Curly Girls

       So, I am not much of a 'how to' blogger, but I have to be one today.  You know the old saying that girls with straight hair wish they had curly; and those with curly hair wish they had straight? Well in my case, I love having curly hair. Many women (including way back when me) cannot stand their natural curls. The countless battles with frizz, breakage, and tangles can be enough to drive any girl running into the arms of a flat iron. I am here to say, "STOP! Back away from the heat and your tresses will not get hurt!"

       When it comes to the battle of the curl, I have to say I was sort of on my own. My mother had four, nappy headed, bi-racial girls and she did her best. But more often than not we were sent to school in braids or ponytails slathered with V05. I'm sure mostly due to the fact we were little girls who tortured our hair, but also in part to not really knowing how to care for curls. After many years of wishing I had straight hair and countless products, I have FINALLY managed to say, I LOVE my curly hair. With a little practice, you will see that having curls is one of the easiest and worry free textures a girl could ever wish to have.

FIRST THINGS FIRST: Your arsenal.
You really only need one hair product and one tool to get what you desire. A wide tooth comb and a lightweight curling creme/cream. LADIES. Please stop using the gels, spray gels and mousse to style your hair. Unless your hair is a casserole, there is no need for a crunchy topping. These products freeze your hair in whatever state it was in before it dried and encases it in a crusty shellac. Not cute. Also, I tend to stay away from the serums unless I am straightening my hair. These can work, but if you aren't careful you will end up looking like you have a jerry curl. Soul glo was bad then and it is bad now. If you don't know what I am talking about chances are you were born after 1986 and I encourage you to look it up on youtube. It's freaking hilarious.
      Pantene makes a pretty good creme in their curly hair series, but it says curly to straight on it and I often found I needed more product to achieve the right look. This in turn caused me to have to wash my hair everyday. You should go for anything that says things like lightweight curling creme, or leave in conditioner. *my favorite brands are listed below.

        Many of you know this, but in order to achieve your best curly potential you need to get your hair wet every day. Keep in mind that you do not need to wash your hair every day (unless it is naturally too oily or you have those 'just gotta' moments.). Too often we pile on the product and have to shampoo every day. With curls all you are doing is torturing your hair. We need moisture and shampooing only strips it out. I usually wash my hair every other day with a shampoo FOR curly hair (not curly to straight). I recommend tresseme' flawless curls, pantene curly to moisture, or mixed chicks (sold online @ mixedchicks.net or in select stores.) Mixed chicks is my favorite so far but don't worry! You do not have to be mulitracial to use it. When it comes to curls we focus on texture, not ethnicity. Although I only wash every other day, I do condition daily using any conditioner from the brands listed above.

       Next, after wetting your hair be sure you don't over dry your hair. You have to work quickly to tame your tresses before frizz sets in so don't linger with a towel around your head. Dry it enough to keep it from dripping but make sure it is still 'wet'.  Start small with your product. It will take a few times before you find the right amount for your hair so I encourage you to change the amount you are using rather than the product itself. I usually start with a dime sized amount, rubbing it in my hands kind of like lotion and work up from there if I need to. *Although my hair looks shoulder length, it stretches out to mid shoulderblades. If your hair is longer, you will need more product.*
      Using your fingers as a comb, gently comb the product through from tip to root to discourage breaking the hair strands. Applying product is a two step process for me. The first application is basicly just to get enough in your hair to be able to comb it out with the wide toothed comb. After you have the product in, you can use your comb to get all the tangles out.  The second application is for the styling. Using just a little more product (you can work up to more as needed) rub your hands together so that the product covers both hands. Then tip your head upside down so that your hair is hanging down as if you were going to blow dry it. ( I trust you know what I am saying) Use your hands to sprunch/scrunch your hair. This is the basic curly girl hair move.
    Be sure you take care to not overwork your hair. the more you touch it, the worse your hair looks.
After a few good scrunches, flip your hair back up and give it a gentle rustling by shaking your head a little. This encourages a natural separation on your curls, without making them 'stringy'.

    The next step is VERY important. DO NOT TOUCH YOUR HAIR!!! Do not run your fingers through it. Do not rub it againt the couch. And please do not pull shirts over your head!. Your hair has to air dry.  Air drying is the only way to keep your curls from getting the frizz. After your hair has dried, you can shake it up a bit, play with it, give it  a few scrunches if needed to break up the curl a bit and give it some more movement ( I'll always get my hands wet before finishing or refreshing my curls). After that, you are good to go! The whole process takes about 8 minutes for me and that includes washing. Many times I will leave the house with my hair still wet and by the time I get to where I am going it's dry.

    This will also work for wavy girls too. Many wavies will realize they are actually curlies, they have just been using the wrong brush. =) Have fun and let me know how this works!!