduces frizz which helps with natural curl definition. Plus, when curls are moisturized, they naturally bounce up and restore their natural curl.

Honey can also help those with dandruff and itchy scalp. While this is not specific to our DIY curl cream recipe, it is handy to know in case you need a scalp treatment.

Honey processes anti-fungal, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory properties to help keep curls in the best condition possible, promote the natural shape of your own curl and keep your hair in the healthiest condition possible.

If you’re looking for more of a gel, then add in honey for hold, but if you’re looking for a hydrating cream, then the previous three ingredients work wonders for curls.

Easy DIY Curl Cream Recipes To Make At Home

Since I have very coarse curls, this recipe best suits high porosity hair, but don’t worry; I will suggest alternative ingredients for low porosity hair.

DIY Curl Cream For High Porosity Hair:

Since those with high porosity hair tend to struggle with moisture retention, I have gathered a list of ingredients to help with moisture retention as well as promote the natural curl.

Here’s What You’ll Need:

• – 2 tablespoons of shea butter
• – 2 tablespoons of coconut oil
• – 2 tablespoons of aloe vera gel
• – Want it to be a gel instead? Add honey to the formula, too. It will help with the hold.

Method:

You’ll want to mix two tablespoons of each ingredient in a bowl, mixing each ingredient first before adding the next. If you have very thick, coarse curls, then you might need some more, so I would recommend doubling up.

This formula should last you around a month, especially if you use two tablespoons or four tablespoons of each ingredient as a little goes a long way– plus, it’s super affordable.

Start with the shea butter, mix with a fork or hand mixer, add the coconut oil, mix again, then add the aloe vera gel. If you want more hold, you can also add honey for a gel-like feel.

Pop in a mason jar or tub until use. Apply to soaking wet hair or at least damp hair. For best results, I find using soaking wet hair is best.

Once you’ve hopped out of the shower, sit in front of the mirror and work in sections. Drench each section with water in a spray bottle and apply a generous amount.

These ingredients will act in replacement of your leave-in conditioner as they massively hydrate and help with the detangling process.

Check out my full guide on how to use curl cream for more details on the best method.

DIY Curling Cream For Low Porosity Hair

Since some of the ingredients from the previous recipe are quite heavy on low porosity hair, I have created an alternate recipe for low porosity hair.

What You’ll Need:

• – 1 tablespoon of shea butter
• – 2 tablespoons of argan oil instead of coconut oil
• – 2 tablespoons of aloe vera

Method:

Instead of using coconut oil, low porosity curlies should opt for argan oil instead. Argan oil has a much smaller molecular level and penetrates deeper into the hair shaft.

Low porosity hair struggles to absorb moisture into the cuticle as the cuticle is lying flat, but it does not struggle to retain moisture, so penetrating oils are key.

Shea butter can be used on low porosity hair, but it needs to be in much smaller proportions as it is a very heavy ingredient.

Just like the previous method, apply this mixture to wet hair and style as usual with other styling products. You can either leave your hair to air dry or diffuse and then scrunch out the crunch.

These natural ingredients will be sure to give your curls that natural definition while also deeply nourishing the cuticle and scalp.

Summary:

So there you have it; the key to defining curl is looking after your curls and providing the hydration and nourishment they deserve.

Give some of these recipes a go, especially coconut oil + shea butter for high porosity hair; by improving the condition of your curls and taming frizz; this is when your curls can flourish.

So give these recipes a go today!