Missy's Curly 'Do

by Melissa McLean
(Lumberton, NC)

My hair has taken me down all sorts of paths ... from being blonde when I was a small child, to being super fine, straight, and brown when I got a bit older, to wavy fuzzball during middle school.

I had always loved having long hair, but when my mom had to have a hip replacement when I was three, she had my grandma take me to the salon where they cut my waist-length hair into the "pixie" style. I looked like a boy.

After that I kept my hair about shoulder length, with bangs, which eventually resulted in what I call the frizz pyramid. When I reached eighth grade, I decided it was time to let my hair grow out, and I needed to attempt to control the frizz. I already had braces and ginormous glasses. I didn't need the frizz too.

My hair finally got below my shoulders, and continued growing, but I don't remember getting it trimmed very often at that time. I washed my hair every night and twisted it and clipped it in a barrette before going to sleep. I'd get up in the morning, spritz it with a water bottle and brush out any tangles. I'd carry my brush around with me and brush my hair several times a day in order to keep the frizzies at bay. It was at this time that I discovered "Frizz-Ease". I tried using this product, and rarely dried my hair with a dryer, and it helped some.

My hair had almost reached waist-length by my senior year, but I was tired of fighting the frizz and all the brushing. I finally decided that since I was close to graduation and the start of my college career and a "new" me, it was time to cut my hair and be free of all the upkeep. The stylist cut over a foot of hair off, and it was still below my shoulders.

I left the salon with my wet mane to let it air dry on the way home. I was a busy girl and didn't have time for hair appliances. When I got home, I noticed my hair was taking on a spiral look, like I'd had a perm. After that, I started playing around with products and realized that I could make my hair look like Shirley Temple's cute little curls with just a little help, and then it hit me - no more brushing every five minutes!!!

"City of Angels" was a popular movie at the time and I was in love with Meg Ryan's hair. I just had to have it. So, I had six more inches cut and poof! I had a 'fro. Ok, it wasn't quite that bad. It didn't look exactly like Meg Ryan's hair, mainly because it had more curl, but it was still quite cute and a drastic change from the waist-length frizz that I had put up with for so long. The reaction from my classmates and teachers was incredible.

During college, I decided to experiment a little more and see how long I could let my hair grow before the curl straightened out a bunch. With proper trimmings this time, my hair grew fairly long and still had a great bit of curl and bounce. I was ecstatic! I kept my hair below shoulder length for quite some time and eventually decided it was time to cut it and do it all over. I cut my hair and donated it through "Locks of Love" and started the growing process again.

I've had layers of several lengths, my hair's been cut straight across, I've attempted to use straightening irons (and that would be another story entirely), I've experimented with many types of products, and I've donated my hair two more times.

I've learned to embrace my curly hair and love it. My grandma used to tell me to be proud of my hair, "because people pay good money to get hair like that."

I find it wonderful that I can have "messy" hair and it still looks great. I don't spend hours every day trying to tame my hair. Wash, apply product, comb, air dry while getting ready for the day, and blast with a dryer and diffuser, and I'm done! I can style my hair so many different ways and I don't have to worry about humidity making my straight hair frizz out - it just makes the curls a little curlier.

My hair is wild and crazy. It matches my personality, and that suits me just fine!