Clumped curls, more definition, less frizz

Ever seen that head of hair with perfect looking curls??? No flyaways, no poofiness, just individual curls flowing in the same direction...then you catch your moving reflection in a car window and have "the oh my God!!! Is that what my hair looks like" moment!
And you hate your hair all of a sudden!
Why does my hair have to be a messy nest?
Why can't I have well defined curls like I do when I'm in the shower with water running down my hair????!!!!

Well I have many of those moments especially when I'm surfing natural hair blogs and I see those perfect well defined wash and gos.
One free day when I didn't have anything much to do, I made up my mind that I must ( even for just a day ) get those perfect well defined curls/coils.
And......I did!

I can now achieve well defined manageable ( with lots of shrinkage though) curls any time I feel like it....or rather anytime my hair feels like humouring me ...#bulliedbymyhair

So....here's the secret.............Clumping!!!!! *drum roll.......screeching to a halt.....what????? *

Okay, scratch out the image of clumped clay and the sound of those marmish wooden heels....this method is really the ish....and now I will #shutup and get on with it!

So what is Curl Clumping?

Curl clumping is when your hair stick together to create bigger more defined uniform curls.
The clumped sections of hair curls in the same direction.
You'll get a better idea with the pictures below.

Clumping reduces frizziness. When curls separate, they frizz up and look messy.

You get clumping by,
-Using curl activator or gel
-Raking conditioner through soaking wet hair and leaving hair to dry without further manipulation.
-Simply using a stream of water from shower and finger combing
-Scrunching
-Fingercoiling
- Twistouts/ braidouts
- Use of Ouidad / Denman detanglers
( I got this from several natural hair sites...and since there is a better chance of finding that proverbial illusive needle than these in Nigeria, it's just going to be one of those things on my wish list)

Well, I've listed all the possible ways to achieve clumping.

This is the method I actually used with results!

WHAT YOU NEED

- Ten human fingers ...five would do though....( sans snaggy nails)

- Water in a spritz bottle

- Clean freshly washed hair ...preferably cowashed. Do not apply any products except olive oil.

- Curl activator/ aloe vera/ loc gel (sans alcohol).

I made use of ORGANICS ROOT STIMULATOR LOC and TWIST GEL. Purchased in a fit of product junkism for N600.
- Patience.

LET'S GO!

-My freshly cowashed hair was quite thick. So I divided it into about six or more sections.

- To each section, I added a big dollop of the gel and smoothened from roots to tips (in the direction of hair growth only).

- I kept on smoothening until hair felt smooth in my hands and I could see individual curls clumping together.
If this doesn't happen, add more gel and keep smoothening.
Concentrate on the making the curls at the tip of your hair clump together.

- Once the hair started clumping, I raked once through the hair.
Raking is done by spreading your fingers apart to form a wide tooth comb and "combing" through the hair once.

- I left the clumped bit alone and started working on the other sections in the same way. Finally, I was through.

To preserve the style, either make two large loose twists or loosely gather the hair on top of your head in a puff. Then cover up with satin scarf or bonnet.
In the morning, gently untwist without disturbing curls, spritz with a lil water , spray with oil and you are good to go!

Have you tried out any other method of clumping?

It may not be so clear but there is better curl definition in the clumped bit