Loose Curl Instead of Tight Coils

African hair with tight coils — Photo: Djomas/Shutterstock

Q: I am a black male. My hair is naturally curly, but they are tight coils. I am trying to get a look similar to Terrence J. on 106 and park. I'm not sure, but I believe he has an S-curl or some type of texturizer. I have gone that route before, and I do not want to use chemicals to get that look.

I've been using s-curl styling products and it has given me some similar results but it varies from day to day. Is there a product that I can use to give me that loose curl all the time? And what about curl activator, will that give me the look without the permanent chemical? Please help. I'm going out of town in 2 weeks, and I need to be on point.

A: From the photos I've seen of Mr. Jenkins, I too believe that he has used some sort of texturizer on his hair to achieve the slightly relaxed curly look.

Some African-American men are able to get similar results from heavily conditioning the hair, using oil based moisturizers, but these results can vary depending on the specific wave pattern of the hair you have.

If you are adamant against using chemical relaxers or texturing products, you might consider using some of the natural, fruit-oil based moisturizing products designed for those who prefer to keep their African-ethnic hair natural. I can't guarantee that hyper-conditioning will work for you, but it will make the hair more pliable and can help you have an easier time of styling.

Curl activator may help you get the look you want, but only because it would operate under the same principles mentioned above - i.e., it would hyper-condition or moisturize the hair and cause the curls to be more pliable and therefore possibly looser.

©Hairfinder.com

See also: The special needs of African-American hair