Curly hair

Read my first post on curls!

So, when I listed 7 things about myself .. one of them was that I used to straighten my hair with a clothes iron. I realllly wish I could find a photo of this moment. I can't even find a google image of this. I think that means I'm officially stranger than I thought. Oh well.

This was the end result. I'd sleep on it so it looked more natural.

I was such a curl hater but I did totally rock the straight hair!

So .. if you read my first post (you should) then you'll understand that it's been a long time since I had this look. Now I follow a method called Curly Girl. It's pretty great. It all started with a book written by Lorraine Massey.. but that's awkward to put into conversation. 'I love your hair, what do you do to it?' 'Oh I curly girl it'. Yeah .. no. So I've taken to saying I'm simply embracing the curl! Aside from the awkward name, the actual method as far as I can tell is pure genius. Here I'm going to go over the basics you need to know for starting this whole ordeal without including any of the more complicated things (google it .. there's tons of information, I'm just not explaining it right now).

Me and the book!

And a strange photo edit that I hit on my phone by accident.

Sorry about that ..suck at using my smartphone still.

1. Cut out silicone and sulfate. I bet you don't even know why they are bad or how to find them in your hair products. I didn't either and I secretly think they are partially responsible for so many curly heads fighting genetics. Thankfully, instead of memorizing a huge list of 'no nos' ingredients wise, you can find lots of lists of Curly Girl approved products out there!

2. Do one last shampoo. Yup you heard me right, it's like the last supper. Use your regular shampoo for one final wash and then prepare to throw it (and all other unfriendly products) into the trash along with all your frustrations.

3. Only condition. From now on, you're a no shampoo using kinda folk. I know, it seems scary because if you don't use shampoo then how will you clean your hair?! Trust me, conditioner works just as well and your hair won't be greasy or dirty or anything else horrible you can dream up.

4. Throw away your brush. You DO NOT NEED to brush your hair. Buy yourself a wide tooth comb. Or use your fingers. The only time the comb or fingers should be near your head is when your hair has conditioner in it and is soaking wet.

5. Apply friendly products ONLY and apply them IN the shower while your hair is still dripping. At first I thought this was stupid advice but I tried it anyway. It wasn't stupid advice. After applying product, take an old cotton tshirt or microfiber towel and use that on your hair. NEVER use a regular towel, only cotton or microfiber. This alone will make an awesome difference in the amount of fuzz you have, aka little to none (even on humid, hot days).

 Here is a photo. 

Stolen from Wikihow.

6. After you've scrunched your hair with the microfiber or cotton, you can let your hair air dry (which is the best and really does result in the nicest curls) or you can blowdry with a diffuser. Either one works pretty well, and obviously a blowdryer wins if you're pinched for time.

Best diffuser ever!

Couldn't live without it.

7. Be patient. Some people see immediate results. Some people need a few weeks. Some even need a few months. Sometimes you may notice it seems to look a bit messier after starting this routine, but that's normal. It just means your hair has been treated particularly harshly and needs a week or so to recover (but it will get better, I promise!).

So now that you know the process .. want to see the results?! I bet you do ..at least a little bit.

This is an old school photo of me and my favorite person from my town!

This is before I started Curly Girl.

This is shortly after starting it.

Much improvement already!

This photo always cracks me up. I look like a loser!

But it is a GREAT hair photo :D

Last one! One of the more recent photos of my hair.

So, that's enough photos of my face for the next year or 10.

Hope you enjoyed! If you have curly hair ..I hope you're now considering trying this, at the very least :) Or else I just spent a lot of time watching Buffy& writing a post that is going to waste.

Frizz Ease

There was a time when I always wore my hair straight. Even if it was going up in a ponytail, it was straight. It just didn't matter. When I was in a rush& left my hair curly, it went up in a bun to hide it. I remember one time at the pool, I was guarding and had to jump in to get someone. Then I had to stay on the deck for 7 more hours. This was one of the panic moments where people were going to see my curls. I ALWAYS had a hair elastic around my wrist ..except that day. I remember it so clearly. Horror of horrors. My secret was going to be exposed. And it was a secret. Most people thought I had wavy hair, but when I started showing the curls, people were shocked there was so much.

Typical hair look from my younger days. 

Seeing this photo, I miss it a little bit. Sad but true.

So, now it's my mission to love my curls& help other people love theirs. And by 'mission' I mean on occasion when I'm not too lazy to explain. 3 years ago, my mother& I started a long suffering journey to loving our hair. It started when I went to Cuba, I was forced to rock the curls. It was hard .. some days we wanted to give up .. there were many a bad haircuts .. one rude hairdresser who reminded that me that my cold sore was gross (thanks for that, by the way) ..various other things. Through all that, we trudged.

I love this photo! Plus it marks the start of curl love :)

Now we love our hair. We found a great hairdresser .. Mom got her hair cut at the DevaChan salon in New York! She met Lorraine Massey and had a wonderful time. I didn't. But hey, my hair is still great :) There was certainly an evolution of curls& people are generally shocked when I tell them I haven't shampooed my hair in three years! There is a reason though, us curly girls don't need it (well, no one does. It's especially hard on our hair though!), as long as we follow a few easy rules.

My boyfriend even has curls! Isn't he handsome with them?!

So, what has sparked my post of curly love? Well, the title of course. I get SO sick of advertisements that tell me the only way to have socially accepted hair is to straighten it. No way! It took me 21 years to learn to love my curls, let's raise up a generation that just accepts themselves. You are pretty / handsome / clever / etc :) Embrace yourself, ladies& gents. You don't want to depend on someone else to validate you! Frizz Ease .. you let me down. Curls ARE NOT inherently frizzy. Sure, they can be. Properly loved curls, however, are not.

Can you see the frizz?! And I only use ONE product!

So, moral of the story? My hair is curly so I rock it. I will also mention that straight hair is also fantastic if that's what your DNA wants you to have! I mention this only so it doesn't seem like I'm setting back women hundreds of years by including ONLY curls. I'm covering all my bases from here on out. Keep it real, ladies& gents :)