When I was growing up, every girl I knew had straight, long, brown hair and I wanted to so badly to be like them. But lucky me was stuck with frizzy, dirty blonde curls and waves, and my god those horrible baby hairs by my forehead that would curl up every which way. I hated it. I wanted to fit in and be like everyone else, so I would try everything to hide my curls- from putting my hair up in ponytails to brushing it until you couldn’t see them anymore.
In middle school, I found my favorite weapon of choice to combat my curls- a straightener. Now straightening my hair was a challenge because I had been naturally blessed with long thick hair, but still, I tried my hardest to get every kink out. It wasn’t until high school where I had learned to appreciate the beauty of my natural curls, however, by that time it was already too late. I had abused and ruined my hair so much that my curls would never be the same- my hair was so long that any curls I had left would get pulled down and straightened out by the weight.
I tried everything to restore my natural curls. I’ve found ways to care for them as much as possible, and I’d like to share. Here’s my bible for hair care:
(Caroline Barkemeyer)
Don’t shampoo every day and use conditioner to put moisture back in. I tend to shower at night for a few reasons, the first being I’m lazy, like really lazy. I don’t like waking up early and don’t want to do that to myself every day. Another reason is, I like to let my hair air dry rather than using a blow dryer so that I have less frizz. Lastly, I find it’s a nice way to unwind from my day.
There are so many different curl patterns that range from super tiny coils to very loose waves; the three main types are kinky, curly and wavy. Although I can only speak for my specific curl pattern type and how my hair reacts, there is one thing I know to be true to restoring and helping to embrace ALL curl types and that is moisture. I cannot say it enough- moisture, moisture, moisture! Without it, your hair is losing out on important vitamins and oils that help give it that natural spring. In order to ensure that your curls stay healthy, you need to maintain the balance of your hair’s natural oils. Also, for the love of god, please do not brush your hair after showering with a brush; this tends to stretch and damage your hair making it break and split more easily. If you do need to tame those waves use a wide tooth comb very carefully starting at the end, working your way up.
(Source)
In the shower, while I’m conditioning, I like to flip my head upside down and scrunch my hair and the conditioner up towards my scalp. I have found this coats my curls very evenly and restores moisture and bounce to individual ringlets. After I get out of the shower I ring out my hair and flip my head over and scrunch once more. I then wrap my hair in a special cotton towel so that I can sleep with my hair wet without getting my pillow soaked. When I wake up I take down my hair, which is still usually damp, (I’ve got a lot of hair, so it takes forever to dry) and flip my head over to put in a curl enhancing product. My favorite is Marc Anthony Strictly Curls Curl Envy Perfect Curl Cream. I flip my head back up and shake my hair out with my fingers a bit and I’m good to go.
Now on the off-chance I have an event, or I don’t want to wait forever for my hair to air dry, I’ll use a diffuser. After I get out of the shower, I’ll blow dry my hair until it’s slightly damp. I then put in my Marc Anthony Curl Cream and start defusing. I like to diffuse on medium temperature and power so that I don’t feel like my scalp is burning, but it still goes fast enough. To diffuse you flip your head over, for more volume (I LOVE VOLUME), and take small sections on your hair in the diffuser, letting the hair dryer blow that section until dry. I tend to go in an upward scooping motion to catch my hair more naturally in the diffuser. After it is dry you can put hairspray or mousse for extra volume, but I often leave it without
My main goal, no matter how I decide to go about doing my hair, is to inflict the least about of damage possible to it. In other words, I let my hair do what it is naturally going to do. I now realize how lucky I am to have such beautiful hair and I should never want to change that. My hair is a part of who I am, and if it’s crazy and not like the rest, so be it; it’s still beautiful!