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The Pros and Cons of Hair Plopping
It’s important to be careful when drying your curls, because they’re naturally more dry and sensitive than straight hair. Therefore, it’s better not to twist your hair in a towel after washing. A better option is hair plopping. This is a way to make your curls dry faster, and ensure defined and frizz-free curls. And it’s very easy! In this article, we’ll share the pros and cons of hair plopping.
Also read: Beautiful curls: our 17 favorite tips
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What is hair plopping?
Plopping is a heat-free styling technique that helps cut down on drying time, without damaging your hair. It provides more definition and less frizz, since it will keep you from touching your curls while they dry.
Instead of letting your curls dry “hanging”, plopping will accordion your curls, helping them keep their defined, spiral shape.
You don’t use a normal towel for this, because that’s made to absorb the moisture from your hair. And moisture is very important for curls, which are naturally very dry and sensitive.
That’s why you should use a soft fabric, such as a cotton t-shirt, microfibre towel or hydrophilic cloth.
You plop your wet hair after you’ve applied your styler and before you start to dry your hair. Whether that’s in the morning or at night before going to sleep doesn’t matter!
Read more about the different hair techniques within the Curly Girl Method.
Is plopping for everyone?
Plopping is a well-known term within the CG Method.
It’s ideal for people with easily-weighed-down loose curls and waves, because the weight of water and moisture in their hair will pull the curl pattern down before it’s had a chance to dry.
This results in waves or curls in a loose, stretched state. Plopping works against this!
But it’s also useful for people with straight hair. This way, you can create waves in a natural way
The benefits of plopping
Thanks to the plopping method, your curls are formed more beautifully and you hardly have any frizz. These are the benefits of plopping:
- Cutting down your drying time
- You don’t have to use heat tools such as a hair dryer
- More definition
- More clumps
- Less frizz
- It prevents split ends
- It can create a lift at the roots, since your hair is drying on top of your head rather than being weighed down.
The cons of plopping
What about the cons of plopping? The only thing we can think of, is that you’ll use more of your styling products.
The t-shirt or microfiber towel you use doesn’t only absorb water, but also absorbs the leave-in conditioner, gel and / or mousse that you use.
Another disadvantage could be that the hair products get on your hair roots, making it greasy there faster.
How to plop curly hair
Plopping is very easy! All you need is a cotton t-shirt or microfiber towel.
- Wash your hair like you normally do.
- Apply your styling products to wet hair, and use a little more leave-in conditioner and / or styling products than you normally do. This is also partly absorbed by the shirt or microfibre towel.
- Place the t-shirt or towel on a flat surface. If using a shirt, place the sleeves at the bottom.
- Stand in front of it, flip your head forward, bending at the waist, so that all of your hair is in the center of the towel and on top of your head.
- Grab the shirt or towel that is behind your head, and flip it over your hair, on your neck.
- Next, grab the sleeves of the shirt or the bottom of the towel, and fold it over your forehead towards the back. Tie the cloth together over the backside of the fabric.
That’s it! You can now do several things:
- Plop your hair for 10 – 20 minutes and then let your hair air-dry or blow dry them with a diffuser.
- Plop your hair until it’s dry.
- Plop your hair overnight so you’ll wake up with dry hair.
Experiment and find what works best for you!
Isn’t it clear yet? Then watch this video about hair plopping on YouTube:
Do you have any questions about hair plopping? Let us know on Instagram!
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