I have decided to finally fully embrace my natural curly hair. I even took a break all summer from blow drying my hair. Recently my hair stylist introduced me to a great book Curly Girl by Lorraine Massey (the quiz, 12-step and hair facts are excerpts of the book). I highly recommend it to all my curly haired friends and I wish I had known all this about my curly hair years ago. And so I want to share my knowledge of embracing curl potential with you.
Quiz:
Do you often where your hair pulled back in a ponytail?
Does your hair develop volume (frizz) in humid, hot or wet weather?
Does your hair make you feel out of control?
Do you find yourself crying after haircuts?
Do you look back at old photos and recall how you felt about your hair and yourself on the day the picture was taken? Was there a strong correlation between your hair and your mood?
Do you almost always have a haze of frizz around your head?
Do you blow-dry your hair so often that its texture is as dry and brittle as toast?
Does your budget for products to straighten or relax your hair exceed your annual tax-deductable contribution to charity?
Do you live in fear of humidity, sweating or any weather or activity that might unmask you as a curly girl?
Are you almost always unhappy with your hair?
Do you worry about your hair before any big occasion, like a wedding or a job interview?
If you answered yes to one or more questions, congratulations! You know who you are; you are my curly haired friend! Please read on!
12-step Personal Hair Growth and Recovery Program
Step One
I admit that I am powerless over my true nature - and that my curly hair will continue to be unmanageable if I deny and abuse it as I have in the past.*
*You can fight the truth for only so long, Make peace now, stope deluding yourself and see your hair for what it truly is.
Step Two
I will stop torturing myself with blow-dryers, brushes, straighteners, rollers, irons and other diabolical ways to straighten my hair, and I will regain my sanity as a curly-haired person. I will search my bathroom for such items and donate them to charity or sell on ebay. (or just toss them out)
Step Three
I will admit my addiction to going straight and attempt to discover why I have wasted my time in this pursuit. I will accept the nature of my hair and celebrate it rather than fight it.
Step Four
I will make a decision to turn my curls over to a higher power – the power that created me and my hair – and I will find a sponsor to mentor me as a recovering curly girl.
Step Five
I will give in to the forces of nature, embracing humidity, rain and wind, facing the elements confidently because I am no longer attempting to go against nature and control my curls.
Step Six
I will make a list of relatives and friends who encourage my curl denial with compliments about my straight hair. I will forgive them as well as hairdressers who abetted my habit.
Step Seven
I will accept that the scalp and the hair are two different organs with totally different needs, and I will treat them accordingly.
Step Eight
I will give up forever shampoo dependency and learn how to keep my hair clean without turning to products that harm me.
Step Nine
I admit that it is my responsibility to take care of my hair in the best way possible. I will learn how to dry it without harming it, and I will let my curls grow to their full potential.
Step Ten
Whenever I am tempted to go straight, I will call a mentor or friend who has embraced her curly destiny and seek her encouragement in living an honest curly life.
Step Eleven
I will carry the message of curly hair to other women still living in curl denial.
Step Twelve
I will practice the principles that I have learned every day of my life.
Hair facts:
Hair grows at a rate of about a half inch a month. It develops under your scalp, in a tiny sac called the follicle. Inside the follicle it’s alive. When hair comes to the surface the fiber hardens. The follicle will keep growing the hair for three to five years. When it stops growing, it goes into a period of rest – a few weeks only while the root is released from the follicle – then it drops out. You lose about a hundred hairs a day, not a bad percentage considering you have at least one hundred thousand on your head at any given time. Within days after a hair is shed, another hair starts growing to replace it.
“Curly hair is so much dryer than other types of hair,” says Dr. David H. Kingsley of the Institute of Trichologists, “because there are only about 100,000 hairs on a curly head, as opposed to about 120,000 straight hairs. And because there is less hair, there are fewer follicles and therefore fewer sebaceous glands to produce oil.”
The hair is keratin: the scalp is skin and needs to be treated the way we treat our facial skin – by cleansing it gently and keeping it moisturized.
MY NEW ROUTINE - Secrets to soft, frizz-free curly hair :
Curly Girl recommends throwing out all your bottles of shampoo and get rid of your blow- dryer. I haven’t gone to that extreme, but there are a few principles of taking care of curly hair that I am sticking to.
-shampoo every other day
-only comb hair in the shower with a wide toothed comb after conditioning, finger comb hair only afterwards if necessary (it’s only ok to comb or brush hair after shower if blow-drying straight)
-squeeze excess water out of hair after shower, smooth argan oil on ends of hair, scrunch clear gel (alcohol free) evenly into hair
- use t- shirt to scrunch dry hair ( I learned the technique from this site http://www.curlslikeus.com/how-to/) This helps your curls form to their natural shape without creating frizz which you can get from rubbing with a towel or creating a towel turban. You may also want to try "plunking" to shape your long curls.(look up "plunking" on http://www.jessicurl.com/Demo-Videos-p-6.html) I think I will be asking Santa for one of these products.
- spritz hair with spray gel or salt water (2 tablespoons fine sea salt, distilled water, 2 drops lavender essential oil in spray bottle)
- allow hair to air dry or wait until 90% dry and then use diffuser on low setting.
-sleep with hair braided to minimize frizzy bedhead (spritz hair with salt water to refresh curls in the morning)
I have been researching more curly hair techniques, products, etc. and recommend you check out:
http://www.naturallycurly.com/
p.s. curly hair rocks!
