How to Take Care of Your Curls When You Move To a New Place
I moved to the Netherlands for work at the end of June this year. Along with the really big changes in life, my curls felt the blow of the move too. They weren’t clumping at all and were stringy and dry. This post includes all the things I checked and took care of to get my curls to bounce back. Be it a move to another city in your own country or to a completely new country, these tips will help you too.
Weather – This is the biggest factor you need to take into account having moved to a new place. Back in Bangalore, my hair was sufficiently healthy to be able to do without a leave in before gel. In the Netherlands the air lacked the required humidity and I had to start using a leave in. My focus became more on deep conditioning and moisturising. I love this article that explains how to take care of your curls according to the weather – How to Choose the Right Products for the Weather for Curly Hair
Water quality – Extremely hard water can make hair dry and brittle. Getting a hard water shower filter is a good idea. If you cannot do that, follow the tips for hard water mentioned in this post – Clarifying Curly Hair – What, When and How. I found that the hardness of the water here was same as my flat in Bangalore.
Commute and work/study conditions – Has your mode of commute changed? Is their more wind blowing through your hair now? Use a silk scarf to protect hair. Is your work place or institute blasting more dry cold AC air? Use more moisturising products.
Diet – Has your diet changed considerably because of the move? This can especially be true when moving to a new country. Ensure that you get all the required nutrition – 4 nutrients for healthy hair
Adjustment period – This is an extremely important point. Sometimes in spite of getting everything right, your hair may still take time to adjust to all the changes around it. Give it a few weeks. I started seeing a gradual improvement over 3-4 weeks.
How has your hair behaved in a new place? Do you have any tips?
The quality of water plays a vital role and it is important to know the kind of water you are using. This post is very helpful. You have given nice step by step procedure to follow which I am sure will be of great help to lot of people moving places.
Thank you for sharing this lovely post. have a good day. 🙂
Hey Anjana! 🙂 I’m in Hyderabad currently and my hair has become like straw. I’ve been following the CG method for a month and it seems to only be getting worse. I used to have a lovely head of locks but now it’s just a warped ball of random dry curls.
What I’m doing:
I’ve just started out with the cg method and have been:
-pre-pooing once a week with st botanica’s hair oil/ avocado + egg mask
-cowashing every three days with enliven raspberry conditioner, then rinsing it all out
and conditioning with the same (raking + combing) >
-then leaving in the loreal paris smooth intense conditioner (raking +combing) >
-then using taft marathon gel
-diffusing with the chaobo 2800 and the same segolike diffuser as yours
To remove buildup:
I’ve used pantene clean
and appe cider vinegar rinse
once so far at the beginning of the month.
Please please help me out here!!!!! Thanks so much!!!!!
Hey Annana! I got a question.. my hair curls up nicely on the front side.. it looks plain waves on the back of my head.. am i making any mistake while hair wash? what do I do!? ^_^
Hello..Anjana. I tried ACV rinse first time after prepoo and shampoo yesterday. I did according to what is written in your blog..My scalp is greasier than before..What might be the cause…When u write 15 ml in 250 ml water..Should we finish the whole mixture …I used a cup out of it….
hi Anjana,
thanks for this post. I’m going through the exact same phase and my hair has lost its curl pattern. but yeah….this post is helpful. thanks a lot.
Ya…Please tell a shampoo….Which gives a clean scalp,lot of lather like sulphate ones..Cleans the prepoo oil..And no buildup…I know there are long lists of cg shampoos everywhere in all blogs..But just tell me few which are your favourites..My scalp gets flaky all the time
Hey Anjana! Thank you for starting your wonderful page. I’ve been trying to embrace my curls too but I’m struggling so much 😭 I cut my hair recently which I kind of regret now because when I leave it curly I look like i have a triangle head 🙄 do you have any tips at all on how I can style it? I own a diffuser and use Marc Anthony curling Lotion but I have no clue what I’m doing wrong. Do you have any tips on how I can style it to look normal?
😂
Hi, I follow your blog regularly and have gone through all posts published by you. They are really helpful. Have put into practice many tips shared by you. I use a shampoo (wow/antidandruff) followed by enliven conditioner (which i really like), followed by l’oreal liss control (leave in), followed by gel (l’oreal homme). Can’t follow co-washing because of dandruff. Not able to completely avoid combing but have minimozed it. My hair have become better than they used to be. Ends are not that dry and rough as they used to be but crown is usually frizzy and unruly one day after the wash and there are a lot of fly aways. And if I feel my hair strands individually they are very uneaven and course. What shall be done for the crown region? Any tips will be helpful. Thanks
I was trying geletin for the first time, how long to refrigerate it. As I did it for a few hours and now it’s set 😁. Can I melt it somehow? Or should i do it all over again?
Taking care of your curls can be stressful sometimes and even more when you’re on the move but with the right tricks and product, you can totally do it.
Hey anjana 😊.
After watching a friend follow your curl advice , I finally decided to give my curls a chance . I have a couple of questions though .
1. My curls look really defined even post wash on the wash day (which was not the case before) ,but by the second day some of the strands start to frizz out and loose definition. Why is this ? Ps : I only dry detangle. I’m currently using the garnier olive oil conditioner ,pantene oil in cream and the enlive olive gel to try to set them .
I’m still slowly transitioning from chemically straightened hair ,but from what I read ,my curl type seems to be a cherub.
2. Second doubt. My hair hardly ever forms the hard gel cast even if I apply the gel when my hair is super wet. If at all it forms a cast ,it’s only in parts of my hair. What am I doing wrong ?
I once heard from a stylist that cold water is better for the hair, so it keeps hydrated. Diet is very important, so it can get the nutrients it needs. Great post, love your curls, beautiful!
Hey anjana!!
I am a beginner to the cg world.i use Giovanni range shampoo and conditioner along with arata cream and use mama Earth as leave in.i have low poo 3a-3b hair and find arata gives me a nice hold but after 2 days my hair and scalp turns oily.But now I am moving to Netherlands and have learnt that you also stay there.Could you please let me know what products would help me in that climate and where can I pick them?
Hi Anjana! Your work is commendable.. thank you!
I want to find the parting that looks the best on me. But my hair texture is different than yours, it’s exactly like Mithila Palkar, but I don’t know how to part it like her! Can you please suggest something 😀
Thanks so much.. the problem is that my hair remains voluminous on the side that I part it on, but it gets super flat on the other side! Any suggestions please? 😀
Blog Comments
Sajid Akhter
September 5, 2018 at 11:40 am
Great post!
The quality of water plays a vital role and it is important to know the kind of water you are using. This post is very helpful. You have given nice step by step procedure to follow which I am sure will be of great help to lot of people moving places.
Thank you for sharing this lovely post. have a good day. 🙂
Nirali Ruparelia
September 11, 2018 at 7:23 pm
Hey Anjana! 🙂 I’m in Hyderabad currently and my hair has become like straw. I’ve been following the CG method for a month and it seems to only be getting worse. I used to have a lovely head of locks but now it’s just a warped ball of random dry curls.
What I’m doing:
I’ve just started out with the cg method and have been:
-pre-pooing once a week with st botanica’s hair oil/ avocado + egg mask
-cowashing every three days with enliven raspberry conditioner, then rinsing it all out
and conditioning with the same (raking + combing) >
-then leaving in the loreal paris smooth intense conditioner (raking +combing) >
-then using taft marathon gel
-diffusing with the chaobo 2800 and the same segolike diffuser as yours
To remove buildup:
I’ve used pantene clean
and appe cider vinegar rinse
once so far at the beginning of the month.
Please please help me out here!!!!! Thanks so much!!!!!
Anjana
September 13, 2018 at 1:34 pm
Thanks for all the details 🙂 Makes it much easier. Have you tried deep conditioning?
Anika
September 13, 2018 at 5:14 pm
Hey Annana! I got a question.. my hair curls up nicely on the front side.. it looks plain waves on the back of my head.. am i making any mistake while hair wash? what do I do!? ^_^
Anjana
September 13, 2018 at 6:20 pm
How do you apply your styling products?
Anika
October 8, 2018 at 12:56 pm
After raking in leave in i plop for 30 mins.. then apply gel and fingercoil/scrunch..
Anjana
October 8, 2018 at 4:57 pm
Sounds ok – I guess you just have a mix of curl patterns 🙂
Anika
October 8, 2018 at 5:48 pm
Okay ^_^
Priyanka
September 16, 2018 at 6:36 pm
How do you wash your hair at night and sleep n style in the morning?
Anjana
September 17, 2018 at 2:35 pm
What do you mean how do I wash it at night? The same way I wash it any time of the day.
https://www.curlsandbeautydiary.com/4-ways-to-sleep-with-curly-hair/
In the morning I just fluff my hair a bit and I leave it open or tie it in any of these https://www.curlsandbeautydiary.com/11-easy-everyday-hairstyles-curly-hair/
Dr Harshi Dhingra
September 17, 2018 at 2:49 pm
Hello..Anjana. I tried ACV rinse first time after prepoo and shampoo yesterday. I did according to what is written in your blog..My scalp is greasier than before..What might be the cause…When u write 15 ml in 250 ml water..Should we finish the whole mixture …I used a cup out of it….
Anjana
September 17, 2018 at 2:54 pm
Oh that’s strange, maybe it doesn’t suit you. You don’t have to use the whole quantity.
Dr Harshi Dhingra
September 17, 2018 at 3:11 pm
Hey……..Thanks..Could prepoo be the cause
Anjana
September 17, 2018 at 3:12 pm
Yes ACV is not strong enough to remove oil
Dr Harshi Dhingra
September 17, 2018 at 3:17 pm
Yes…But I used shampoo..May be shampoo was not enough..Will try again sometime..And let u know…Btw..The smell is horrible..Isn’t it
Anjana
September 18, 2018 at 9:14 pm
haha yes a bit
Divya
September 20, 2019 at 10:02 pm
hi Anjana,
thanks for this post. I’m going through the exact same phase and my hair has lost its curl pattern. but yeah….this post is helpful. thanks a lot.
Dr Harshi Dhingra
September 18, 2018 at 9:20 pm
Ya…Please tell a shampoo….Which gives a clean scalp,lot of lather like sulphate ones..Cleans the prepoo oil..And no buildup…I know there are long lists of cg shampoos everywhere in all blogs..But just tell me few which are your favourites..My scalp gets flaky all the time
Anjana
September 19, 2018 at 5:06 pm
I don’t oil my hair so can’t really suggest on that. Build up is removed by clarifying https://www.curlsandbeautydiary.com/clarifying-curly-hair-what-when-and-how/.
Dr Harshi Dhingra
September 19, 2018 at 11:52 pm
Okay..thanks
Natasha
September 23, 2018 at 9:59 pm
Hi, which affordable conditioner can used as a leave in ? Pls suggest a light conditioner , Coz loreal one is so thick for my hair ..
Angela
September 25, 2018 at 2:31 pm
Hey Anjana! Thank you for starting your wonderful page. I’ve been trying to embrace my curls too but I’m struggling so much 😭 I cut my hair recently which I kind of regret now because when I leave it curly I look like i have a triangle head 🙄 do you have any tips at all on how I can style it? I own a diffuser and use Marc Anthony curling Lotion but I have no clue what I’m doing wrong. Do you have any tips on how I can style it to look normal?
😂
Anjana
September 25, 2018 at 6:18 pm
Is getting a corrective haircut an option?
Aparajita
September 27, 2018 at 5:07 pm
Hi, I follow your blog regularly and have gone through all posts published by you. They are really helpful. Have put into practice many tips shared by you. I use a shampoo (wow/antidandruff) followed by enliven conditioner (which i really like), followed by l’oreal liss control (leave in), followed by gel (l’oreal homme). Can’t follow co-washing because of dandruff. Not able to completely avoid combing but have minimozed it. My hair have become better than they used to be. Ends are not that dry and rough as they used to be but crown is usually frizzy and unruly one day after the wash and there are a lot of fly aways. And if I feel my hair strands individually they are very uneaven and course. What shall be done for the crown region? Any tips will be helpful. Thanks
Anjana
September 28, 2018 at 1:37 pm
https://www.curlsandbeautydiary.com/7-ways-to-make-your-crown-area-frizz-free-tackle-baby-hair/
Aparajita
September 29, 2018 at 9:39 pm
I was trying geletin for the first time, how long to refrigerate it. As I did it for a few hours and now it’s set 😁. Can I melt it somehow? Or should i do it all over again?
Anjana
October 1, 2018 at 12:51 pm
You can melt it over a double boiler or in the microwave
Haley
September 28, 2018 at 2:54 am
Taking care of your curls can be stressful sometimes and even more when you’re on the move but with the right tricks and product, you can totally do it.
Jahnavi
October 1, 2018 at 3:05 pm
Hey anjana 😊.
After watching a friend follow your curl advice , I finally decided to give my curls a chance . I have a couple of questions though .
1. My curls look really defined even post wash on the wash day (which was not the case before) ,but by the second day some of the strands start to frizz out and loose definition. Why is this ? Ps : I only dry detangle. I’m currently using the garnier olive oil conditioner ,pantene oil in cream and the enlive olive gel to try to set them .
I’m still slowly transitioning from chemically straightened hair ,but from what I read ,my curl type seems to be a cherub.
2. Second doubt. My hair hardly ever forms the hard gel cast even if I apply the gel when my hair is super wet. If at all it forms a cast ,it’s only in parts of my hair. What am I doing wrong ?
Thanks for the advice 😊
Anjana
October 1, 2018 at 6:37 pm
Pragya
October 8, 2018 at 7:29 pm
Hi
Can you suggest me shampoo and conditioner. I have dry and itchy scalp due to which I am having hair fall also.
Tia
Anjana
October 8, 2018 at 8:01 pm
https://www.curlsandbeautydiary.com/beginner-friendly-simple-curly-hair-starter-kit/
Jane
October 31, 2018 at 8:03 pm
I once heard from a stylist that cold water is better for the hair, so it keeps hydrated. Diet is very important, so it can get the nutrients it needs. Great post, love your curls, beautiful!
Vishnu
November 30, 2018 at 5:31 pm
Hey anjana!!
I am a beginner to the cg world.i use Giovanni range shampoo and conditioner along with arata cream and use mama Earth as leave in.i have low poo 3a-3b hair and find arata gives me a nice hold but after 2 days my hair and scalp turns oily.But now I am moving to Netherlands and have learnt that you also stay there.Could you please let me know what products would help me in that climate and where can I pick them?
Anjana
December 3, 2018 at 4:35 pm
I myself am trying to get a hang of the cold Dutch weather 🙁 But https://www.curlsandbeautydiary.com/loreal-homme-strong-hold-gel-6-review/ and https://www.curlsandbeautydiary.com/kinky-curly-curling-custard-review/ have been good so far.
Vishnu kruthi
December 5, 2018 at 11:54 am
Thank you Anjana!! can you also suggest a good leave-in and where can I pick these products in Amsterdam
Anjana
December 5, 2018 at 6:15 pm
https://www.curlsandbeautydiary.com/4-ways-to-sleep-with-curly-hair/ is a good one. Or use the devacurl conditioners https://www.curlsandbeautydiary.com/devacurl-one-condition-delight-original-review/ as leave ins. Megorgeous is the shop in Amsterdam selling these products.
ED
June 17, 2019 at 1:06 pm
Hi Anjana! I live in Europe as well.. Do you have a list of product recommendations suited to this weather (Netherlands/Germany)?
Anjana
June 18, 2019 at 2:23 pm
I have seen that more leave in and less gel helps in this dry cold weather
Curl Girl
February 19, 2020 at 6:21 am
Hi Anjana! Your work is commendable.. thank you!
I want to find the parting that looks the best on me. But my hair texture is different than yours, it’s exactly like Mithila Palkar, but I don’t know how to part it like her! Can you please suggest something 😀
Anjana
February 19, 2020 at 3:41 pm
Hi Curl Girl, it should be something like the 1st one in this – https://www.curlsandbeautydiary.com/11-easy-everyday-hairstyles-curly-hair/
Curl Girl
February 19, 2020 at 6:15 pm
Thanks so much.. the problem is that my hair remains voluminous on the side that I part it on, but it gets super flat on the other side! Any suggestions please? 😀
Anjana
February 20, 2020 at 2:56 pm
Fluff the roots with your hands like you are massaging them