Image: supplied.
Like many people with curly hair, my strands have a mind of their own. No matter how much product I use or how long I take styling it, how it turns out depends entirely on what mood it’s in.
And of course, most of the times it has looked its best is when I haven’t done anything… and then I can never recreate it again.
Naturally, I’m always on the lookout for any trick, hack or tip that promises fast results for my frizz. Yesterday, after discussion about our shared curly hair, The Glow’s Kahla asked me if I knew anything about “plopping”.
After I gave her a confused and slightly disgusted look, she assured me it wasn’t anything gross, but rather a special hair technique for wavy and curly hair. She’d tried it that morning – and it had worked. (Post continues after gallery.)
Women with great curls.
A mix of serious hair trend FOMO and a particularly frizzy hair day meant that of course I HAD to try it.
Plopping
Plopping is a special drying technique that promises to create perfect curl structure by reducing frizz. It requires just two tools – a large T-shirt or a microfibre towel and some clips to secure the towel in a turban-like wrap.
Sounds simple, right? Except IT’S NOT!
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I don’t know whether that’s because it’s actually meant to be difficult the first few times to test your dedication to your curls or whether I’m just very, very uncoordinated, but no matter how many YouTube tutorials I watched, I just could not do it.
I enlisted my boyfriend to help by reading out each instruction step-by-step while I put it into practise. This was the result.
Finally, I came across this handy little diagram and the whole thing finally made sense.
The basic method:
1. Wash/wet hair and and blot gently with a towel (no vigorous drying!).
2. Lay your t-shirt or towel on a flat surface.
3. Bend over at the waist and arrange hair so it's in the centre of the T-shirt and concentrated at the top of your head.
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4. Pull the sides of the T-shirt so it's taut against your forehead and the back of your head. Then grab the two sides/arms (above your ears) and twist into long rolls.
5. Secure the two "arms" with clips or into a knot. Allow to set for 15 to 30 minutes, then unleash your (hopefully) gorgeous curls onto the world.
Here is me attempting the plop (and once in slow motion for good measure!).
The results
I'm not going to lie (and I probably don't have to with that video evidence!) - You do feel a bit like an idiot sitting with a giant T-shirt wrapped round your head. It also wouldn't be very practical/comfortable to sleep in if you were to leave it in overnight.
But unwrapping my hair, I have to admit I was impressed.
My curls were bouncy, more defined and - most importantly - more frizz-free than normal. And that was using no product aside from a tiny bit of Wella System Professional Luxe Oil Reconstructive Elixir ($44).
It wasn't quite on this level...
But I'll definitely be trying it again. Consider me a plopping convert.
Looking for an easy hairstyle? Look no further than the hairstyle we're loving - the half bun.
Celebrities wearing half-buns
Do you plop your hair?