Congratulations on taking the first step in embracing your beautiful hair! You have landed in the right place, and I am so excited to guide you through this journey. Now I have to say, deciding to rock your curls is the first big leap, but finding your people – those that have similar hair texture, lifestyle, and product budgets can be the most challenging part. Finding trustworthy people to teach you anything from which ingredients to avoid on a product label to tips on how to sleep with my hair was one of the most pivotal moments in my natural hair journey.

Step 1: Know your Curl Pattern

The first step to finding your curl twin is to familiarize yourself with what type of curls you have. Curl patterns range from 2A (a little wave) to 4C (super kinky). TikTok videos like this one do a great job quickly explaining curl types and how to find your own!

Now you are probably thinking “why do I need to classify my curls into a certain category? What if I have some tighter curls and some looser ones?”. Figuring out your curl pattern just helps to guide your search when you begin looking for your curl community on social media! Many influencers post videos like “styling my 3A curly hair” and being able to know you have a similar pattern, even if it is not identical, can help you go down the right initial path!

Step 2: Figuring out your Porosity

Next, knowing your hair porosity is so important and something that I think is very overlooked. Your porosity is simply how well your hair absorbs water and retains moisture. This can impact if products create definition, dryness, or build up. An easy way to discover yours is to try the float test. To do this, pull out a strand of clean hair with no product and drop it in a glass of water.

To put it plainly, low porosity hair does not absorb water, and products will stay on the surface of the glass. High porosity hair will sink to the bottom, which means products will easily absorb. Medium porosity is somewhere in the middle.

Personally, I have very low porosity curls so a routine like this one on TikTok might be suitable for me.

Step 3: Start the Search

Alright, now that we have those two basics squared away, we can get into finding your perfect curl twin! I suggest starting your search with your curl type followed by your porosity type. For example, I would search “3B low porosity curls” on TikTok and a video like this would come up. This is a great video since it shows the visual of what the girl’s hair looks like, so I can see if it resembles mine. She also gets right into the products she recommends, and she shows the prices. It might take some scrolling, but once you find a creator you resonate with, I recommend looking at their page for other product reviews or tips they share.

Also, don’t be scared to engage! Many curly influencers want to hear from their audience. Comment, DM with questions, reply to other comments, and you will find solutions to your curly struggles so much faster.

Step 4: Learning from Different Perspectives

While finding your perfect curl twin can be difficult, it can also be exciting! It is important to not limit yourself to one creator, so keep up with multiple creators that have different approaches! For me, I follow gym influencers that also post their curly routines. This has taught me how to get my curls to last longer, even after going to the gym, and how to wear my hair when I know I'm going to sweat. I also follow curly creators in college who post quick refresh routines and affordable products.

You might discover routines that work great for your hair or ones that truly do not work at all. But hey, it's a journey for a reason and just deciding to embark on it is already a massive step. Start exploring your authenticity and have fun with it! Go find your people – they are waiting for you!

Finding Your Curly Community

Becca Lipset

Linkedin