There are moments people with textured hair recognize: the moment when everything feels like it should be working, but somehow it isn’t, leaving you feeling frustrated instead. After all, the routine is long, the products are expensive, and the effort is real. But the results remain inconsistent.

Some days, curls fall effortlessly into place. Other days, they fall into frizz or a dryness without explanation. The blame for this unpredictability often lies with the hair itself. But in Curlplexed: Tip, Tricks and The Secrets to Crack Your Hair Code by Raviya Mnati, it’s not the curls that are the issue; rather, it’s the lack of technique. And perhaps more importantly, it’s the lack of understanding behind the correct techniques.

The Real Problem: Doing Without Knowing

For years, curly hair routines have been shaped by imitation, a method that will go viral, and suddenly everyone is scrunching, plopping, and diffusing. The question of why a method works is not always understood, leading to inconsistent curls. Positioned as the ultimate guide for “brown curlies”, Curlplexed: Tips, Tricks and The Secrets to Crack Your Hair Code by Raviya Mnati offers reliable tools and explains the why and how they are used.

The Author

Raviya Mnati is a journalist and communications strategist. Her work has been defined by structure, clarity, and thoughtful inquiry. She embraces curly hair as a cultural narrative and a daily practice, something shaped by identity and history as much as by habit and technique. Drawing on her years in journalism, Raviya examined the systems that shape how textured hair is managed and perceived. The book offers a grounded alternative, one that’s rooted in observation and discipline. The book is a balanced technical guide with personal insight. It takes you on a journey not only to question how you do your hair, but also why you do it that way. And in so doing, positions care as an intentional act, one that reconnects with natural hair texture while challenging inherited standards. Here are some of the book’s highlighted techniques.

Porosity: The Technique Behind Every Technique

Raviya Mnati has a foundational concept: porosity before any method can work. Porosity is the determination of how hair absorbs and retains moisture. Without an understanding of it, even the most trending techniques will fail. Understanding your hair falls into two categories.

• Low porosity: Having low porosity hair means the hair resists moisture and requires a specific application method and heat to allow any product to penetrate.
• High porosity: While high porosity hair absorbs moisture immediately and loses it just as quickly, it needs sealing techniques and layering to help maintain hydration.

The book does not prescribe a single routine; rather, it offers adaptations for every technique, step by step, based on the individual’s hair type. It shows porosity through a lens, then leans into how to apply the techniques to overcome it.

Squish-to-Condish: Relearning Hydration

This method transforms how moisture is delivered to the hair. The book explains that hair should be fully saturated and that conditioner should be applied generously. Then, using her squish-to-condish method, the hair is squished to allow the water and product to be pressed into the strands, encouraging deeper absorption.

The squelchy squish sound isn’t incidental; it’s feedback that moisture is being driven into the hair shafts. It’s around here in the book that you realized the difference between doing and understanding. It’s about recognizing what properly hydrated hair should feel like and learning how to get there consistently.

Application: Where Most Routines Fail

Application is one area where curly hair routines often break down. If techniques are rushed, or products are applied unevenly, or a step in the technique is skipped, the misunderstanding results in inconsistent results.

The book treats application as a discipline. Hair is sectioned, product is distributed evenly, and time is important; the reader is encouraged to slow down and work product into the hair with intention. To observe how hair responds at each stage and to treat applications as a foundation in your hair routine. It’s about understanding that even the best techniques will fail if not done correctly or inconsistently.

Plopping: Setting the Foundation for Definition

The next challenge, once hair is properly hydrated and applied intentionally, is preserving curl formation during drying. That is where plopping comes in. Plopping in the book explains how to set curls in places without disturbing their natural pattern. This method:

• Minimizes frizz
• Reduces friction
• Allow curls to form

Throughout the book, context matters. Plopping depends on the product choice, hair porosity, and even climate. Left too long, curls can flatten. If the technique is done incorrectly, it can distort the curl pattern. The book’s approach is not a prescription for a fixed method or duration; it is a guide to adjusting, observing, and refining curly hair.

Diffusing: Controlled Drying, Intentional Results

Drying is typically where those carefully formed curls fall apart. Traditional blow-drying disrupts the curl pattern entirely, and air-drying can lead to uneven definition or unwanted frizz. In Curlplexed, diffusing is more than a tool to attach to a dryer; instead, it’s about control.

• Airflow needs to be managed to avoid disrupting the formation of curls.
• Heat settings need to align with the individual’s hair porosity.
• Hover diffusing vs pixie diffusing can change the final result.

Diffusing is less about drying hair quickly and more about finishing a process that began in the wash stage. It’s this level of detail that sets the book apart and changes your hair’s final result.

Reviews from the Brown Curlies Community

“I didn’t realize how important porosity was until reading this book. Once I learned that my hair had low porosity. I changed steps in my regimen, and my hair got so much healthier,” Jordyn.

“I have worked as a hair stylist for years, but when I started doing my daughter’s hair, I was so confused. I was so impressed that Raviya knows so much about curly hair, and the book is really easy to follow.” Tasneem

“Raviya’s book is an invaluable resource for us curlies. It has all the essential info that helped me get my curls right, and I learned new tricks, insights, and product tips.” Sharda

“This is an informative and helpful book. I have always struggled with maintaining curly hair, and this book has helped me so much with the relatable stories and helpful tips! Highly recommend.” Sana

The Outcome: Predictability, Not Perfection

Described as the ultimate guide for owners of curls, the book navigates textured hair and the layered cultural expectations around it. Mastering techniques becomes more than a hair care pursuit; it becomes a form of agency. A move away from imposed standards and a step towards self-defined care.

Ultimately, Curlplexed: Tip, Tricks and The Secrets to Crack Your Hair Code by Raviya Mnati isn’t about gaining the perfect hair; it’s about having predictable hair. And this predictability comes from technique and understanding. The book’s premise is that there is no single secret, no universal routine. Instead, there is a system created to help you with curl principles and techniques, with insightful observations, a new language to learn, and a place where curls stop feeling unpredictable.