Loving what you've got: Curly Hair

If you're like most women I've talked to, you grew up wanting exactly the opposite kind of hair than you were born with. All the girls with straight hair shelled out money for perms (and really, how many perms end up looking good?) and girls like me with curly hair pined away for that shiny, straight hair that was just perfectly made for the Farrah Fawcett 'do in the 70s, or the Jennifer Aniston 'do in the 90s.

As an adult I've come to terms with my hair, and now acknowledge that when I treat it right, my hair is very nice. The problem is treating it right. How to avoid the frizz? How to deal with it on days 1 or 2 after washing? (Curly hair is, by its nature, dry hair, so most curly girls don't wash every day.) When to brush? When to comb? When to scrunch? When to finger-style?

And above all else, what are the right products to bring out the best in your curls, without weighing them down or dulling them out? Especially if you have fine curly hair like me (as opposed to coarse curly hair.)

Well, I don't have all the answers, but a recent post on the Bluelines blog did send me on a link spree where I discovered that there are lots of women talking curly hair on the web!

Bluelines recommedns Miss Jessie's products, particularly Curly Pudding. I wish they mentioned on their web site whether they were cruelty-free or not.

Lately I've been happy with Aveda's Be Curly, but only the Curl Control product that is used on dry hair (days 1 and 2 after washing) not the Curl Enhancer that is supposed to rev your curls up to being with after a washing. Aveda is, of course, one of the more prominent companies focused on green practices. They also are cruelty-free, although I wish confirmation of that fact wasn't buried in their FAQ, but was instead more prominently featured on the site.

I found through the Miss Jessie's site NaturallyCurly.com, a site started by two curly girls who were tired of dealing with their curls all on their own.

[They actually bring up a pet peeve of mine: Why, in addition to taking off glasses, is straightening hair one of the top "ooh, now she goes from ugly duckling to swan" moments on TV and in movies. Think Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman and Anne Hathaway in the Princess Diaries.]

I don't know if it's a "grass is always greener" syndrome or just one more way that rampant body image issues manifest, but I do know that accepting and loving my own curly hair is a good thing, and I only wish I had figured that out when i was a little younger.

How about you? Do you go with your natural hair texture and style, or do you fight it?

Comments

[June]

I used to straighten my hair every day....even in the summer which always turned out to be a disaster and I had to put it up 2 hrs after I primped and prodded it. This year I have decided to embrace what my momma gave me and go with the flow. Instead of trying to change my hair I have decided to embrace it and have never been happier. I can't take all of the credit though.....I have to give some to the ionic blow dryer with a diffuser (this one goes out to you, thank you baby for changing my life!haha)