When it comes to hair care in the curly world, one of the key pillars to have healthy and defined curls is hydration and moisturization.

Indeed, Curly hair is naturally dry, because its natural oil called sebum, must travel around the strand, and the tighter the curl is, the most difficult is it for the sebum to travel through the whole strand.

That’s why it’s so important for natural curly hair to always be hydrated and moisturized.

But what does that mean? What is the difference between hydration and moisturization?

To keep it simple, Hydrate with Water and Moisturize with Oil.

Hydrating your hair means providing humectants to attract and retain water into the hair. Humectant is used in hair products to absorb the water in the air and keep it into your hair.

You can hydrate your hair by using water-based products, Glycerin or Aloe Vera. Hydrating your hair will bring more softness to your curls.

Moisturizing the hair will smoothen your hair cuticle by forming a barrier around the hair fiber.

You can moisturize your hair by using emollients like butters and oils to seal and lock the moist in the hair shaft. Moisturizing your hair will bring more shine and definition to your curls.

In other words, it’s very important to hydrate and moisturize your hair very often, in order to have soft, well defined and bouncy curls.