The question I get asked most often is 'is your hair natural?' The easy answer is 'yes, yes it is'. The long, complicated answer is 'yes the curls are natural but it takes hours of care and a lot of expense to make the curls look at least vaguely presentable.
I could probably write an entire book just on my hair but I'll try and keep this intro short for now and tell you how I manage my curly hair day-to-day.
Curly Girl Method
Conditioning
Treatments
Drying and styling
Cutting
There is a curl-specific way of cutting hair which recommends cutting each curl individually when the hair is dry. However, this type of cut is 1) hard to find and 2) expensive. So instead I rely on my hairdresser who I have entrusted with my hair for the past five years (and her predecessor back home who was my hair-y-godmother for many years). It takes a good hairdresser to cut curls - I've had enough disastrous haircuts and blowdrys to know. Thankfully, my hairdresser understands curls and knows which parts of my hair curl the most and which tend to dry a bit straighter. My best tip for finding a good hairdresser for your curly hair is, basically, find one who has curls. If they understand bounce, you're off to a good start.
My hair has been getting progressively shorter over the past two years and I'm loving its current iteration of a short, straight-edged flapper bob.
Finally, I should add that the only time my hair is ever down is when I'm out of the house. The second I get home I put on a hair wrap to keep my curls out of my face and to stop them frizzing.
Feel free to ask my any questions! I've got plenty more to say.
What are your best curly-girl tips?
I could probably write an entire book just on my hair but I'll try and keep this intro short for now and tell you how I manage my curly hair day-to-day.
Curly Girl Method
I've followed the Curly Girl Method for several years now. This was developed by Lorraine Massey, founder of Devachan Salon and DevaCurl hair products. Her book is a great read for any curly girls wanting to know more, and there are endless forums online too. The basic principles are not using any harsh chemicals in your hair or any silicone-based products which coat the hair and weigh it down. When I first started, finding sulphate and silicone free hair products was a nightmare and I just tried to fit them into my routine as and when I could find them. Thankfully, finding suitable products is now a lot easier and not as prohibitively expensive. I once paid £40+ for a bottle of conditioner to be shipped from the USA because there was absolutely no other alternative available. Never happening again.
Washing
One of the other main principles of Curly Girl is co-washing. This is to wash your hair with a conditioner, or, if need be, a very mild cleanser, not shampoo. The theory is that curly hair is very dry and using shampoo can strip out the natural oils and dry it out even more. I used Devacurl No-Poo on my hair for many many years and it was fantastic. My hair was so happy. Unfortunately, I can now only seem to find bottles of it selling for £30 and I love my hair, but no.
For the last year or so I've used Cantu's Sulfate-Free Cleansing Shampoo. It's sulphate & silicone free and, best of all, costs less than £10 and I can get it in Boots. I would prefer to use a milder cleanser as sometimes I worry this is drying my hair out but until there's an alternative which is as easily available and affordable, I'm not changing.
Keeping curly hair hydrated and well conditioned is probably the most important part. For a long time I was completely baffled by product packaging that said to use a 50p piece sized blob of conditioner on my hair - honey, that won't even do 1/20th of my hair. A handful of conditioner is more like it.
Again, I used DevaCurl's One Condition for many years until it got so expensive I couldn't justify it anymore. Now I'm using Cantu's Cream Conditioner. For the price, it does an amazing job of keeping my thirsty hair happy.
A lot of people recommend not combing or brushing curly hair but my scalp wouldn't thank me for that. I never ever brush or comb my hair when it's dry - that's a one way street to frizzy, snapped hair. I just use a Tangle Teezer in the shower when my hair's loaded up with conditioner.
The curliest of girls recommend a hydrating or restorative hair mask once a week, minimum. Most of the masks I've used require sitting on the hair for around half an hour and, I just really don't have time for that. Sorry, curly purists.
Hair masks tend to only ever happen for me when I'm having a bath. I've got a wish list of masks as long as my arm but the one I'm currently using is a Shea Moisture one which does an ok job but not enough for me to scream and shout from the rooftops about it.
I also use Cantu's Leave-In Conditioner around twice a week which does keep my hair soft but can weigh the curls down a little. I also have the occasional Olaplex treatment at the Salon, and have dabbled in Apple Cider Vinegar rinses (to minimum effect).
I also use Cantu's Leave-In Conditioner around twice a week which does keep my hair soft but can weigh the curls down a little. I also have the occasional Olaplex treatment at the Salon, and have dabbled in Apple Cider Vinegar rinses (to minimum effect).
Drying and styling
This is the part where my hair gets extremely complicated and tiresome. Air-drying my hair can take anywhere between three to four hours, and will usually result in very little volume. About six or seven years ago I discovered The Plop. I won't include photo evidence because my 'Plop' is a bright green t-shirt stolen from my Dad's wardrobe (sorry, Dad) and is definitely not a good look. Plopping is essentially wrapping your wet curls up in a tshirt to to dry them a little without disturbing the curls. Using a towel on curly hair is an absolute no-go because the fibres will just give you frizz. I used to 'Plop' for about 20 minutes, put in styling product, Plop for another hour or two then blow-dry but my curls were still a bit limp.
So now, my exceptionally complicated method, which takes most of an evening but requires minimal input from me is:
Plop when I get out of the shower for 15/20 mins, then rake through two or three dollops of styling product (currently Cantu's Curl Activator Cream); put it up in a shower cap for 30-45 mins to let the curls settle with the product in; then blow dry with a diffuser until it's 60% dry (on the slowest setting my hairdryer has to avoid disturbing the curls, with my head upside down, for about 10 minutes. Yes, this part is awful); and then wrap it on top of my head in a silk scarf for a few hours until I go to bed, to let the curls dry slowly. Told you - complicated. But this way I let my hair settle itself, the curls don't get moved around much, and I still get a good amount of volume.
So now, my exceptionally complicated method, which takes most of an evening but requires minimal input from me is:
Plop when I get out of the shower for 15/20 mins, then rake through two or three dollops of styling product (currently Cantu's Curl Activator Cream); put it up in a shower cap for 30-45 mins to let the curls settle with the product in; then blow dry with a diffuser until it's 60% dry (on the slowest setting my hairdryer has to avoid disturbing the curls, with my head upside down, for about 10 minutes. Yes, this part is awful); and then wrap it on top of my head in a silk scarf for a few hours until I go to bed, to let the curls dry slowly. Told you - complicated. But this way I let my hair settle itself, the curls don't get moved around much, and I still get a good amount of volume.
Cutting
There is a curl-specific way of cutting hair which recommends cutting each curl individually when the hair is dry. However, this type of cut is 1) hard to find and 2) expensive. So instead I rely on my hairdresser who I have entrusted with my hair for the past five years (and her predecessor back home who was my hair-y-godmother for many years). It takes a good hairdresser to cut curls - I've had enough disastrous haircuts and blowdrys to know. Thankfully, my hairdresser understands curls and knows which parts of my hair curl the most and which tend to dry a bit straighter. My best tip for finding a good hairdresser for your curly hair is, basically, find one who has curls. If they understand bounce, you're off to a good start.
My hair has been getting progressively shorter over the past two years and I'm loving its current iteration of a short, straight-edged flapper bob.
Finally, I should add that the only time my hair is ever down is when I'm out of the house. The second I get home I put on a hair wrap to keep my curls out of my face and to stop them frizzing.
Feel free to ask my any questions! I've got plenty more to say.
What are your best curly-girl tips?
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