'Have you ever tried plopping?' it's a challenge that many may have tried with the least likely desired effect! If you're curious about what plopping is, it's an easy, no-heat technique for those with loose waves and curls that can help reduce drying time while adding volume and definition. Plopping is a game-changer with loose curls and waves that are quickly weighted down. For these curl styles, the weight of water and moisture in their hair will drag the curl pattern down until it has had a chance to dry, resulting in loose, extended waves . Plopping counteracts this. Consider what happens to waves when they are wet: you allow the curl pattern to become more streamlined, making them more formed and bouncy when dry.
The plopping method is similar to a lot of scrunching in that it presses your hair to your head and holds it there for a period of time, resulting in greater definition and length! Plopping will also help those who wish to speed up the drying process. Since curly girls style their hair when it's damp, there's always a lot of extra water on your curls that you may want to soak before air drying or diffusing. Plopping is excellent for this since it can remove extra moisture without producing frizz.
Begin with freshly cleaned, damp hair! You want to use a creamy leave-in conditioner while plopping your waves and we recommend Curls & Naturals Coconut Curling Crème or Curls & Naturals Conditioning Repair Mask. Then, shake the curls up and down and side to side to relax them without touching them to avoid frizz. After you shake up your curls, if you're using the conventional way to plop your curls, gently fold over from the hip, put your curls in the middle of the fabric with the t-shirt, and position the t-shirt at the nape of your neck. If you want to spread your hair, tie it in a towel without scrunching your curls like an accordion. Take the shirt sleeves and tie them in a knot behind your back. With that, you've made a turban!
Depending on the condition of your hair, you'll need to wait 10-20 minutes for the extra water to soak. I suggest wrapping your hair overnight if you have type 4 hair. If your hair isn't totally dried after these moves, give it a good shake and let it air dry, or use a blow dryer and diffuser to finish the job while keeping the heat on low. Whatever you like, hold your fingers out of your hair to avoid frizz and let your hair be. Now your curls are plopped, luscious, and gorgeous!