What is the purpose of plopping curly hair? It is one of the best methods of drying curly hair naturally without using any heat and without loosing their natural curl pattern, usually water will weigh down the curls before they dry, this method will make them dry quickly without loosing the curls which again help them to be frizz free.
Is plopping good for curly hair? Since there was no heat used it is absolutely safe and good for the hair.
Plopping methods for curly hair
Plopping can be done by few methods based on the products used in it, in this article we are gonna discuss all those methods
curly hair plopping with towel
Mostly microfiber towel is used to plop the curly hair, microfiber towels are made with a ton of synthetic fibers that are combined into a towel,
The main advantage of the microfiber towel is that they are very light so that they absorb water easily and quickly from your hair which prevents the curls from weighing down, they also maintain the curl pattern and prevent it from frizz and other towels can not do this.
Now lets see how to plop your hair with microfiber towel,
Step 1: Removing excess water
Wrap the microfiber towel around the hair and squeeze it with the towel and make sure to remove the excess water.
Step 2: Applying Hair products
Applying hair products is completely based on the amount that you would like to invest, the more you spent, better the curl definition is
You can just finish it with the Leave-in conditioner or you can apply oil/honey to lock the leave-in over that and complete the process with butter cream over it, butter will help to hold the curls.
Apply the leave-in conditioner at the tip and use a comb to spread it evenly over the head.
When you use a comb after applying the products, the remaining tangles will come out easily, make sure all the tangles are detangled.
Now you may have some doubts regarding applying products, i have addressed them below,
Should I use products before or after plopping?
The above process that i explained on applying products clearly states that you should apply products before plopping, because applying products after plopping may lead to more frizz, and doing it before will eliminate the frizz and makes the curls visually look good.
For very few people with fine hair may feel their curls get squished down, in this case you can use the products after plopping, my friends have used this method and got better curls and volume, unless you experience this issue i would recommend you to apply the products before plopping.
Can I Plop without products?
Plopping hair without products might reverse its purpose, it may make your hair frizz and make it hard to manage, the purpose of using styling products is to make it frizz free.
Best anti static hair brush to get rid of static and frizz hair
Step 3: Wrapping the hair
- Lay the towel on a table or a bed whichever you are comfort with,
- Gather all of your hair on top of the head, something like when you put a ponytail,
- Place all your hair at center of the towel,
- Bring the bottom part of the towel near your forehead and top part of the towel at the back of your neck,
- Now you will have the excess towel at both sides of your ears, twist them together,
- Bring both the twisted ends towards the back and tie them together, if the towel is hanging here and there you can tuck them in,
- The wrapping process is done.
Best plopping towel for curly hair
I’m currently using a Devacurl towel and liking it, it is a good one in the market, they are lightweight and are very comfortable to use.
Plop curly hair with t-shirt
Plopping isnt a very different method than using the towel,
Instead of microfiber towel t-shirt is used, it is advised to use a long sleeve t-shirt so that it is easy to tie it up,
Like towel lay the t-shirt on the bed, collect all the hair and place them at the center of the t-shirt and cover your head and tie them together.
Plopping hair with silk bonnet
Related Article : Best Silk Sleep Cap For Curly Hair
This is another method of plopping the hair, instead of towel or t-shirt, the silk bonnet is used,
When you sleep on a cotton pillow, your curls get very tangled and will become more tough to manage, and using a silk bonnet may help your hair from being tangled,
Silk is also very good in absorbing the water from your hair,
- Drop your head down and make sure you look at the floor,
- Take the silk bonnet and place it on bottom of your neck just below your head,
- Now bring the cap to the front of your head and cover the hairs at front and place the hanging hair on top of your head, make sure you covered the whole head,
- You even sleep overnight, usually the silk bonnets are used for this purpose,
- You will get a bouncy and more defined curls with more volume in the morning.
Plopping with flour sack
The flour sack towels are very light line weight than the microfiber towels, they are very good absorbent,
The difference between the microfiber and flour sack is, it is smaller in size than the microfiber, if you are traveling and wanna plop your hair aswell, you can use this one, it saves a lot of space in your package.
It also dry very quickly, which will be very useful when you are on a vacation
The flour sack that i use is UTOPIA
Curly hair method pineapple plop
Does curly girl method of plopping hair flatterns roots?
No, it actually lift the roots up and maks it bouncy and adds more volume to it.
Plopping and blow drying
Plopping is an alternative to blow drying which helps to dry hair without heat damaging it,
Some people blow dry after plopping the hair to dry the remaining moisture in the hair, but I would recommend air drying it.
Plopping short curly hair
Can you plop short hair?
Yes, you can plop short hair but according to my experience plopping the short hair with towel is tougher because when you try to collect every hair to the center it is tough, so what i would suggest is use the silk bonnet method for plopping, it is easy to collect the short hair and is perfectly suitable for you.
This method will be the best alternative for plopping with a towel or t-shirt for the short curlies.
Plopping overnight
If I wash my hair at night, should I plop overnight?
It is not necessary to plop overnight if you bath at night, just do it normally as mentioned above.
How to sleep with plopped hair?
If you wana really sleep with the plopped hair, i would recommend you to go with the silk bonnet plopping method, because when you sleep there is a chance of the towel or t-shirt getting untied and that will not happen with the silk bonnet cap.
Wet plop VS dry plop
In dry plopping the intention is to dry the hair, all the methods that are discussed above comes under dry plopping and the wet plopping the intention is not to dry the hair but to absorb the hair stylers that are applied to the wet hair,
Wait, if you are still confused about the wet plop, i have given the steps to wet plop.
What does wet plopping do for curly hair?
Wet plopping is done to hydrate the hair well and it reduces the frizz very well.
how to wet plop curly hair?
- Shower your hair with the best shampoo,
- Apply the hair products that i mentioned for the dry plopping (leave-in conditioner, hair oil, and a butter cream)
- Instead of squeezing the hair with towel or a t-shirt cover it with the shower cap so that the hair is still wet but are placed on top of your head,
- After 15 to 20 minutes remove the shower cap and you can dry plop it or use blow dryer to dry it,
- By this method your hair will get hydrated very well and you will get more defining curls.
how to sleep with wet plop curly hair?
I would definitely not recommend you to do it overnight, because wet hair for a night would make you sick.
What to do after plopping hair?
After plopping hair you will have to style it, since half of the leave-in product will be absorbed by the towel, you will have to apply it again, and comb them with the wide toothed comb, but to be honest there won’t be a much work since you have done everything before plopping.
How long to plop?
Plopping between 15 to 20 minutes will be the best, you can also plop overnight as i mentioned above, but most of the curlies do it 15 to 20 minutes.
Plopping straight hair
Can you plop straight hair? If you have an answer please leave your answer in the comments.
Final words
These curly girl methods of Plopping is the best way to get a bouncy and more defining curls without damaging it, one of the best methods found in curly hair world is this, maintaining the hair volume, getting the best looking curls, getting rid of static are the most challenging things for the curlies, and plopping will help to achieve all these easily if done rightly, there is also a chance of messing up with the curl patterns if done wrong, so be careful with any method that you choose and every single step you take.
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