I women at work has super curly hair. It always looks so
neat and tidy in perfect ringlets. My own really curly hair
is messy and frizzy and I never seem to get the ringlets to look
good. I asked this women how she got her hair to look so
balanced and she said something like she flops her hair after she
washes it. Have you heard of hair flopping? How do I
do that? Would it help? Losing My Hair
Mind in Mississippi
Answer
Dear Losing,
What your work pal may be talking about sounds similar to a
current hair term known as "plopping". Plopping is
a term that has evolved over time from curly haired folks that
have developed the technique involving using a super absorbent
towel or similar item to help set recently washed wavy or
naturally curly strands into more balanced waves, curls and
ringlets.
The plopping technique is most often used on newly washed hair
to help remove excess moisture before drying and/or diffusing the
hair. Plopping and/or flopping involves bending over at the
waist to position the bulk of any waves and/or curls near the top
of the head then wrapping the towel so that the hair remains
"plopped" on top of the head.
A good friend of mine has used this technique for her super
tight ringlets for several years. She uses the Earth
Therapeutics towel for her hair. Before she showers and
washes her hair she will lay the super absorbent towel on her
bed. After she completely rinses her hair and is getting out
of the shower she will quickly towel blot her soaking hair with a
towel to capture any drippage. She then applies her favorite
leave-in conditioner alternating between Phyto7
and Phyto
9. Then she kneels on the floor in front of the beach towel
and bends over and captures her curls so that they flop, plop,
fall into the towel at the top of her head.
She then wraps the towel in a Carmen Miranda fashion so that
the sides are tight. She rolls either side of the towel to
form equal rolls. She has a huge claw clip that she uses to
hold the sides together. In the past she has tied the two
sides together on top of her head but reported that the ends tend
to slip.
The absorbant towel sucks up excess water and "sets"
the curls on top of the head into a group of clumps. Some
curly haired folks will let their curls completely dry in the
towel, removing it to finish "air drying". Others
will remove the towel to diffuse/dry their curls.
After you remove your flopping/plopping towel, gently shake
your curls out of their tight clumps. Use a long finger diffuser
to add volume at the roots but separate the rest of your hair into
curls or ringlets. If you prefer you can experiment by
adding other styling or setting products such as gels.
You might ask your work friend to give you a brief overview of
how she handles her own hair flopping.
Best wishes
Karen
