Girls with Curls

It's been a pretty depressing couple of weeks for me, what with the news about baby Caroline and some other things that have been going on recently. I've been trying to think of something cheerful to post about, so when Amanda posted, asking for curly hair advice, I decided to give it a go.

You've all seen the pinterest idea of what curls look like. Flawless, shiny, bouncy... yeah, wipe that picture out of your mind right now. Curly hair is beautiful, but like most things in life, natural curls don't look anything like what you see in the magazines. Each head of curls is totally unique and beautiful. Curls can be a blessing and a curse,plus they require a lot of maintenance. Curly hair is totally different from straight hair, and therefore, they require different kinds of care.

Enter the curly girl method. So what is the curly girl method? Put simply, the curly girl method is: don't treat your hair like it's straight. Curly hair needs a lot of moisture to prevent frizz and other nasty hair ailments. Here's the problem, shampoo dries your hair out. "So what should I do?" The curly girl wails, "Just not use it?" Yep. Before you get grossed out, let me explain. Most curly girls, myself included, use conditioner to scrub our scalps. It has a lot of the same cleaning properties as shampoo, but it won't dehydrate your hair. If you start the curly girl method, give your hair time to adjust. It will be kind of gross and oily for awhile, but once your hair gets more moisture from the conditioner, it will realize that it doesn't have to produce so much oil, and the yuckiness will go away. However you may not want to start the curly girl method the week of your senior pictures (experience talking here).

The first step in the curly girl method is figuring out what kind of products to use on your hair. Shampoos, and even conditioners, containing sulfates and silicones tend to make your hair frizzier. So you first want to find a sulfate-free shampoo and conditioner. A good rule of thumb is "No fates, no cones," that is, if anything on the ingredients list ends in -fate or -cone, it's not for you. This also applies to hairsprays, gels, and mousses. Personally, I use TRESemme Naturals conditioner.

So, how do you start the curly girl method? First, wash your hair with the sulfate-free shampoo, which you have purchased from your favorite grocery store. This will get all the nasty stuff from your old products out and leave you with clean hair. Then condition with your brand-new sulfate-free conditioner. A lot of people recommend that you bun your hair in a bun before you wash out the conditioner, so that it soaks in. You can use this time to wash behind your ears and scrub between your toes. Then wash the conditioner out.

There are several schools of thought about what you should do after you get out of the shower. Some people recommend that you don't wash out all the conditioner. Some people recommend that you wash out all the conditioner but apply a leave-in. Some people don't need to do either (like me). You just have to experiment with this step and figure out what works best for you. But everyone agrees that you absolutely, positively should never ever ever use a hair brush on your curly hair. Always use a comb and never comb your hair when it's dry. You can comb in the shower or out but just make sure your hair is wet enough (think sopping).

Then you should apply hair products of your choice:  mousses, gels, sprays, whatever works best for your hair. Personally, I use Garnier Moroccan Oil. It works as a leave-in conditioner and reduces frizz. But, again, you're going to have to experiment with a lot of different sulfate-free products to find what is best for your hair. Make sure that you "scrunch" rather than rub the product into your hair. This will allow your natural curl pattern to form. Also, make sure you don't put too much product close to your scalp because this can get icky.

Then you should dry your hair (because, chances are, you are currently standing in your bathroom with dripping hair trying to balance your laptop on the sink). Once again, there are many different schools of thought on how you should dry your hair. There are the low-heat-and-diffuser people. There are the air-dry people, but everyone agrees that you should not use your towel to dry your hair. Why? Because all those little nubs combined with the vigorous rubbing motion we all know you're going to employ, is one massive recipe for frizz. One of the best ways to dry curly hair is to use a T-shirt. Yep, just a plain, ol' T-shirt. Use it to squeeze the water from the bottom of your hair or use it as a turban. It really does cut down on frizz. Make sure that you don't touch your hair too much while it's drying because this will break up the curls and cause, you guessed it, frizz.

Okay, this is a lot of information at once, I know, and, believe it or not, it's only a rough summary of the curly girl method, but don't be put off! I've been doing this for over three years, and it's super easy once it becomes part of your routine. Sure, it takes a lot of trial and error to figure out what is best for your hair, but your hair will look so much better! Mine looked much better only a week into it (thank goodness, because then I had my senior pictures taken). So, give it a try, chances are, you'll love it!