Ultimately I use a method I learned from Deva Curl, though I don't use their products.

Something to note: I have dryer hair and I don't get oily too often so I only really wash my hair 1-2 times per week.

1) So first I use this Shampoo Bar . The one that's linked is my favorite scent that I've tried so far but feel free to experiment. If you do order you can use THIS LINK so I get points for referring you and you get $5 off!

If you do wind up using the shampoo bar it takes a little time to get the hang of lathering, but I love it.

I part my hair in the middle and lather half at a time and then brush through my hair with my fingers (this is part is key). Then I rinse it out and shampoo again--brush with fingers again and rinse it out.

Ultimately regular shampoo and conditioner can also work, I've just got some product allergies so my products are natural. Whatever shampoo/conditioner you use, still brush your hair with fingers and do #2 as stated below.

2) After rinsing, I brush through my hair with my fingers again and scrunch my hair upward while still in the shower to get some of the moisture out. Then piece by piece, I add this curl cream- Matrix Biolage R.A.W Curl Defining Styling Butter. (Heads up, the curl cream can be hard to find.) I scrunch my hair after to get some of curl cream + moisture out after. Also when I say piece by piece, that can make it sounds like a very thorough, precious process. It isn’t. I just put some of the product on my fingers and then start a few inches away from my roots and rub the product down a piece of my hair and move on to the next piece.

3) Then when I get out of the shower I dry my hair by scrunching upward while holding a microfiber towel or paper towels while standing straight up and also with my head flipped over and scrunching up that way.

If I don't want to go outside with wet hair, sometimes I'll add some root clips (you can look at a Youtube tutorial like this--I do it very imperfectly) and then diffuse my hair with this diffuser attachment. (It has mixed reviews but I don't use it too often and haven't had any issues with it.) Or I'll diffuse without root clips too.

If I want to refresh my curls during the week but not do a full wash, I'll wet my hair and brush it out a bit with my fingertips and then just do steps 2 and 3.

Good luck on your curl journey! Let me know how it goes!