Natural curls are the hottest hairstyle on the block, with today's curly and wavy babes turning away from time-consuming straightening and embracing their corkscrews, ringlets and coils in all their glory. If you were blessed with curls, then you have probably discovered by now that when your hair is wet, your curls are smooth and defined, but when it's dry, it's a different story. Not only do you lose the curl definition, but you're susceptible to frizz. What you do to your hair in-between its wet and dry states is crucial to having a good hair day, which brings us to the curly-hair method of plopping.
Sure, some hair techniques are universal. For example, no matter if your hair is straight, curly, wavy or coily, applying shampoo and conditioner is pretty much the same across the board. But when it comes to drying and styling our tresses, those of us with curly hair know there's a whole lot of effort, planning and preparation that goes into getting bouncy, flawless spirals. No, we don't just wake up like this (most days, at least).
Plopping might sound like a crazy complicated hair technique, but it's actually really simple! Plopping is just the process of lowering your wet hair onto a T-shirt and wrapping it in a way that protects the curly or wavy hair structure. It removes excess moisture so your hair dries faster and with less frizz. You plop your wet hair after you've applied your styler and before you start to dry your hair. It will accordion your curls, helping them keep their defined, spiral shape, even after they dry.
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