Have you ever seen such perfect curls in commercials and wonder where these people get those curls from? Ever tried having perfect curls for that date only to brush your hair out after a failed attempt? Well, you are not alone. I always thought the solution was to visit the saloon, but guess what? You can do it all by yourself! Ever heard of hair plopping?
WHAT IS HAIR PLOPPING?
Hair plopping is simply a way of making curls with your hair without the heating process. It’s a process of keeping your wet hair locked in a towel on top of your head for a while. It is cool to blow dry your hair with a cute hand dryer or under the standing hairdryer, but here’s exactly what you really want, dry curly hair without all the heat. It’s completely possible to get rid of the heat. What’s more? You get to do it yourself, at no cost, except, of course, you would like to get paid for the service! Hair plopping does leave you looking chic and beautiful. It leaves your hands free, so you can get on with other things- doing some long-overdue chores, working on your computer while your hair gets all dry and curly.
Apart from the heat and all the reactions that your scalp may get from using a dryer, hair plopping keeps your hair moisturized but less greasy. It saves your curls from the knots and frizzes that can accompany using a hairdryer.
So, hair plopping is excellent for your curls. Do I hear you ask ‘how do I get it done?
Well, it’s a simple process altogether. Get your towel or T-shirt and your conditioner. Let’s get started already!
HAIR PLOPPING OVERNIGHT:-
1. GET YOUR HAIR DAMP
First things have to come first. You have to get your hair prepared for plopping and how best to start but to get damp hair! Do I hear someone ask what that is? You know that moment when you just washed your hair and it’s no longer dripping but it’s still wet? Exactly, that is your damp hair right there. How do you achieve this? You can take a shower without your shower cap. Wash your hair with shampoo and conditioner. There, you have your hair wet. Get a towel and gently squeeze out the water. By all means, don’t swipe your hair with it. Just gently squeeze the water into the towel and enjoy nature’s gift, air. Be careful when making your purchases on the shampoo and conditioner to get your hair the best and original products out there. Using fake or expired products can cause damage to the hair.
2. RUB IN YOUR HAIR CONDITIONER
Remember that moment when you really want to say ‘I told you so’ to a friend but you can’t because they are still sulking about whatever it was and you just can’t rub it in? Don’t worry too hard. Here, you are allowed to rub it all in. The hair conditioner should be generously applied to your hair. It has to touch every single strand. You can go farther, starting from the ends down to the roots of your hair. It is better this way in order to avoid the concentration of your conditioner at the roots.
Your hair needs all the silky look it can get, so take this step seriously. You can enrich your hair while you are working on the gorgeous curls. Hair conditioning works wonders for your hair! It improves the texture and adds shine to your hair. How cool is it to achieve two ends, or more with an act? Very cool, right? Hair plopping helps you to give your hair all the attention it deserves.
Remember that what you are looking for is a leave-in conditioner, not a rinse-out product. Once you get your conditioner right, distribute it evenly all through your hair. A good comb will do the job just fine. Smoothen the conditioner through your hair.
Another reason you have to smoothen your hair out is to avoid tangles. You don’t want tangles in your curls, do you?
3. GET YOUR TOWEL OR T-SHIRT READY
Since you’ll be keeping your hair locked, you would definitely need something to hold it in. Fortunately, you do not have to go the extra mile with your budget, trying to get this done. You could just grab your towel and get on with it. What’s more, you have other options too. What you need is soft clothing, big enough to wrap your hair in. So, you might want to pay your closet a visit. Those old T-shirts should not be lying unused, you can put them to good use. Just pick one, big enough, and get on with the hair plopping fun.
We do have to understand how to set the T-shirt right, the sleeves should be closer to you. Let the towel or T-shirt be spread flat. Really big T-shirts are more suitable because you would be wrapping it around your head, it has to go all the way and while choosing your towel, look for fiber. It keeps your hair strands loose, rather than sticking together (frizzes). You do want free curls, don’t you?
4. USE THE TOWEL OR T-SHIRT
You already know that the towel or the T-shirt is for holding your hair, but you can not go stuffing the material with your hair anyhow you can. To get the curls you want, you have to tilt forward like you are taking a bow after some musicals, make sure your hair strands are all in front of you, shake them a little bit so that they are all laid out.
With your hair in front of you, continue to lower your head till the tip of your hair touches the middle of the towel or T-shirt. When it does, continue to lower your head until your hair begins to form a stack on the piece of clothing. When your head finally touches the clothing, there’s your cue to stop. No special technique is needed here, you don’t need to make patterns or do any extra work, just pull your head closer to the clothing, your hair spilling into it to create a heap.
This step is really important because this is where the curls form.
5. WRAPPING HAIR IN TOWEL OR T-SHIRT
With your hair all in the towel, you can just wrap the towel around your head. It’s not rocket science. You just have to pick the towel or the T-shirt from the end, place it on top of your head, and twist the ends of the towel to hold it in place. As for the T-shirt, just tie the sleeves. It’s that simple.
Wrapping your hair is an important part of the whole hair plopping process. You need curly hair and here is where the curls are held in place. Placing the hair in a heap on the towel or T-shirt helps you create some curls, keeping the curls in a fixed position for a while makes the form curls durable. It could be the difference between rolling curls with your finger, releasing them immediately and the actual hair plopping. Don’t forget that by now, you’d have already treated your hair to a healthy process of conditioning. It also helps to hold those forming curls in place. It increases your chances of enjoying your curls for much longer.
You do realize that this is exactly what makes up for the heat you would have to experience with the dryers, right? Here is a cheaper, easier, and certainly less hazard-prone alternative. What’s more? You can do this all by yourself! No more frequent visits to the saloon. We know there’s so much that free time can cater for. With the cute wrap on your head, you can go about other businesses in the house. Whatever you do though, keep your hands off your head. Don’t go about touching the towel or T-shirt for any reason, you do want curls without frizzes, right? So, do yourself some good and resist the temptation.
6. WATCH OUT FOR THE LOOSE ENDS
Your towel or T-shirt could be really big, big enough to wrap around your head, and more. Besides, we won’t leave the twisted ends hanging. You don’t want to imagine that look. You’d probably look like an amateur astronaut. To avoid the funny looks, you have to keep the loose ends in check. Device a means of wrapping the twists around the tied part of the towel or T-shirt, whichever your choice may be. You could even look stylish in your adapted head-gear. This done, you have on your hands some free time.
7. LET YOUR HAIR DRY
You have washed your hair, wrung out the water in it, applied a generous quantity of your favorite hair conditioning product, heaped your hair into a towel (or T-shirt), wrapped the towel around your head and you have taken care of the erring twists. You deserve some accolades. Don’t worry too much, you do get to rest for a while. Actually, a long while.
At this point, your wait begins. Your hair stationed in curls within that towel or T-shirt, you can have your day or night back to yourself. Your hair has to stay in the confines for some hours, so you could even go straight to bed, waking up to discover those really great curls the next morning. I certainly prefer this option, at least I won’t be awake to keep checking on the curls.
You have to admit that escaping the heat is worth this wait. At least for me, it is. I won’t have to deal with the headache that comes right after. So, you leave your hair to dry. How long you have to wait depends completely on the texture and mass of your hair. The wait ranges from a couple of hours to five or six hours. Having to wait this long means you have to tie your towel or T-shirt tightly around your head and the ends should be well fixed. You could use some pins to hold the ends down so that your head-gear would not get loosed halfway into the wait. You might want to consider the activities you would be involved in while waiting as you tie the towel or T-shirt.
8. LET THE GORGEOUS CURLS LOOSE
I’m sure by now you are itching to see what your curls look like, how curly they are, whether or not they’ve got frizzes from that one time you couldn’t resist touching it, if your sleep ruined the curls and if the curls would be worth the wait. If you are anything like me, you already have mental pictures of what the curls look like and how they would complement your look the next time you step out. Well, the wait is over! You can gently remove the towel or T-shirt and let the curls loose.
Don’t be tempted to reach for a comb, just use your fingers to separate the curls and in case there are some erring strands, a little bit of heat would do you some good. Don’t even try to compare it to the hairdryer experience. Then, feel free to display your curls.
The next time you see that beauty in a magazine, rocking some perfectly formed curls, just give her a good look and add some beautiful wishes, you can make curls all by yourself! No more wondering where on earth those perfect curls come from, they can come right out of your towel or that T-shirt you’ve ignored for so long. Hair plopping is the latest gorgeous. You want to save some cash and time, then hair plopping is definitely for you. You sure want to know how it feels to tell anyone admiring your hair that you made those curls on your own.
That date is so going to be lit, no more last-minute hair brushing. Arrive making a statement with your curls bouncing as you glide across the room.