How to Keep Your Curls From Drying Out Between Washes (2025)

As much as we love curly hair, we'd be lying if we said it was always a breeze to maintain. Whether you've got loose ringlets or tight coils, finding the perfect routine and cocktail of best curly hair products to keep it in tip-top shape can be a challenge. "Why is my hair so dry?" is a question those with soft spirals, tight springs, or densely packed zig-zag strands ask themselves all the time. One of the main reasons for this is simply the nature of how curls are structured.

Here's why curly hair tends to be the driest of all textures: The way it grows out of the follicle makes it difficult for the natural oils produced by the scalp to work their way down the hair shaft. "A strand of hair receives sebum on its exterior from the secretion of the sebaceous gland," says New York City-based board-certified dermatologist Francesca Fusco, MD. "Sebum is not evenly distributed along curls, resulting in drier hair." Dr. Fusco explains that these oils can be better distributed with a little brushing or combing. But brushing can disrupt your curl pattern, which is not great if definition is what you're looking for.

Because of their generally drier nature, people with curls typically don't wash their hair as often those with straighter textures do. Spacing out washes can be helpful in maintaining the scalp's natural oils, but waiting too long to cleanse can leave hair brittle and prone to frizz.

That's why choosing the right type of cleanser is also important for curly-haired folks trying to maintain hydration. Products with harsh surfactants can actually strip the oils that our scalp produces. This makes maintenance in between washes extremely important. "Pushing moisture back into the hair strands not only rehydrates the hair but also helps reduce frizz," says New York-based hairstylist Yessenia Reyes.

Need a little more help keeping that coiled crown hydrated? We chatted with a few experts for some tips that will help you figure out how to battle your dry hair demons without disrupting your styling habits.

Meet the experts:

• Francesca Fusco, MD, a board-certified dermatologist who works at Wexler Dermatology in New York City.
• Yessenia Reyes, a hairstylist working in the New York area. She specializes in curls, kinks, and coils.
• Ni'Kita Wilson, a cosmetic chemist and beauty ingredient expert based in New Jersey.
• Tonya Fairley, a hairstylist and salon owner based in Covina, California. She is the founder of Strandz On Grand in the SoCal area.
• Tippi Shorter, a Kansas City, Missouri-based hairstylist, salon owner, and artistic director. Throughout her career, she's worked with a number of celebrity clients like Rihanna, Alicia Keys, and Jennifer Hudson.
• Chris Appleton, Los Angeles-based hairstylist and ambassador for Color Wow. His celebrity clients include Kim Kardashian, Jennifer Lopez, and Dua Lipa.
• Vince Spinnato, a cosmetic chemist and author based in Capistrano Beach, California.

Pinpoint Why Your Hair Is Dry

Before you start spraying or slathering on any products, start by narrowing down what may be causing your dry hair. Things like over-washing, not using heat protectants with hot tools, and temperature shifts from indoor and outdoor air can all contribute to dry hair.

1. Over-Washing

London-based board-certified dermatologist Ksenia Sobchak, MD, explains, "Over-washing the hair can cause reduced volume and a dry, itchy scalp." Cosmetic chemist Vince Spinnato adds that "when you train your hair to be washed every day, your oil glands adjust to producing more oil to compensate for the loss of oils that the shampoo is stripping. Even if you're more oily, you're still drying out the hair strand."

2. Heat-Styling

In addition to over-washing, heat-styling can dry out your hair. We're not just talking about blowouts or frequent flatironing — even using a diffuser or sitting under a hooded dryer to set a protective style can zap away too much moisture. Though your diffuser does help spread the air around, "heat is heat, and if it is too hot, then it can blast moisture out of the hair faster causing the strands to dry out," says cosmetic chemist Ni'Kita Wilson.

Fusco agrees and also notes that it's the temperature of the actual hot air on your strands that has the biggest impact. One study showed that temperatures over 203 degrees Fahrenheit can damage your hair — blow-dryers can reach temperatures over 400 degrees Fahrenheit. "It might be tempting to dry on the highest heat to be finished earlier, but it's best to go with a moderate heat setting," says Fusco. "Diffusing hair can cause just as much dryness as blow-drying without a diffuser. Keeping the blow-dryer or diffuser in motion and about 15 centimeters from hair is best."

Covina, California-based hairstylist Tonya Fairley recommends the Mielle Organics Mongongo Oil Thermal & Heat Protectant Spray because "it's not heavy and helps to repair split ends while protecting your hair from heat." She adds, "it also has a nice shine factor."

3. Drying Your Hair

Something as simple as using the wrong kind of towel can also be a contributing factor to dry curls. Sure, regular terry cloth material, which most bath towels are made of, is great for sucking up the excess water on our strands after a shower. But its fluffed-up texture also causes friction on the hair cuticle, which can leave it frizzy and drier than it needs to be.

Use a T-shirt or a microfiber towel like the Aquis Rapid Dry Lisse Hair Turban to absorb moisture without all that friction. Wring hair with your hands first and then place the dry cloth over top. Don't rub back and forth — instead, pat and squeeze until the moisture is absorbed.

4. Clothing and Hair Accessories

Hairstylist Tippi Shorter, who is based in Kansas City, Missouri, notes that your style choices can also contribute to parched hair: scarves and high-neck clothing made of porous, cotton-like fabrics can also be potentially drying rubbing against your strands. Now, we're not saying you should avoid wearing these fabrics —this is just something to keep in mind if you notice that your hair is drier than usual.

Moisturize Consistently and Know Your Porosity

Even if you don't feel like you need it, try to keep up a regular cadence with moisturizing your hair. "How often you rehydrate depends on the hair's texture and characteristics, as well as how you wear your hair," Shorter explains. She notes that tighter curl types are going to have to rehydrate in some way daily, while those with looser curls can do it every other day or a couple of times a week.

Be mindful of your hair's porosity; it will also help determine how you moisturize. "When [the cuticle] lies flat and tight, a hair strand is less porous. When they are lifted or loose they are more porous," Dr. Fusco explains.

An easy test is to float a strand of hair in a glass of water. Lower porosity hairs float. The higher the porosity, the quicker it sinks. Low porosity hair takes longer to drink in moisture, high porosity hair is like a sponge and absorbs more quickly. "Higher porosity hair may be associated with damage that might be chemical (bleaching and coloring,) UV damage, or excessive heat damage from styling," says Dr. Fusco.

Take Care on Washday

Washday is the best time to put moisture back into your scalp and hair. If you have loose curls or wavy hair, "only put conditioners, masks, or cream stylers at the ends of the hair where the dryness happens," says Los Angeles-based hairstylist Chris Appleton. "This will prevent the scalp from becoming oily and getting weighed down."

He also suggests doing a leave-in treatment. As a Color Wow ambassador, he favors the brand's One Minute Transformation, which contains the super-popular humectant avocado oil. A little goes a long way with this product, particularly if you have a finer hair texture. The Best of Beauty-winning Pantene Miracle Rescue 10-in-1 Multitasking Spray is also a good choice for parched strands.

The L.O.C./L.C.O. Method

Washday looks a little different for Afro-textured hair. After cleansing and conditioning your scalp and hair, use the L.O.C. method. The product layering technique employs the use of a leave-in, oil, and styling cream on freshly-washed hair to help lock in moisture. You can always tweak which product goes on at which point during the process based on your hair texture and density, but in general, it's best to start with the most lightweight option (like a liquid leave-in) and build-up to the heaviest product (like a curl cream or butter).

Now, here's the thing about the L.O.C. system: It's also just as effective as the L.C.O. method. It's essentially the same thing, you just apply the cream before the oil. Not sure which method to try? Fairley says that it's a matter of personal preference: "In my 30 years of hairstyling, it's really about how my client likes their hair to look at the end. Each individual should try out each method for themselves."

We've already discussed how difficult it is for your scalp's oils to travel down tightly-coiled hair shafts. To help combat this, Los Angeles-based hairstylist Adriana Tesler recommends "using a leave-in conditioner and applying it higher up on the hair, instead of the ends, but staying away from the scalp." We like Mizani's fan-favorite 25 Miracle Milk Leave-in Conditioner, which Tesler suggests applying right after a shower, since the steam from your bathroom may have opened up your hair cuticle a bit.

After the leave-in, Tesler suggests coating the hair with a penetrating oil or a light oil blend. Here at Allure, we like the Best of Beauty-winning Oribe Gold Lust Hair Oil, though Bread Beauty's Everyday Gloss or the Verb Ghost Oil are good options, too.

Appleton says he always recommends finishing off hair with a smoothing cream, which also happens to be the last step in the L.O.C. method. Working a cream into your strands seals the moisture in, plus shapes and defines your texture. Stick with a cream that's not too heavy.

Since you are layering multiple products on your hair, a lighter-textured sealer and smoother like the Readers' Choice Award-winning SheaMoisture Coconut & Hibiscus Curl Enhancing Smoothie, is a solid choice. NaturAll Club's Avocado Curl Custard, a Best of Beaty-winner, is another great option to consider for its lightweight but highly-moisturizing texture.

Prep Before Bed

For an extra dose of moisture and to potentially strengthen your strands, apply a leave-in conditioner before bed. "Sleeping with it in is a way to get the most benefit of the product because it has time to penetrate deep into the hair shaft," explains Spinnato. "In addition, [while you sleep, your hair will be] out of the heat, sun, and wind, which normally allows the product to not process as well."

This bit of prep will have you waking up in the morning to hair that is rehydrated and more manageable for styling. If you have low porosity hair and are concerned about whether your hair will take well to this practice, Spinnato has some good news: "Leave-in conditioners are light enough to be absorbed by low porosity hair, making it the perfect moisturizer."

What you put on your hair at night is as important as what you put in it. "The more you flip and rub the hair around on a pillow, the more breakage, dryness, and frizziness can occur," Appleton warns. This is why satin bonnets and pillowcases come highly recommended by many hairstylists. "[Silk and satin fabrics help] retain the moisture [and control frizz] — they don't suck up as many oils from your hair," says Fairley.

People with Afro-textured hair can benefit from doing a protective style before bed to combat frizz and dryness. Fairley suggests doing this once a week as constant styling can lead to breakage. Pineappling your hair is also helpful, too, and is far less involved than twisting or braiding your hair. Gently pull it up into one or two high, loosely-secured ponytails and cover it with a scarf to maintain your curls while you snooze.

Get Picky About Your Hair Oils

Certain hair oils are better for rehydrating your hair while others work best to seal moisture in. Wilson says that coconut oil, olive oil, and ucuuba butter are all great moisturizers. "It comes down to different factors such as what percentage of smaller fats in the oil can seep underneath the cuticle," Wilson explains. Coconut, avocado, monoi, and olive oils can actually penetrate the hair shaft to hydrate from within, while others, like castor oil, seal moisture in from the outside. "Monoi and coconut oil can penetrate inside the hair shaft due to their small molecular size," explains Spinnato. "They contain lauric acid which has a high attraction to hair proteins."

That said, there are some people who feel as if coconut oil does make their hair feel a little dry. If this is you, Spinnato suggests skipping the coconut and going for macadamia or argan oils. "Macadamia oil will help restore moisture to the hair shaft, lock it in, and add natural protein to the hair, while argan oil is great for preventing damage and stimulating healthy hair growth," he says.

Use a Curl Refresher

Refresher sprays can be tricky on curly hair. According to Reyes, they work best on slightly looser, wavy curl patterns in the 3s, rather than tighter curls in the 4s, though they can still be useful on these textures. When you're shopping, look for products with ingredients like glycerin, oils that sink into the hair in the same way that coconut or jojoba oils do, and water. These will get moisture inside the hair shaft while reviving and smoothing curls on the outside.

TGIN's Rose Water Curl Refresher employs both coconut oil and rose water to rehydrate and plump up dry, limp curls. If you are looking for a curl refresher spray for Type 4 hair, Fairley suggests Cantu Comeback Next Day Curl Revitalizer. "It contains shea butter for moisture that's not too heavy for your curls," she says.

How you apply these stylers also makes a difference because it's easy to use too much or not enough product. Shorter suggests applying a refresher directly only to the areas that need it and working in small sections, as opposed to spraying all over your hair and scalp. Tesler says that if you have finer hair, you should spray the product into your hands and apply it to just the ends, then scrunch curls upward to help bring them back to life. Placing the product on your hands lets you distribute it more evenly throughout your hair and not over-apply.

Even though refreshers are to be used between washdays, those who don't have an Afro texture will need to wet their hair beforehand. "You need to spray [a curl refresher] on when hair is wet and not fuss with the hair too much," says Appleton. "Let it dry and do not keep touching, scrunching, or flipping, which will aggravate the curl and cause frizziness." Re-wet your hair with some water in a spray bottle so it doesn't get as sopping as it would in the shower.

Looking for even more healthy hair tips? Keep reading.

• How to Tell If Your "New" Baby Hair Is Actually Breakage
• Why Your Hair Sheds More in Fall and What You Can Do About It
• The Best Pink Hair Dyes and Tints to Try at Home

Brush up on your hair history with this 100 Years of Long Hair video.

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