How much product should you be using on your curly hair?

Whether you’re new to Only Curls, or just starting your curly journey, how much product to use is often the first question that comes to mind.

It’s one of the most common questions we come across, and it’s a tricky one! The ideal amount of product depends on so many factors: hair thickness, length, and texture.

Here are some great starting points for each of our products. You can always reduce or increase this as you try out the products, in fact, we encourage this!

Experimenting with the products is the best way to find what suits your hair best. 💗

Here’s a quick run-down of our recommended starting size amounts:

All Curl Cleanser - 50p

All Curl Conditioner - 50p fine/short hair, small palmful thick/long hair

Hydrating Curl Creme - 20p fine/short hair, 50p long/thick hair

Enhancing Curl Gel / Mega Hold Gel - 20p fine/short hair, 50p thick/long hair

We recommend starting with a 50p-sized amount. Emulsify the cleanser by rubbing it between your hands into a lather, and you’ll see that a little goes a long way! 

Scalps that are more prone to oils may benefit from a double cleanse. 

You might find that you only need a smaller amount of cleanser on the second go, as most of the oils will have been removed at the first cleanse.

Top tip! We recommend focusing the cleanser at the roots, as this is where the majority of oils will be on curly heads. Simply rinsing out the cleanser is often enough to cleanse the lengths too, so when you find your perfect amount to lather up the roots, you can stick with this amount to help your product last even longer!

Conditioner is best applied to the mid-lengths and ends. For fine or short hair, we recommend starting with a 50p amount. Longer or thicker hair will need a little more to coat the hair - a small palmful would be a good place to start. Add in a little water to emulsify and help to create lovely hydration and slip for detangling. 

Top tip! We recommend detangling on washdays while the conditioner is on using a wide-tooth comb. You can add some extra conditioner in here to create more slip for easier detangling.

We generally recommend a 50p-sized amount for thick hair, and a 20p-sized amount for fine hair. 

If your hair is feeling a little greasy once dried, it is likely that your hair could do with a little less Curl Creme. You can use as little as a pea-sized amount to glaze the lengths of your hair, avoiding the roots, to add moisture without weighing your curls down.

Just like the Curl Creme, we recommend starting with a 50p-sized amount for thick hair, and a 20p-sized amount for fine hair. 

Our gels are very lightweight, so you can definitely experiment with larger amounts of this, especially if you’re struggling with frizz or curl definition. Applying a little extra when your hair is around 80% dry can really help combat any frizz!

Top tip! If you find using more gel makes your curls feel a little crispy, you can Scrunch Out The Crunch to break up the cast and reveal soft, defined curls!

Finally, here's the gorgeous Zia explaining how much gel she uses.