Subtype C hair is the curliest form of type 3 hair and taking care of the hair can be a bit challenging as it appears frizzier, more damaged, and drier than the other hair types. Keeping this in mind, we have curated a list of the best products for 3C hair that are specially formulated to address all your concerns related to your hair. They promise to give your hair shaft the much-needed moisturization and bounce to the length without infusing any harsh chemicals that could further harm the cuticles of your already disturbed hair. 

We understand taking care of hair, especially the curly hair type C can be a bit challenging. But if you are considering your tightest curl type as coily hair, let us break the myth that it's not!

Well, first thing first, 3C curls is a hair type, while 3 is the category and C is the subtype. There are four categories when it comes to hair type — type 1 which is straight hair, type 2 which is wavy hair, type 3 which is curly hair, and type 4 which is considered coily hair.

Now, every hair type has three different subtypes. While A denotes the softest appearance, B is slightly in between, and C is extreme in every category. In the case of 3C, the curly hair is tightly curled which is the maximum form of curly hair.

3C ringlets almost look like corkscrews that have less softness. Since they are tightly packed, they often appear denser and coarser than the subtypes A and B. They are also more prone to appear frizzy and dry due to the hair texture.

Now that you have quite mastered the fact how it matches your hair type, time to take action to help your mane appear fuller yet smoother and softer. Through our practical knowledge, we have curated the best products available in the market that can really make a difference to your tight curls and help them appear shinier and more defined. Take a look—

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  Editor's Pick

  Ouidad Curl Quencher Moisturizing Shampoo

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3C hair is always more prone to dryness, frizz, and split ends. Say goodbye to all those concerns with Ouidad's curl quencher moisturizing shampoo. Infused with a hydrating formula, this shampoo leaves your curls manageable and defined. This shampoo reduces build-up and cleans the scalp while infusing each strand with excess moisture. It rehydrates thirsty hair and adds a luxurious shine. Just take a pea-size amount and gently massage it into your scalp in a circular motion until it lathers. Rinse with tepid water and enjoy bouncy, refreshed hair. 

2

Best for Smoothening

Aunt Jackie's Curls & Coils Leave-In Hair Conditioner

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It is one of the best leave-in hair conditioners for 3C hair from Aunt Jackie's that lives up to the claims and truly hydrates the parched tresses. Enriched with olive oil, marshmallow roots, and shea butter, the product delivers the unwavering moisture that your curly hair needs to quench its thirst. It claims to manage the unruly hair, tame the frizz, and bestow a natural softness that is often missing from curly strands. It comes in a convenient pump bottle to make the user experience way easier than other products.

3

Best for Definition

OGX Moroccan Curling Perfection Defining Cream

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The curl-defining cream from OGX claims to tame the frizz and flyaways while giving structure to your ringlets. With a citrusy and floral aroma, it promises a rich experience as you use it in your hair. It is loaded with cold-pressed Moroccan argan oil that deeply moisturizes the hair to improve the strength and elasticity of the shafts. All you need to do is take a generous amount into the palm and rub the hands together before applying it to the curls to get the desired volume.

4

Best for Frizz

Moroccanoil Curl Defining Cream

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The brand Moroccanoil takes the upper hand in separating the curls while nourishing them at the same time. Infused with argan oil, the nourishing formula moisturizes the strands while providing a soft feel as you run your fingers through the ringlets. It also adds the desired bounce while imparting a binding shine for a great appearance. Addedly, it is made up for all curl types and comes in a safe paraben-free and phosphate-free formula for all-in-one care of your strands.

5

Best for Breakage

Cantu Shea Butter Moisturizing Curl Activator Cream

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Why invest in different products when you are getting all the benefits from a single product for your luscious curls? The curl activator cream from Cantu is one of the best hair products for 3C hair that not only defines your hair but also smoothens and enhances natural curl patterns while taking the frizz and adding the bounce to your mane. Loaded with essential oils, coconut oil, argan oil, and shea butter, the product leaves your hair strands shinier, and stronger and makes it free of damage and breakage for the ultimate care.

6

Best for Build-up

SheaMoisture Strengthen & Restore Shampoo

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SheaMoisture Strengthen & Restore shampoo can be your one-stop solution if you want to extract all the impurities and product build-up from your hair without damaging the hair strands. Loaded with peppermint, shea butter, and Jamaican black castor oil, the cruelty-free product promotes healthy hair growth, stimulates the scalp and deeply moisturizes the hair strands at the same time. Addedly, the product claims to work wonders irrespective of the curl pattern, so you know what you should do! Add it to the cart!

7

Most Cruelty-free

Cake The Curl Friend Defining Curl Cream

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Who wouldn't love a hair product that lives up to the claims while delivering the product in cutesy packaging? The cruelty-free and vegan-friendly product works excellently as a heat protector while promising to deliver an unwavering shine to the frizzy shafts. Plus, the protein-packed lightweight formula gives you the desired effect without weighing down your hair for better results. Furthermore, it is enriched with calendula, chamomile, and shea butter that bestows you with the tresses of your dreams!

8

Most Paraben-free Formula

tgin Honey Miracle Hair Mask

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The Honey Miracle Hair Mask does more than just deeply conditioning your hair. It is enriched with raw honey and olive oil to restore the essential moisture to the unmanageable and dry strands for optimal results. The blend of essential oils like jojoba oil, jojoba oil, olive oil, and vitamins A, E, and D work like magic and also eliminates frizz and hair breakage while smoothing out the cuticles of lackluster hair. The best part? It is free of paraben, lanolin, petroleum, or any artificial color!

9

Best to Replenish Hair

Mixed Chicks Leave-In Conditioner

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The leave-in deep conditioner from Mixed Chicks proudly showcases a product that deeply nourishes, moisturizes, and replenishes your thirsty curls for a defined look. It is indeed one of the best leave-in conditioners for 3c hair that helps you to deal with manageability, split ends, damaged length, and flyaways. Loaded with silk amino acids, jojoba seed oil, evening primrose oil, wheat amino acid, and safflower seed oil, the product locks in moisture and gives you the desired result without weighing down the hair.

10

Best for Instant Volume

Rizos Curls Curl Defining Cream

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Packed with the goodness of coconut oil, shea butter, and aloe vera, the curl-defining cream reduces hair breakage, controls frizz, and repairs the split ends while promoting healthy hair growth and deeply conditioning the strands as well. It helps you to enhance your natural curls and retain the volume for days. Lastly, it contains no nasty ingredients like paraben, silicone, or sulfate that could do more harm than good to your hair! Just apply a quarter-sized amount from root to tip to unleash the benefit.

11

Taliah Waajid Curly Curl Cream

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The curly curl styling cream is an excellent hair styling agent that can revitalize your frizzy curls by eliminating them at the same time for the dreamy look you have been desiring for a long time. It defines the curls while ensuring no sticky residue is left on the hair that can weigh it down as time passes. With an invigorating scent of shea butter, the product boasts of holding the style for the longest period while nourishing the strands at the same time.

12

Curls Blueberry Bliss Hair Growth Oil

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Formulated with organic blueberry extract, chamomile extract, pomegranate seed extract, gardenia flower oil, and aloe leaf juice, the product helps to prevent breakage, increase hair growth, and restore damaged hair. The hair oil is excellent for boosting hair growth while sealing the moisture for a softening effect. It is also formulated without artificial oils, colors, and fragrances for all-in-one care. Just apply a few drops of oil directly on the scalp to unleash the benefit of the product and thank us later!

13

Softsheen-carson Coil Moisturizing Souffle

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The deep conditioning treatment is packed with the benefit of mango oil and bamboo milk that softens the curls and defines them at the same time for a luscious appearance. Addedly, the brand boasts of a tailor-made menu for its anti-shrinkage recipe that bestows you with an incredibly soft and shiny look that survives a couple of washes. Other than that, the product promotes a healthy scalp and moisturized ends that promise less breakage. You can now celebrate different hairstyles and style your hair the way you like without damaging the strands!

14

Detangling Brush for Black Natural Hair- 10 Pcs

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The 10-piece brush set comes with some of the best tools that you need to take care of your ringlets. Make your wash days a lot easier and faster as you incorporate them into your hair care routine. The pack of 10 includes a 9-row nylon detangler brush, a sleep bonnet, a detangling brush, a spray bottle, one wide tooth comb, one hair claw clip, one hair scalp massager shampoo massager, one double-sided edge brush, and two alligator hair clips for all-in-one care.

15

Jane Carter Solution Curls to Go Curl Cocktail Styling Cream

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The cocktail conditioning cream by Jane Carter Solution takes the upper hand at taming the frizz and controlling the unmanageable curls while keeping them soft at the same time. Specially formulated with sunflower seed oil, coconut oil, shea butter, jojoba seed oil, and avocado oil, the product helps retain moisture, styling with ease, and elongating the curls. It also suits from curly to coily hair to bestow you with a softer and smoother feeling as you touch your mane.

16

Jessicurl Hair Cleansing Cream

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The moisturizing shampoo from Jessicurl is exactly what you need to tame your curls and make them softer and smoother. It claims to be gentle on your hair and doesn't create much lather, unlike average shampoos. Free of silicone, sulfate, gluten, and harmful preservatives, this is one of the best 3C curly hair products that is specially made to address problems like frizzy hair, built-up residues, and dry hair for beauties who have thicker strands. Grab it now till the stock lasts!

Now that you have taken a look at the products, take a look at how you can pick the best product for yourself—

Below are the parameters to keep in mind—

a) Hair Porosity — Before you get your hands on the product for your 3C hair, find out your hair porosity, which is nothing but moisture-retaining capabilities. And the capacity often depends on the structure of your cuticles. In short, if your hair has porosity, it tends to absorb moisture quickly and also lose it quickly. In this case, a product with a thicker formula would work best. If you have low-porosity hair, the ingredients are likely to not get absorbed by the hair, and thus you need a lightweight texture hair product for better absorption (1).

b) Ingredients —  Look for hydrating ingredients like shea butter, argan oil, coconut oil, olive oil, jojoba oil, etc. These products come with great moisturizing properties that thoroughly hydrate the hair while nourishing the scalp and strands for a better appearance. They also reduce frizzy hair and unwanted flyaways that are the worst enemy of curly mane (2).

c) Components to Avoid — Getting rid of certain chemicals, preservatives, artificial fragrances, gluten, colors, dyes, and drying alcohol from the products are quite important while taking care of curly hair, as they are likely to do more harm than good (3).

Now, take a look at how you can take extra care of your 3C hair-

Here's how you can—

a) Know the Type - Well, truth be told, not many people are aware of the type of hair they have and blindly straighten or curl their hair using hot tools. Identifying the type and defining the curl requires special attention and procedure which is called the Curly Girl Method. So, if you think you have just plain frizzy hair, it is better to follow the routine and decide based on the result.

b) Hydrate the Hair - Our contributor Kristle Jones, a licensed cosmetologist, says, “3C hair is a highly textured hair type and tends to be a thirstier strand than someone with straight hair. It is vital to utilize hydrating products to give life to the curl.”

Since taking care of curly hair can be a bit difficult because of its frizzy nature, slowly incorporating hydrating products can ease the problem very well. Try using hydrating shampoos, conditioner, and a mask on damp hair once a week followed by a hair serum after rinsing the above products to tame the hair.

c) Use a Microfiber Towel - Using a microfiber towel to soak the excess water from your wet hair can be fruitful. It will not only make your hair dry effectively but it also tends not to strip away the moisture from your hair strands. 

d) Use Silk Pillowcase - Cotton pillowcases cause more friction which will maximize the chance of your hair appearing frizzier and drier. It will also aggravate the split end condition which will make the hair look brittle and damaged.

e) Minimize Using Hot Tools - Let us admit hot styling products do more harm than good! It soaks the hair moisture that affects the texture and pattern and causes heat damage, to say the least. Even if you have to, make sure you are using an effective heat protectant.

e) Use a Diffuser - Instead of using a dryer, curler, or straightener, include a diffuser in your hair routine which will make it way easier to style the hair. It will soak the water from your hair while making the curl more defined and luscious.

It's time to embrace the curly hair you have rather than feeling under-confident about how to style it! These best products for 3C hair are carefully curated drawing from our experience followed by extensive research. From shampoo to hair mousse, the list consists of something for everyone. Enriched with essential ingredients, making the hair appear the way you like it to can't get easier than this. So, what are you waiting for? Grab one to unleash all the benefits they offer!

Contributor: Kristle Jones, Licensed cosmetologist and Owner - Kate Lane Salons