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Curly hair can look completely different depending on how it is washed, conditioned, dried, and styled. A technique that creates defined spirals for one person might leave another with flat roots, excess buildup, or unwanted frizz. Curl pattern matters, but density, porosity, strand thickness, climate, and personal preference can be just as important. Understanding how popular curly hair techniques work makes it easier to experiment without feeling like you need to follow one rigid routine forever.
The Curly Girl Method
The Curly Girl Method, often abbreviated as CGM, is probably one of the best-known approaches to caring for naturally curly and wavy hair. Popularized by hairstylist Lorraine Massey, the method generally focuses on gentle cleansing, plenty of conditioning, and minimizing practices that can dry out or disrupt curls.
Traditional versions of the method avoid sulfates, silicones that are difficult to wash out without stronger cleansers, drying alcohols, and regular heat styling. Many followers use sulfate-free shampoo or cleansing conditioner and apply styling products while their hair is wet.
The advantage of CGM is that it encourages people to treat curly hair differently from straight hair. Someone who has spent years aggressively shampooing, brushing, and heat-styling their curls may see a noticeable difference after adopting gentler habits.
However, the rules can feel restrictive. Some scalps need more thorough cleansing, and silicones aren't automatically harmful to curly hair. A modified approach that borrows the useful principles without obsessing over every ingredient often works better.
Best for: People who want a structured starting point for learning how to care for naturally wavy, curly, or coily hair.
Plopping
Plopping is a drying technique rather than an entire haircare routine. After applying styling products, you gently lower your wet curls onto a cotton T-shirt or microfiber towel and wrap the material around your head.
The idea is to hold curls in their natural shape while absorbing excess water. Unlike roughly rubbing hair with a traditional bath towel, plopping minimizes unnecessary friction and can help preserve curl clumps.
Plopping is particularly popular among people with wavy and loose curly hair because wet hair can become weighed down while air-drying. Keeping the curls gathered on top of the head for a short period can help encourage definition.
There is a potential downside to leaving hair wrapped for too long. Some people find that extended plopping creates awkward roots or disrupts their curl pattern. Experimenting with shorter sessions—perhaps 10 to 20 minutes—is an easy way to find your preference.
Best for: Waves and curls that benefit from removing excess water without rough towel drying.
Scrunching
Scrunching might be the simplest curly hair technique to learn. After applying your leave-in conditioner, mousse, gel, or curl cream, cup the ends of your hair in your palms and gently squeeze upward toward your scalp.
This movement encourages the hair to gather into its natural curl pattern. It can be repeated around the entire head and used both during styling and while drying.
Scrunching is especially useful for wavy hair that doesn't automatically form obvious curls when wet. It can also help distribute styling products without requiring extensive brushing or manipulation.
The key is avoiding excessive handling. Continuously scrunching hair as it dries can create additional frizz and break apart curl clumps.
Best for: Almost every curl type, particularly waves and loose curls that need a little encouragement.
Finger Coiling
If scrunching is one of the quickest styling techniques, finger coiling sits at the opposite end of the spectrum.
Finger coiling involves taking a small section of wet, product-coated hair and wrapping it around your finger to encourage a defined curl. The process is repeated section by section.
The biggest benefit is control. You can reshape curls that don't naturally clump well, work on particularly frizzy sections, or create more uniform definition around your face.
The disadvantage is time. Finger coiling an entire head of thick or dense hair can take considerably longer than scrunching in some gel and walking away.
A practical compromise is to finger coil only the areas that need it. Concentrating on face-framing pieces and stubborn sections can provide much of the visual benefit without turning wash day into an hours-long project.
Best for: People seeking highly defined curls or wanting to reshape individual sections.
Brush Styling
Using a brush on curly hair might sound counterintuitive, especially if you grew up being told never to brush curls. The important distinction is when and how the brush is used.
Curly hair brush styling is typically performed when hair is wet and coated with conditioner or styling products. A styling brush can help distribute product, smooth individual sections, and encourage curls to group together.
One common approach involves brushing a section away from the scalp while applying gentle tension, allowing the strands to form curl clumps as they leave the brush. The section can then be shaken or scrunched.
Brush styling can create impressive definition, but technique matters. Too much tension can stretch curls, while excessively small sections can make the process unnecessarily time-consuming.
Best for: Curly hair that responds well to controlled styling and people who prefer organized, defined curl clumps.
The Rake and Shake Method
The rake and shake technique offers a middle ground between simply scrunching hair and meticulously finger coiling every curl.
Styling product is first distributed through wet hair. You then separate a section, rake your fingers through it from the roots toward the ends, gently hold the ends, and shake the section. The movement encourages strands to settle into their natural curl formation.
Rake and shake can provide more control than basic scrunching without requiring the precision of finger coiling. It can also be useful for distributing product through dense hair.
However, raking can break apart larger curl clumps. People who prefer big, chunky curls may get better results from techniques involving less separation.
Best for: Medium to tight curls that need product distribution and definition without individual finger coiling.
Praying Hands
Despite its unusual name, the praying hands method is extremely straightforward. Styling product is placed between your palms, and a section of hair is gently smoothed between both hands from higher on the strand toward the ends.
The hands resemble a prayer position, which explains the name.
Praying hands can distribute gel or cream over the surface of curls while helping smooth frizz. Many people follow the technique with scrunching to restore and encourage the curl pattern.
The method is particularly useful when applying a strong-hold gel because it can coat curl clumps without requiring you to rake your fingers through and separate them.
Too much downward pressure can stretch out looser curls, however, so people with wavy hair may want to use a particularly light touch.
Best for: Reducing frizz, applying gel, and maintaining larger curl clumps.
Diffusing
Air-drying isn't the only option for curly hair. Diffusing involves attaching a diffuser to a hair dryer to spread airflow across a wider area.
Instead of blasting curls around with concentrated air, the diffuser allows you to dry them with less disruption. Many people place sections of their curls inside the diffuser bowl and gently lift them toward the scalp.
Diffusing can dramatically reduce drying time, making it particularly useful for people with thick or dense hair that remains wet for hours. It can also create more root volume than air-drying.
The trade-off is heat exposure. Using a lower or moderate heat setting and avoiding excessive temperatures can make the process gentler. A heat protectant may also be appropriate depending on the products and temperatures you're using.
Best for: Anyone who wants faster drying, greater root volume, or doesn't want to spend half the day with wet hair.
Scrunch Out the Crunch
If you've ever used a strong-hold gel and ended up with stiff curls, you may have accidentally stopped the styling process too early.
A gel can create a hard layer, commonly called a cast, around curls as they dry. Once the hair is completely dry, gently scrunching it can break that cast and reveal softer curls underneath.
The technique is commonly called scrunching out the crunch, or SOTC.
The crucial word is dry. Breaking the gel cast while your hair is still damp can contribute to frizz and reduce definition. Waiting until everything is fully dry usually produces better results.
Some people scrunch with bare hands, while others use a tiny amount of lightweight hair oil for additional slip.
Best for: Anyone using gels or mousses that create a firm cast.
Pineappling
Not every curly hair technique happens on wash day. Pineappling is primarily designed to preserve curls overnight.
Hair is loosely gathered at the very top of the head using a soft scrunchie or similar accessory. Positioning the hair high on the head helps prevent you from sleeping directly on much of the curl pattern.
People with shorter hair may not be able to gather everything into one pineapple. Several smaller, loose sections can sometimes accomplish a similar goal.
Pairing this technique with a satin or silk pillowcase, bonnet, or scarf can further reduce friction overnight.
The result won't necessarily be perfect second-day curls, but it may reduce the amount of restyling required the following morning.
Best for: Preserving medium-to-long curls between wash days.
Which Curly Hair Technique Is Best?
There isn't one technique that universally produces the best curls. Hair with loose 2A waves behaves very differently from tightly coiled 4C hair, and even two people with visually similar curl patterns can need completely different routines.
Porosity can affect how readily hair absorbs and retains moisture. Density determines how much hair you're actually working with, while strand thickness can influence how much product your curls tolerate before becoming weighed down. Your haircut, climate, water quality, styling products, and desired result can also change which techniques make sense.
Instead of adopting every popular curly hair rule at once, experiment with one variable at a time. Try plopping after your next wash, switch to brush styling another week, or compare air-drying with diffusing. Take a quick photo once your hair is dry so you can remember which approach produced the results you preferred.
Most importantly, don't treat curly hair techniques as strict rules. You might love sulfates occasionally, use silicones regularly, finger coil only your front pieces, diffuse during winter, and air-dry throughout summer. A personalized combination of techniques is often far more practical than following someone else's routine perfectly. The best curly hair method is ultimately the one that gives you results you enjoy without making wash day unnecessarily complicated.