I’ve tried countless hair products and techniques to define my curls over the years—but only one thing has given me the most voluminous, defined ringlets: Plopping my hair. If you’re wondering “what the heck is plopping?” Let me enlighten you (and completely change your life!). Hair plopping is a technique that enhances and preserves wet curls while minimizing frizz as they dry, and it can be one of the easiest and biggest game-changing hacks for certain curl types —mainly 2c to 3b hair.

I promise you, I'm not overselling this. Like, when I started plopping my 2c/3a hair, my fine, thin curls were suddenly drying with major volume, definition, and consistency. Truly magical. The only caveat? Plopping can take a bit of practice and experimentation at first (think: A few weeks of trial and error), but I promise the results are worth the slight annoyance. So to help you get started on your hair plopping journey, I've broken down the exact instructions you'll need to master the plop.…