Defined Curls: Plopping 101
Plopping, that’s a weird word, right? For those who have not heard of the plopping hair method, prepare yourself for defined, bouncy looking curls! The first time I saw this method being used, I thought it was just some fancy way of drying your hair with a t-shirt. Little did I know that this would become my go-to curly hair styling method!
Hair products you will need:
- An old cotton t-shirt
- A microfiber towel
- Water bottle
- A wide-tooth comb or detangling brush
- Hairstyling products of your choice. I’m using conditioner, a curl defining crème, a gel and some coconut oil (but any oil will do)
Method
1. Drying
When I get out of the shower, I wring all excess water out of my hair. Then using a microfiber towel I gently pat-dry my hair, which helps soak up the excess water while still keeping it moist. Think wet, not dripping.
2. Detangle
I then I comb through my hair to make sure it’s free from any knots. I like to use a dime sized amount of conditioner to make the combing process easier. If my hair has started getting a bit dry, I will add small amounts of water to my hair till it is about 90% wet again. This is because your hair needs to be wet for plopping to work.
3. Add in your products
Now add in the hair products of your choice, I use a small amount of curl crème, some hair oil and a tiny dollop of gel. First I rake the conditioner through my hair, then rake in the curl crème, then the oil and lastly the gel. The raking method works well as my hair gets evenly coated with all the products. My ends lack a bit of a curl (as I am transitioning and have not done the big chop yet!) so I ever so gently scrunch my hair, being sure to get the ends to make them more curly.
4. Plop till you drop
I lay a t-shirt on a flat surface (a bed works best) with the sleeves of the t-shirt facing down.
Tilting my head down towards the bed, I slowly start folding my hair on top of each other in the t-shirt, with the ends of my hair being the first to touch the shirt. Just imagine the t-shirt being some sort of bowl for your hair.
Once the top of my head is touching the t-shirt, I take the end of the t-shirt and fold it over to the nape of my neck.
Then take the sleeves of the t-shirt and tie them to secure the t-shirt in place. All of this is down while my head is still tilted upside down.
You want to make sure that the t-shirt is tightly secured on the crown of your head as this is the region where your curls will form. The more lose the plop, the more lose the curl, girl.
At this point, I will get dressed and do my makeup to give my hair some time to dry. The longer you leave it, the better. Let it sit. You’ll look crazy, but hey, totally worth it, trust me. II usually try to let it sit for at least an hour or two, and longer if I haven’t run out of patience.
Once it has sat long enough, I remove the t-shirt to reveal the most beautiful curls. There are some days where I have to rush and don’t have two hours to spare, so I’ll remove the towel while still slightly wet and go in with a diffuser on the lowest heat and speed setting. This is so that all our hard work doesn’t go to frizz. Lastly, I’ll add some more gel r oil if needed and scrunch and fluff my curls till I’m satisfied.
I have seen many plopping videos on YouTube, and everyone seems to do it in a different way, but I have found this method of doing it to be the best for me. It can be quite tricky flipping and folding the t-shirt at first, but you get used to it after the first or second attempt. It’s really just trial and error till you find your plopping method!
