4 Ways You Can Use Steam To Style Your Natural Hair

Steam for a long time has been praised for it’s conditioning abilities whether you’re using a handheld or  standing stream or stream from your shower.

When you steam natural hair, you can add moisture to the hair without saturating it with water, plus it helps to lift the cuticles so that ingredients can penetrate the hair better.  It’s for this reason that steamers can now be found in most hair salons.

In fact, there are many steamers — both standing and hand-held — available for personal use.  Q-redew Handheld Steamer is one of my favorites and is available on Amazon. You can read my 5 Reasons Why This Streamer is A Winner.

But despite all of the new products on the market, few people are talking about one of my favorite ways to use steam — to style your hair.  Steam is one of my favorite magic tricks. (It’s a lifesaver!)

Here are four ways you can use steam to style you hair too!

Refresh Your Curls (In the Shower or With a Steamer)

Have you ever woken up to dry, lifeless curls?  Before I incorporated steam into my regimen, I spritzed my hair with a water mixture to refresh my curls. Or if it was a total mess, I would be forced to start over from scratch.  To refresh my curls in the shower, I leave my hair out and let the steam wake up my curls.  To avoid “too much” steam, I always have my shower cap ready to cover my head.  (Too much steam can cause a lot of shrinkage or frizz.)  To have more control, I prefer my handheld steamer.  With it, I have total control of the amount of steam used.

SEE ALSO: 5 Reasons Q-Redew [Hair Steamer] is Life Changing

Steam Your Hair for Volume

Whenever I want more volume, I steam my hair — using the method above.  Not only can steam wake up your curls, but it can give you lots of volume. This trick is especially helpful for those with fine hair. If you don’t want to do wash-n-go’s due to tangling and knots, but twistouts are too “scalpy”, this is a great alternative. You can first do your twistout or braidout  then steam your hair for volume. Just be careful. If you use too much steam or manipulate your hair too much, you will cause frizz.

Steam  Your Hair and Retwist

My new favorite trick is to steam my hair, prior to setting my hair on twists. I used to have to co-wash, or spritz my hair in order for my hair to be pliable enough to retwist an old twist out. But now, I use my handheld steamer as a quick fix.  To retwist hair, I steam, add twisting butter, and then twist the hair.  The benefit of this method, is that I never have to worry about my hair being dry by morning.

Use Steam to “Blow Out” Your Hair

Would you like a blown out look without the drying heat of a blow dryer? Use a hand-held steamer for a “blow out”. To achieve this look, start with an old twist out or braid out. Then, pass the steamer through each section of hair.  You can either wear the “blown out” hair out as an afro, pin it up, or set your hair in twists. This is the trick I use prior to installing mini-twists.  Please note: that your hair will not stretch as much as it would with a blow dryer, but you will still get a lot of length.

So there you have it! Four ways you can use steam to style your hair.  Steam is a great way to add moisture to your hair without subjecting it to hydral fatigue or excessive manipulation.  It is also another great way for you to play with texture by adding volume to your curls.  Have any of you tried adding steam to your styling regimen?  How has it worked for you?