Today we’re talking about how I take care of my curly hair. After 45 years of living with curly hair, I might have some insight for you. 🙂
Today’s Guest is McKenzie Guymon. She is a cosmetologist who’s a mom of 2 curly haired girls and a little boy on the way. I’m passionate about teaching people to love their hair, love their home, and feel confident about who they are. You can find her at Girl Loves Glam. She has a great Hairapy course to make you hair healthier and happier!
Big thanks to our sponsor The Organized Home — if you’re looking to untangle the stuff in your life — it is the course for you!
In this episode
Why you don’t wash curly hair
Stop pulling your curls
She also recommends the Shea Moisture and Aussie Brands for hair products
I use the Costco Kirkland conditioner
I use a silky curl cap when I’m laying on my curls
Other things that might interest you
Salt water spray for curly hair
Producer: Drew Erickson
Check out my other household tips podcasts:
Transcipt
[00:00:00.000] – Hilary Erickson
Hey, guys, welcome back to the Pulling Curls Podcast. Today on Episode 113 we are talking about curly hair. So this is just for my curly friends. If you don’t have curly hair, I guess this isn’t the episode for you. And I’ve never said it in a more meaningful way. Let’s untangle it.
[00:00:24.320] – Hilary Erickson
Hi, I’m Hilary Erickson. The Curly head behind the Pulling Curls podcast. We untangle pregnancy, trending home and even travel. We know there’s no right answer for every family, but hopefully we can spark some ideas that will work for yours.
[00:00:36.930] – Hilary Erickson
Life’s tangled. Just like my hair.
[00:00:48.110] – Hilary Erickson
Hey, guys, before you get started, leave a review. I know that you love that I untangle things. And if you’re a curly girl, you know how important it is to be untangled. So please leave a review.
[00:00:58.540] – Hilary Erickson
Okay guys, today’s guest… it’s her second time on the show. She is the girl behind Girl Loves Glam and Girl Loves Curl. She’s the mom of two adorable curly-haired daughters. She will…. When this airs she will have a son. So we’ll see if he has curly hair. But I want to introduce today’s guest Mackenzie Guymon.
[00:01:16.230] – Hilary Erickson
Do you ever just feel like it’s unfair that some people can have company over at a moment’s notice? Their house is just super easy to clean up and they can relax on the couch with Netflix. While you feel like you always have things to do around your house. That can totally be you. The organized home is all new in 2021. We’re talking about decluttering, zones, organization systems that actually work. We’ve got assignments and challenges. I hope you’ll join us. You can use coupon code UNTANGLED. Look for the Organized Home link in the show notes.
[00:01:45.320] – Hilary Erickson
Hey, Mackenzie, welcome to the Pulling Curls Podcast.
[00:01:48.810] – Mackenzie Guymon
Hello!
[00:01:50.340] – Hilary Erickson
My curly hair guru friend. Guys, I have to tell you, I have been. Well, I haven’t been washing my hair, but I would like do a full rewet midweek. And then Mackenzie kept saying, “No, just wet it and put in some conditioner.” So I tried it. A lifetime of difference. Just a lifetime of difference.
[00:02:05.820] – Mackenzie Guymon
Oh, I’m so glad to hear that.
[00:02:07.570] – Hilary Erickson
So I had to have her on. My bathroom clutter is pretty much just curly hair products, so I thought we’d have her on to talk a little bit. I mean, I don’t think we’ve ever done a curly hair episode on the Pulling Curls Podcast, which is embarrassing.
[00:02:21.430] – Mackenzie Guymon
It’s like a sin.
[00:02:23.710] – Hilary Erickson
We are repenting today. Mid-season three. Okay, give us, like, a few of your best tips for curly hair. Like just…This is for our curly hair friends.
[00:02:37.440] – Mackenzie Guymon
Well, I think the thing that people don’t realize is just how badly curly hair needs moisture. Typically, curly hair is on the dry side, so I mean… Hands down, the most important thing is to just give it that moisture. That’s why your hair was so happy to be wetted down and then just have some conditioner added to it, instead of completely rewashing it. Because those curls just thrive on that moisture. And so, I mean, anyone who’s ever been to a humid climate will say, “my curls are so much happier here.” And it’s because of the moisture in the air.
[00:03:16.540] – Mackenzie Guymon
So just stick with any high moisturizing products and try to stay away from anything that’s going to dry it out. Because those curls will always always love moisture. And then I would say, like, another tip is to try not touch it too much.
[00:03:35.440] – Hilary Erickson
So no pulling curls. Is that what you’re saying?
[00:03:39.320] – Mackenzie Guymon
Don’t pull those curls. But try not to mess around with it too much after it is dried, especially because that only creates frizz. And I’m actually trying to teach my husband this because he’s kind of been growing out his hair and he’ll just gel it. And then at the end of the day, he’ll run his hands through it and he’s like, “Why is my hair so crazy?” Because you’re touching it. But if you just let them be, then they’ll be a lot happier, and you’ll be a lot happier because your hair won’t look like a giant Frizzball. I would see those are my top two tips, but there’s plenty more.
[00:04:13.550] – Hilary Erickson
I’m a toucher. So that’s definitely a problem.
[00:04:16.040] – Mackenzie Guymon
It’s because your name is Pulling Curls.
[00:04:18.290] – Hilary Erickson
I know, actually… Okay. So I don’t like to pull my curls. I like to squish them. I’ve been thinking about this more lately. I like to squish the ringlet. But Squishing Curls does not sound anywhere near as good as Pulling Curls.
[00:04:30.230] – Hilary Erickson
Although if I had to rename my blog today, it probably wouldn’t be Pulling Curls. But I will say that when I go to a humid environment, like, we lived in the Bay Area, which has more humidity than Arizona, as does most of the planet. My hair was so much happier. It’s very sad in Arizona. Very sad.
[00:04:48.200] – Mackenzie Guymon
Yeah. I think anyone’s hair would be very sad in Arizona. Honestly, it’s just dry.
[00:04:53.400] – Hilary Erickson
No, I think people who have, like, stick straight hair tend to thrive here. Probably. Maybe?
[00:04:59.270] – Mackenzie Guymon
Yeah, maybe. Yeah, maybe. I think pretty much everyone’s there likes moisture though.
[00:05:03.990] – Hilary Erickson
Yeah. Okay. But I feel like moisturizing products… They lie because they’ll be like, this is a super moisturizer. And then I’ll do it. And I’m like, no, that’s not.
[00:05:12.030] – Mackenzie Guymon
Well and something you also have to be careful with with moisturizing products is you can actually over-moisturize, which sounds crazy. But it can almost leave your hair mushy. And so you have to have… It’s a trial and error. Definitely. It depends on, like, your hair type or your curl type. If you have curlier hair, then or coily hair a lot of times it ends up being even more dry. So you can typically go a little harder with the moisturizing product, but you can over-moisturize. So definitely a trial and error thing.
[00:05:48.670] – Mackenzie Guymon
And yes, there are lots of products out there that just like to throw the word “moisture” on it to try to try to sell you on it. And I mean, that’s the wonderful thing about the internet is pretty much everything has reviews on them so you can go through. And a lot of places have really great return policies with these kind of things. So if you try something that’s just crap, then take it back to Ulta or Sephora or any of those places, they’re really good about returning those products.
[00:06:18.420] – Mackenzie Guymon
So don’t be afraid to try.
[00:06:20.050] – Hilary Erickson
How do you know when you’ve tried it enough? Because I don’t think once is enough because sometimes I’m like, maybe I didn’t use enough or maybe I use too much, and I need to figure it out the next time.
[00:06:28.510] – Mackenzie Guymon
It would all depend on how often you’re washing your hair. But I would say to give it like it’s probably two weeks. And that’ll give you a pretty good idea. I would say obviously it depends on how much you’re washing it. But I would say like four or five washes. So however long that takes for you.
[00:06:46.640] – Hilary Erickson
Six years.
[00:06:47.460] – Mackenzie Guymon
I mean, I wash my hair pretty much twice a month, so it would take me a lot longer.
[00:06:54.420] – Hilary Erickson
Yeah, but yeah, I wash once a month, like wash wash, shampoo wash. And my hair is always barely unhappy after.
[00:07:02.660] – Mackenzie Guymon
And that is like the double edged sword, especially with curly hair. Its just, I mean, you obviously have to wash at some point to get product or build up off. But curls don’t super love shampoo, which is why. I mean, do you use a co-wash, which is why you should use a co wash instead of a shampoo?
[00:07:22.620] – Hilary Erickson
Oh, no, maybe I should try a co-wash.
[00:07:24.680] – Mackenzie Guymon
Yes. So a co-wash is just a conditioning wash is what co wash stands for. And it’s a shampoo that’s a conditioner. But you would still use conditioner. It’s not like all in one product. It’s a totally separate product. And curls love co-wash.
[00:07:40.520] – Hilary Erickson
So I use conditioner. I just do my hair like I’m shampooing it with conditioner a lot of the time. But I do wash it like… we do smores a lot and that requires a wash.
[00:07:52.820] – Mackenzie Guymon
Yeah.
[00:07:53.210] – Hilary Erickson
The smoke…
[00:07:53.870] – Mackenzie Guymon
Use a co-wash instead after smores. Use a co-wash and then condition after that.
[00:07:59.900] – Hilary Erickson
Okay. Do you have a brand? Do you have, like, three brands you love of curly hair stuff?
[00:08:04.040] – Mackenzie Guymon
Yeah. I actually love the Heritage by Minty products that are at Walmart.
[00:08:09.240] – Hilary Erickson
So are those only at Walmart? Okay.
[00:08:12.170] – Mackenzie Guymon
Yeah. They are only sold through Walmart. Even get them online as well. But I love them because they’re affordable. I think every product they sell is about $7 and they’re really high quality. And so I’ve been super impressed with almost every single product I’ve tried from them.
[00:08:28.740] – Hilary Erickson
Do they have a co-wash?
[00:08:31.020] – Mackenzie Guymon
Yes, they have a cash. They have a co-wash. They have… I really like their conditioner. And I also really love their hair mask, as well.
[00:08:38.880] – Hilary Erickson
What’s the difference between a conditioner and a hair mask?
[00:08:41.400] – Mackenzie Guymon
Conditioner is a lot lighter and you would use that every single time. And a hair mask is more really deep conditioning. And if you use that every single time, you would be overdoing it.
[00:08:53.490] – Speaker 1
My hair is never said, “that was too much. Hilary.”
[00:08:55.920] – Mackenzie Guymon
Yeah. And that’s how I where I don’t wash my hair very often. I use one every single time, but it totally depends on your hair type. So try it every other time. And then if you feel like you could handle it every time, then there’s no harm in trying it and see how it feels.
[00:09:12.330] – Hilary Erickson
Yeah. I’d lived with roommates in college and they would always get super greasy hair. And I had always just thought that’s so weird. I must just really wash really well because I never get greasy hair. And literally I probably was like 35-40 when I was like, “no, you just don’t make any. There is no oil going on your scalp. Hilary, it’s it’s nothing about your skill in the shower.”
[00:09:33.620] – Mackenzie Guymon
You just thought they were disgusting people.
[00:09:36.350] – Hilary Erickson
I don’t know… I just sleep lighter. I don’t know.
[00:09:40.670] – Mackenzie Guymon
And then as far as other brands that I really like, actually, the Aussie brand has a few products that we use every single day that actually work really great. And one is just their scrunch gel. We really like their scrunch gel.
[00:09:57.660] – Hilary Erickson
Okay.
[00:09:58.230] – Mackenzie Guymon
And their hair spray, like their scrunch Hairspray, is that both of them really love curls. So again, they’re super cheap and you can get them at Walmart or Target
[00:10:11.750] – Hilary Erickson
Or grocery store…Yeah. Anything for Aussie.
[00:10:14.560] – Mackenzie Guymon
Yeah, any of those places. Yeah. Those, I would say would be like my top two brands.
[00:10:20.020] – Mackenzie Guymon
And then the third one would be the Shea Moisture brand.
[00:10:23.680] – Hilary Erickson
Okay.
[00:10:24.350] – Mackenzie Guymon
So we use a lot of their stuff as well. Be careful with some of theirs. They have some that have, like, coconut oil in them. And we have come to find that it can weigh down the curls quite a lot. So if you have more fine curls, stay away from the coconut oil stuff because you don’t just way down your curls way too much.
[00:10:43.810] – Hilary Erickson
Interesting. There was a Shea one that I was using the shower, and I noticed that I just wasn’t allowing my comb to slip through. So that one I now actually use after I wet it because I bought the 700 gallon bottle at Costco, and I like it for that. So I think sometimes you can switch up how you’re using it. So I use the Costco conditioner. So Kirkland brand conditioner, and it’s my favorite. And I used to use Aussie, but I do find that I have to switch it up, like every year or so, because my hair becomes tolerant. Or maybe I become tolerant.
[00:11:15.400] – Mackenzie Guymon
I think that it’s something that people don’t realize is that your hair can get used to it. And I think it’s like a medication almost. That your body becomes almost immune to it, and it stops working as well.
[00:11:28.450] – Hilary Erickson
It’s like phentanyl.
[00:11:29.310] – Mackenzie Guymon
It’s good to switch things up.
[00:11:30.610] – Hilary Erickson
Shampoo is like phentanyl. That’s what I’m going to rename this episode to.
[00:11:35.480] – Mackenzie Guymon
Oh…
[00:11:38.120] – Hilary Erickson
No, it’s not. I don’t get that happy. Maybe my kids would like baths that way. Okay, good help.
[00:11:46.280] – Hilary Erickson
The other thing that I do is I wear a sleep mask, and all of my roommates, anybody who’s ever slept in the room with me always makes fun of me when I go to blog conferences, but I always have a silky thing on my head when I lay down. And it has made a world… cause I used to. Like at my neck it would just be ratty. I was like, I don’t know how to fix that.
[00:12:04.260] – Mackenzie Guymon
Yeah, it makes a huge difference. And it’s a matter of. I mean, there are some people that just can’t handle having something on their head at night, and I… That’s my four year old. I try to make her sleep in one and she can’t deal.
[00:12:21.060] – Mackenzie Guymon
So we do a silk pillowcase is dead for her, and, well, it’s not quite as good as my older daughter who will actually sleep with a bonnet on it. It still is at least helping a little bit, but it…. Those actually do a number of different things. They obviously help with tangling, but they also they help add in moisture as well. So that’s pretty cool.
[00:12:44.370] – Hilary Erickson
Yeah. I thought about throwing some conditioner on there before I put my bonnet on. I’m not gonna lie, or I could just map my entire head and Saran rap.
[00:12:51.870] – Mackenzie Guymon
I actually think there are people who do that. You say it as a joke, but I do think its the butt of the practice.
[00:12:58.170] – Hilary Erickson
I’m sure it is.
[00:12:58.860] – Mackenzie Guymon
You could wear a do-rag, as well. That’s a common practice as well.
[00:13:02.660] – Hilary Erickson
So I’ve been sent a few of them from different companies, and the only one that stays on my head because I have really fine curls is the one with the band around it and the full bonnet, like silky bonnet. So I’ve just gotten… I’ll put a link in the show notes if you guys are interested in the one that works for me. I’ve tried, like a silky beanie where the inside… And it just comes right off. Right off.
[00:13:23.120] – Mackenzie Guymon
Yeah. The kind you use is the same type that we use our house.
[00:13:27.380] – Hilary Erickson
And then I tried a tie one where you tie it and there’s some tuck in. Nope. I also couldn’t use a baby carrier, though, either. I had to tie, like, maybe I just don’t have those skills.
[00:13:39.350] – Mackenzie Guymon
Tying is over-rated.
[00:13:40.350] – Hilary Erickson
I could use the Bjorn where I just suck the baby in, but it’s too hard.
[00:13:44.240] – Mackenzie Guymon
Yeah.
[00:13:44.640] – Hilary Erickson
Okay. Great information for everybody with a… Curly girls, let’s unite. I feel like people are coming back to their curly hair, and if you are… Definitely get into Mackenzie’s course. She has a Girl Loves Curl course. It’s totally free, although it shouldn’t be, Mackenzie, but it’s free on her website.
[00:14:01.670] – Mackenzie Guymon
I know, but I’m taking your email addresses.
[00:14:04.770] – Hilary Erickson
Anyway. It’s on her website, and you can learn so much about curly hair and how to take care of it. It’s super helpful. So check that out. I’ll put that in the show notes or it’s that Girl Loves Glam. I’m sure they can find it on the home page. Right, Mackenzie?
[00:14:17.220] – Mackenzie Guymon
Yeah. There’s a sign-up there.
[00:14:18.630] – Hilary Erickson
How much time does it take to go through the whole thing?
[00:14:20.580] – Mackenzie Guymon
They’re sent out once a week. It’s like a twelve-week course, but they’re just really short lessons.
[00:14:27.860] – Hilary Erickson
Small little snippets to make your hair healthier and happier.
[00:14:31.380] – Mackenzie Guymon
Yep.
[00:14:31.710] – Hilary Erickson
Thanks for coming on, Mackenzie.
[00:14:33.120] – Mackenzie Guymon
Thank you for having me.
[00:14:34.320] – Hilary Erickson
All right, my curly friends. I hope you enjoyed that episode and got some good information from it. I would love it if you want to come to Pulling Curls, or you could share it on Instagram, what curly hair product do you love? What should I try next? Because I feel like I’m just bouncing around to all the curly hair products, and I just don’t want to miss one. So tell me in my comments.
[00:14:53.910] – Hilary Erickson
Thanks so much for joining us on today’s episode. We know you have lots of options for your ears, and we are glad that you chose us. We drop episodes weekly, and until next time, we hope you have a tangle free day.
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