Every time I hear the words plop and plunk, I am reminded of splashing puddles on a rainy day. But plopping and plunking curly hair has got nothing to do with that 😛 This is a method that was born on the NaturallyCurly forum and is perfect to help decrease the drying time of your hair, enhance waves and curls and take care of wet hair till it is dry or semi dry (Because we know “how your hair dries will be how it looks”).
What is plopping/plunking?
Plopping is a method to scrunch your curls and keep them in the scrunched position without using your hands – you use a tee instead. And your hair stays on the top of your head. It is best suited for long hair as short hair can get crushed and lose shape.
How does plopping help curly hair?
1) We know how scrunching helps curl definition. As we scrunch with our hands, we can see how curls start getting curlier. So if we were to keep it in that position for longer, hair would become curlier.
2) Water and product weight can pull down wavy and curly hair causing it to elongate. Since plopping takes care of gravity, no more weighed down curls.
3) We know how wet hair looks good and how problems start once it starts drying. If we help our curly hair dry intact without any outside disturbances, there are more chances of it drying perfectly to give well defined frizz free curls.
4) Since the hair mass sits on top of the head, roots are not being pulled down. This gives you a lift at the roots and not a flat crown.
5) Excess water is absorbed by the towel and this reduces your drying time considerably.
How to plop/plunk curly hair
1.After your regular shower routine and applying product to wet curls, lay a cotton t-shirt or Hair Love’s Plop-T on a flat surface (bed, chair or table) with the sleeves facing away from you.
2.Flip your head over and lower your head onto the t-shirt, so that they pile on top of each other like an accordion or harmonium (musical instrument).
3.Take the bottom of your t-shirt and secure it over the nape of your neck.
4.Bring the sleeve part over your head, still holding the other end at your neck (you can use a clip to secure this if you don’t want to keep holding this).
5.Bring the sleeves forward.
6.Quickly twist them on both sides and tie them on top of your forehead.
You can also use a Microfiber Turban to plop.
Double plopping
There is a chance that the effectiveness of the plopping may decrease as the tee gets saturated with water. That’s where double plopping may help. After plopping for about 15-20 minutes, remove the tee, take another completely dry tee and plop again. This also helps in shortening your drying time further.
Single or double, you can plop for anywhere between 10 minutes to a few hours before diffusing or air-drying your hair; or you can even keep the plop overnight. I sometimes plop for 15 minutes or sometimes leave it overnight. The results the next day are truly magical. You have got to see it for yourself!
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Hi! I am Anjana and I fell in love with my curly hair after years of hating it. YOU can too!
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Sheetal (Halo of Books)
June 22, 2016 at 11:54 am
Seems an amazing way to define curls def going to try it 🙂 D 😀
Sheetal (Halo of Books)
June 27, 2016 at 2:46 pm
So I use this method Anjana and I was totally surprised how easily it define curls !! 😀 😀 Thanks for sharing 🙂
Anjana
June 28, 2016 at 10:48 am
That’s is awesome 🙂
Rory
July 20, 2020 at 1:03 pm
Will this help my hair grow
Anjana
July 20, 2020 at 4:24 pm
No
Vidya Ravi
June 29, 2016 at 9:25 pm
Wow! I got to try out this method.
Anjana
June 30, 2016 at 11:50 am
Let me know how it goes 🙂
sneha
February 3, 2017 at 2:06 am
Hi Anjana! first of all i love your hair, your type of curls most of us dream to have.
i have a question regarding drying hair. since you said rubbing the scalp causes friction immediately resulting in frizz, you either scrunch or plop. so which means the scalp is going to be damp right? would that result in sinus? and also i am not sure if this is true.. i too don’t really dry the scalp rubbing and someone once told me that if i din’t take the dampness of the scalp there maybe fungus. I haven’t slept well since then.
Is this a myth? how do you manage not getting sinus?
Sneha
Anjana
February 3, 2017 at 5:28 pm
Hi Sneha, I haven’t heard of that – does it cause sinusitis to you? I have no such problems with either plopping or scrunching. And dampness causes fungus only if unexposed to air. Air drying or diffusing will not cause fungus.
Soumya
February 4, 2017 at 11:56 pm
Hi I m new to this blog,n I love curly hair n i hav that tooo….i have a question,do hair fall increases due to wash in hard water
Anjana
February 6, 2017 at 12:45 pm
Hi Soumya, Hard water may an effect on the feel of hair but it has NO effect on hair loss or hair growth – http://hairlossdotcom.typepad.com/blog/2012/11/hard-water-and-hair-loss-the-facts.html
Monica
August 13, 2019 at 2:29 am
After applying all the products on washed hair when I start plopping it feels as if all the products is getting out and hair starts getting slight frizz….is it correct? I have curls just like you, even the length
Anjana
August 13, 2019 at 2:35 pm
Maybe your hair is not wet enough or you haven’t applied enough products Monica
Anu
November 10, 2017 at 9:17 pm
Hi Anjana
I have recently started following ur blog. I am following plopping on damp hair (dripping water) right out of shower apply leave in conditioner and a little Deva curl gel.
I usually wash it at night 9:00 PM and sleep the same way.
To open curled hair in morning.
Is this a correct way???
Reason i ask is ,i have started experiencing lot of hair fall. Specially at back of my head.
So i am wondering if i am following through the steps correctly or not !!!
Anjana
November 11, 2017 at 10:50 am
Hey Anu, hair fall is not caused by products or a routine. Check this – https://www.curlsandbeautydiary.com/hairfall-causes-remedies/
Pam
July 28, 2020 at 10:16 pm
It might be the Deva product. I was just going to buy the samples kit on line at Ulta.com for a trip until I read about everyone having this problem. Even a women that was using it for a year. She thinks they changed their formula. Sorry I normally don’t drop in like this. Just a reader. But I did want you to lose your hair.
My Hair Secrets And Story – Elizabeth Mahnker
December 9, 2017 at 8:56 pm
[…] towel like this one. Another method that I used for the majority of high school was one called Plopping. It was hard to mess up, quick to do, and made my curls look beautiful in the morning. For some […]
Samantha
February 1, 2018 at 1:38 pm
This…might be worth a try? I don’t know. My work requires my hair to be up and as a result I either have to blowdry (which creates monster frizz, and for whatever reason enhances my curls to the point of looking like undefined silly little ringlets (I…couldn’t tell you what curl type I am. Anywhere from a 2a to a 3b, according to the pictures I find and the method of haircare I use).
OR
I let the thing airdry. Which doesn’t work, because work needs hair up. It’s been 36 hours and my hair is now finally very, very close to dry after washing. I actually get scared of fungi or other nasties from it being wet so long.
The worst part is that it’s about your length, maybe a little longer (almost butt-length haha) and I can’t stand having it fully down. I at least need a headband or something when I’m at home, and often I cave and just bun the thing up before it has a chance to dry here. Help…?
tl;dr not sure how to dry hair when it has to be kept up all day.
Anjana
February 1, 2018 at 5:47 pm
Do you use a blow dryer with the diffuser attachment?
Samantha
February 2, 2018 at 2:34 am
Of course, and follow the directions you’ve posted elsewhere on the site to get them to work. But I end up with little frizzy ringlets, it just doesn’t want to form curl clumps even with a diffuser. I use gel at this point, alongside a little heat protectant spray, but it all just kind of…evaporates by the time the hair is dry.
Anjana
February 2, 2018 at 10:07 am
Sounds like you don’t have enough product in your hair to start with. Have you read my post on how to get fat clumps?
Samantha
February 4, 2018 at 5:23 am
I have, and I’ve just done it. Used double the amount of second-round conditioner I normally use, didn’t wash it out nearly as thoroughly as I usually would, used a load of leave-in conditioner (with argan oil), then gel and a little bit of medium-hold hair fibre (which I find keeps everything looking sleek longer). Hair is currently plopped, in twenty minutes I let it out and blowdry with diffuser. I’ll let you know of the results!
Samantha
February 4, 2018 at 5:58 am
Update: That couldn’t have failed harder. Attempted to blowdry, set the smoke alarm off for how much vapour/product was evaporating out of it. Wound up with hair that is still not dry, is now sticky and oily and did the exact thing it always does, curl clumps fall apart and the frizz is legendary. And I’ve gotta head out. I ended up brushing out the mats (Yes, brushing, but desperate times call for desperate measures) and putting the whole thing up in a bun, the same as I’d have to for work. I’ve called it a day, using more product hasn’t worked at all. Gonna have to wash this mess out of it tonight and start over.
Anjana
February 4, 2018 at 9:40 am
The products sound very rich..are they? Like mentioned in the post, I always choose ultra lightweight products since I have to use large quantities
Shelly
June 3, 2019 at 2:36 am
You might try a moisture wicking t-shirt or a large silk scarf/pashmina for plopping. I’ve used a silk scarf after scrunching with a t-shirt to move things along in the drying process with some success. But if you are going to have to make a purchase, I’d try the moisture wicking t-shirt, ie Nike Dri-fit. Of course does not have to be the name brand just same type of technology.
Wishing you good hair days to come!
kritika Luhariwala
February 23, 2018 at 12:43 pm
hey, loved your blog.its very imformative and helpful.and your curls are sooo amazinggg.it tried plopping my hair.the product got transferred to my scalp causing it to itch.can you help me with that?
Anjana
February 23, 2018 at 2:11 pm
Hey Kritika, Don’t plop in that case. Do this instead – https://www.curlsandbeautydiary.com/scrunch-t-shirt-dry-curly-hair-faster/
kritika Luhariwala
February 23, 2018 at 3:51 pm
which gives better results? microfiber towel or a t-shirt?
Anjana
February 23, 2018 at 4:20 pm
T shirt
Namrata
April 9, 2018 at 6:35 pm
Hi Anjana,
First off, I love how much passion has been shown towards curly hair, i have realised, how badly i have been treating my beautiful curly hair, only because of you! 🙂
I have heard drying your hair using the blow dryers is not good for hair? Is this true. Also – is the blow drying only for occasions where we need to go out and we have no time? This leads me to ask – if i do not use the dryer – will my curls remain intact – if i follow your routine and plop/double plop ?
(Agree with all those who complemented your hair ! Its gorgeous! )
Thanks!
Namrata
Anjana
April 10, 2018 at 10:24 am
Yes it is true, it’s called blow “frying” also 😛 You can use a diffuser attachment with a blow dryer though and not have all the damaging effects of a blow out – https://www.curlsandbeautydiary.com/everything-diffusing-curly-hair/
Mariana
May 28, 2018 at 11:08 pm
I’ve been super curly all my life, but my curls started getting better in the last years.
Few days ago i googled how to avoid the flat top and found your blog. Tried your method and OMFG I was an instant poodle! <3
Anjana
May 29, 2018 at 9:32 am
I am so glad to hear that Mariana!
Keerthana
October 11, 2018 at 4:16 am
Hey Anjana!
Your website was suggested by my cousin, who has been following CG since the last couple of months. She convinced me to try it for my wavy to curly hair as its been giving her amazing results. So here I am researching and reading up every single post written by you before I take the plunge. 🙂
My question to you is why specifically a tee? why not a thin cotton towel (Thorthu)? Wouldn’t that maintain the curls and hold the product in just as much as a tee?
Thanks in advance!
Anjana
October 15, 2018 at 1:53 pm
The thorth has very coarse cotton strands that can snag onto hair
Keerthana
October 15, 2018 at 7:30 pm
Oh alright. Thank you for your response. 😊
Josee
January 15, 2019 at 7:05 am
Hello from Canada. Thank you for this detailed and informative blog. Anjana, how do you maintain volume around your face when wet plopping with a T-shirt? It seems to flatten my roots when I tie it like you have it in the photo.
Do you root clip? If so, when in the process.
Thank you!
Anjana
January 15, 2019 at 2:31 pm
I don’t clip all the time, but you could try that – https://www.curlsandbeautydiary.com/10-ways-prevent-crown-lying-flat-curls-roots/
Iqra Ahmad
March 23, 2020 at 5:15 pm
Hi Anjana! This is a really well-written article on hair plopping, i do use these techniques, you described it in a really easy way so anyyone can easily understand it and apply it by self, hair plopping is a really easy and cost-free method to get curly hair at home. Thanks for sharing your experience with us!
Rekha Preetham
May 25, 2020 at 4:07 pm
Hi Anjana,
I have been trying cg method for a month now………….. I have been using mama earth shampoo and conditioner, therafter i used cantu curl leave in conditioner and DIY flax seed gel. However once my hair dries, it gets very dry on the crown and the curls formed are very thin. I have shoulder length hair and my hair looks clumsy as if i have woken up from bed.
Can you help me identify where i am going wrong.
Anjana
May 26, 2020 at 4:03 pm
Hi Rekha, these posts may help
https://www.curlsandbeautydiary.com/7-ways-to-make-your-crown-area-frizz-free-tackle-baby-hair/
https://www.curlsandbeautydiary.com/16-mistakes-might-making-curly-hair-routine/
https://www.curlsandbeautydiary.com/5-ways-get-curls-form-fat-chunky-clumps/
Beth
May 29, 2020 at 5:45 am
Hi Anjana, I love your site! Since this information was posted several years ago, have you changed your routine? Do you still scrunch and plop with a T-shirt? Do you sleep in the plop?
Thanks and be safe!
Beth
Anjana
May 29, 2020 at 2:50 pm
Yes and yes Beth 🙂 I don’t sleep in a plop always though.
Pam
July 28, 2020 at 10:20 pm
Love the double plop idea! My hair never seems to want to dry and that has really helped! Thank you.
Anjana
July 29, 2020 at 12:55 pm
I am glad, Pam 🙂
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