The best products for managing curly hair, according to an expert

While it feels like curly hair hasn't been 'in' for decades now, TikTok and a saturated market of hair products seem to say otherwise. All over the internet, women have been sharing their 'curly girl methods' for managing and maintaining their natural hair. This is inspiring more and more of us to work on bringing out our natural curls – but if you've tried it yourself you'll know it can be a journey.

If you're looking to jumpstart that journey, you might be wondering which products are going to help you. It's a hard question to answer, but thankfully, we had the help of hairdresser Chris Hunter, who was happy to answer the questions of curly girls everywhere. Owner of Willomina, a salon in Sydney's east, he's got two decades of experience to back up his recommendations.

NOTE: Prices are accurate at time of publishing.

What products are best for curly hair?

"It's such a saturated marketplace, especially the natural hair situation. I think it's really important to trial a few different curl products and see what works best for their hair type," Hunter advised me.

"If a friend has a curl product that they like, maybe give that a try. But, my two favourites are Kevin Murphy Motion Lotion and the Kerasilk Curl Balm," he recommended. 

Kevin Murphy also has a product called Killer Curls that Hunter likes to use, as well as the Oribe range – which you can check out here.

Kerasilk Curl Balm

Get yours for $48

KEVIN.MURPHY Motion Lotion

Buy yours for $45.95

KEVIN.MURPHY Killer Curls

$55.95 on Adore Beauty

Oribe Curl Control Silkening Crème

$66 here

How can I improve my natural curls?

While the 'right product' might be different for everyone, finding it and using it continuously is essential for improving and maintaining your curls. Also, "making sure that you either air dry or dry with a diffuser," Hunter adds. His favourite is the Shark Speedstyle for this, which has a diffuser attachment. It's also currently on sale, reduced by 58 per cent.

"Don't dry it with a normal hair dryer – [your hair] will going to go really big," he explains.

And as a curly girl who has made that mistake many times, I know exactly what he means.

Shark SpeedStyle

Was $559.99, now $237

Do heated styling tools damage curly hair?

Literally, yes.

"If you are using a straightener daily to smooth your hair out it is going to trash your hair," Hunter warned. 

"Too much of a good thing becomes a bad thing."

"I think it's really important to note that overuse of heat styling tools, whether it be a hair dryer or a straightener or anything like that, will ultimately damage your hair. You can keep on top of that by getting regular haircuts, but if you do use heated styling tools a lot over a period of time, your hair will get damaged."

You can address this issue by using a heat protectant before going in with heated styling tools, but reducing the amount you use them is ideal. Hunter recommends the Kevin Murphy Heated Defense heat protectant spray, and I've personally used and liked the Bodyguard spray from ghd.

KEVIN.MURPHY Heated Defense

$45.95 on Adore Beauty

ghd Bodyguard – Heat Protect Spray

Buy yours for $45

Are there any ingredients to avoid for curly hair?

Most of us know by now that sulphates are bad, but it's good to have this backed by a professional.

"Sulphates and silicones and things like that, too much of that builds up on hair over time," Hunter explains.

This can be treated in a salon with a new product called Malibu C, which is a colour-safe curl treatment. However, you can also Malibu C if it's an option you want to explore at home.

Malibu C Curl Partner Wellness Remedy

$29 on Amazon

Check out these other products made for curly hair:

VIRTUE Curl Discovery Kit

$57 for the kit

John Frieda Frizz Ease Curl Reviver Mousse

Just $19.45 here

VIRTUE Un-Frizz Cream 120ml

Get it now for $63

Goldwell Stylesign Curls & Waves Curl Control Cream

$32.95 here

Aveda Be Curly Curl Enhancing Lotion 200ml

$50 on Adore Beauty

evo Liquid Rollers Curl Balm

Get yours for $40

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