Stringy Curls? 11 Top Tips for Better Curl Clumps
This post may contain affiliate links, and I will earn a commission if you purchase through these links. Please read the disclosure policy for more details.
When you’re first learning to care for curly hair, it’s normal to find achieving gorgeous curl clumps difficult.
Stringy curls are a common problem, and even experienced fans of the Curly Girl Method can struggle to coax their natural texture into bigger curl clumps. Luckily, we have some simple tips to help you achieve juicy curl clumps that look healthy and shiny.
In this guide, we’ll explain what curl clumping means and why you might struggle with stringy curls. We’ll also share our top tips for creating better clumps and some product suggestions to make curl clumping easy.
What is Curl Clumping?
Clumping describes how your curly hair forms clumps or bunches of strands. The more strands you have in each clump, the bigger and juicier your curls will look, and the better your curl definition will be.
Of course, not everyone wants big curl clumps, but they tend to look healthier and shinier than thin curl clumps or frizzy curls.
However, it’s important to remember that if you have low density hair, it’s more difficult to get bigger curl clumps. That’s because you have fewer strands on your head than someone with high density hair, and fewer strands make it more difficult to create big clumps.
Why Do My Curls Look Stringy?
There are several causes of stringy curly hair. Some of the most common factors causing stringy clumps include:
- Hydration: Hair that doesn’t have enough moisture in the strands can’t form clumps easily.
- Damage: Heat styling, chemical processing, vigorous brushing, and environmental factors can all damage your hair cuticle and cause your hair to lose moisture.
- Protein/Moisture Balance: Too much moisture causes hygral fatigue and limp, mushy strands, while too much protein leads to brittle strands.
- Dry Strands: Applying stylers to damp hair will lead to thin clumps.
- Your Haircut: Too many short layers or long, heavy hair will both make clump creation difficult.
- Choice of Product: If your products are too light or too heavy for your natural curl pattern, it’ll be hard for your tresses to form juicy clumps.
Our guide to stringy curly hair will help you work out the cause of your problem and how to solve it.
How To Encourage Curl Clumps
If you want great curl clumps, the first thing you need to do is give your hair whatever it needs for good health.
This could include:
- Using a sulfate-free shampoo to avoid drying your hair.
- Removing product buildup regularly with a clarifying shampoo.
- Using squish-to-condish every wash day to get moisture deep into your strands.
- Giving your hair additional moisture with a weekly deep conditioner.
- Correcting your protein/moisture balance with protein treatments or choosing protein-free products if your hair has too much protein.
After you’ve washed and conditioned your hair, apply a leave-in conditioner or curl cream to give it the moisture it needs to create curl clumps.
Choosing products that suit your curly hair type, density, and hair porosity is always essential. Some great products to try include:
11 Tips For Better Curl Clumps
Now you’re ready to style your hair, and these tips will help create the big curl clumps you’ve been dreaming of.
Add More Water
A common mistake is applying styling products to damp hair.
Curls thrive best when they have lots of moisture. For gorgeous curl clumps, you need to saturate your hair so you’re applying gel to big, juicy clumps rather than skinny clumps.
Once you’ve washed and conditioned your locks, ensure your hair is dripping wet before applying any styling products. This will help your curls form beautifully defined clumps that don’t fall apart as they dry.
When you’re applying gel or mousse, keep a spray bottle of water handy to spritz your strands if they start to dry out before you’ve finished the application process.
Choose Your Tools
You can choose from various tools to help with clump creation but be sure to detangle your hair first with a detangling brush, wide tooth comb, or your fingers. Always apply a good detangler or leave-in conditioner before you start.
It’s essential to choose the right tool to create the clump size you want to achieve:
- A Denman brush or boar-bristle curl defining brush can help with clump formation.
- A wide tooth comb is good for separating clumps into smaller sections.
- Your fingers will create larger clumps, but these don’t always hold together well.
Use The Best Styling Products
The hunt for the perfect styler can seem never-ending for curly girls. Using a lightweight styling product that gives lots of hair slip will make it easy to create clumps:
Make refreshing a breeze with this serum that can be used alone to smooth out frizz and revive curls. I also use it as a single styler on wash day with great results. Great for all hair types. Use code HOLISTICENCHILADA to save 15%.
If your hair needs extra help with clump creation, look for a styler that will create a gel cast to enhance your curls. Some product suggestions to check out include:
This is by far the best gel for humidity. Your hair won't look perfect after being in the heat and humidity, but it will look a lot better than with any other gel.
Everybody gets different results from products, depending on factors like hair porosity or the humidity in the air. So, you might need to try a few different products before you settle on your ideal styler.
If you still don’t get a good gel cast, this might be due to product buildup. Try using a good clarifying shampoo like Devacurl Buildup Buster or OUAI Detox Shampoo to cleanse your strands thoroughly. If you live in a hard water area, you might need to use a chelating shampoo to remove mineral buildup.
Apply Product In The Right Places
Some curlies worry that applying product at the roots might leave their hair looking flat, but to keep your clumps together, you need to create a cast from root to tip. If your clumps aren’t well-defined at the roots, the mid-lengths and ends will gradually separate and turn to frizz.
So check that your hair is saturated from top to bottom, and then apply the product all the way down from the roots to the tips of your strands.
Try different application techniques
After you’ve applied your chosen styling product, there are a few different techniques you can use to encourage better clump formation.
- Massage your styling product into 2-3 curls and smooth them together to create larger clumps.
- Brush styling with a Denman brush can give you more control over the size of your clumps.
- Try using the Skip Curl Method – twist together a few curls into a larger curl clump, then hold the clump by the ends and swing it around like you’re swinging a jump rope.
- When you’ve created a few clumps, scrunching them together is a great way to intensify the curl.
Use The Bowl Method
This viral styling method can help turn wavy hair into juicy clumps of curls. It involves washing your hair as usual, applying a cream leave-in conditioner, and then flipping your head upside down and dunking your hair in a bowl of warm or cold water.
Then, apply a curl cream and dunk your hair again, before squeezing out excess water and adding a final application of mousse or gel. You can diffuse dry your hair or plop it for 15-20 minutes before air-drying.
This technique helps dilute your product and cover every individual hair strand so they form natural clumps.
You can also try squish to condish which is a simpler version of the bowl method (and what I prefer).
Try The Rake And Shake Method
If your natural curl pattern is tight coils or kinky hair, raking your styling product through sections of hair from root to tip will give you the best product distribution.
When your fingers reach the ends of your tresses, shake your hand at the wrist to create gorgeous, defined curl clumps.
Don’t Go Too Large
Don’t be tempted to create clumps that are too large. As the strands dry, the gel cast won’t be strong enough to hold them together and the clumps will break apart into smaller, skinny clumps.
It’s better to create smaller clumps that will stay together when you scrunch out the crunch.
Plopping For Better Definition
Some curly girls like to plop their hair to encourage the curls to stay together. After you’ve applied your styling product to soaking wet hair, tip your curls upside down onto a long-sleeved cotton tee, and use the sleeves to tie the fabric around your curls.
Applying a high-water-content product like a styling foam first will add extra moisture to your clumps and encourage them to stay separated. Some products to try include Lottabody Coconut Oil and Shea Wrap Me Foaming Curl Mousse or Curlsmith Bouncy Strength Volume Foam.
If you find plopping flattens your curls, you can microplopping instead and then diffuse dry or leave to air dry. I show you how to do this in the video below.
Drying Techniques For Better Curl Clumps
How you dry your hair goes a long way to determining how well your clumps form and stick together. Diffuse drying is quicker and gives your hair more volume, but your clumps might not stick well is the speed is too high.
Air drying can give you decent results, even though it takes much longer. If you want to speed the process up, you can try diffuse-drying your hair until it’s about 75% dry and then leaving it to air dry.
Whichever method you choose, don’t scrunch out the crunch until you’re sure your locks are 100% dry.
Don’t Touch!
Once you’ve finished styling your tresses, leave them alone while they dry. As the water and styling products dry, they form a gel cast that sets your curls. Touching your hair while it’s still damp is the perfect way to turn juicy curl clumps into skinny clumps or frizz.
So don’t be tempted to keep scrunching your curls, and avoid lying on them until your hair is totally dry.
FAQs
Still confused about stringy curls and how to get better curl clumps? The answers to these frequently asked questions could help!
Why Don’t My Curls Clump Together?
There are many reasons why your curls form into smaller clumps. For example, product buildup could weigh down the strands of your hair, you could have a poor protein/moisture balance, or you might be applying your styling products to damp hair.
What Does Stringy Curls Mean?
Stringy curls is the name we use to describe skinny curl clumps. There are many causes of stringy curls, including poor hydration, over-moisturization, and poor styling techniques.
Do Stringy Curls Need Protein?
If you’ve noticed your stringy curls have lost their bounce and feel gummy, you might need to use protein treatments to revitalize your tresses.
What Does Over-Moisturized Hair Look Like?
Overly moisturized hair looks limp and flat, has low elasticity, and feels mushy or gummy when wet. These are all signs of hygral fatigue, which develops when your moisture/protein balance has too much moisture.
The Bottom Line
If you want to achieve bigger curl clumps, there are a few key things to remember.
First of all, you need to give your hair what it needs for good health, whether that means more moisture, extra protein, or regular clarifying.
Next, you must remember that your hair can’t clump without water. Choosing the right products and applying them to thoroughly saturated hair will give you the best results.
Finally, you need to use the right styling techniques, and you might need to experiment to find the best products and techniques for your curls.
Most importantly, remember that your curls are unique, and whatever changes you make, your hair will still do its own thing. You could end up with smaller curl clumps than you were hoping for, but the end result will be beautiful and healthy curls.
