My Curly Curls

by Amber
(Knoxville, TN)

I can thank my father for my curls. Literally thank him, because I have SO many people compliment me on how pretty my hair is.

I work the Returns Desk at Lowe's, so I see a lot of people in a day. Therefore I get asked a lot (every curly girl knows this question well), "Is your hair naturally curly?" I usually smile and go "Yeah, My Daddy gave me this." I've had men as well as women ask me that and compliment me on my hair. The funny thing is, I get more comments on it when it's down, or when I think it looks like crap.

I've battled my hair my whole life. I couldn't even brush it myself until I was 12! That's when a friend of my sister's put a chemical relaxer in it. It took enough of the curl out that I could brush it. As it grew back into its original curliness, I got used to it and was able to brush it on my own. Of course over the years my scalp has toughened up as well, which has certainly made it easier.

I'm 24 and over the years I've learned what to do and what NOT to do to it. I'm so happy that shampoo companies have FINALLY gotten smart about curly hair needs. I mean seriously, like us curly girls really need any more volume! And we don't all need a shampoo that will take the oil out of our hair. I'm glad to see this sort of one-size-fits-all approach has been somewhat abandoned. So, I look for curly hair shampoo and conditioners. They usually have the right combinations of things that curly hair needs. Like moisturizers and conditioners. Hydra-anything.

Most hairdressers will tell you that you are not supposed to wash your hair every day. It takes out the oils that keep your hair healthy. Only wash it when it needs it. I comb my hair when it's wet, except on days that I don't wet it - then it doesn't get brushed at all. It gets maintenance, but doesn't even see a brush.

I sort of have my own version of a leave in conditioner, which is leave a little of my regular conditioner in my hair when I get out of the shower. I use a brush that is supposed to be for blow drying. You know, the ones that have the slits in them to allow air to go through? That's what works best for me because of the tangles that my hair gets. This wide toothed comb stuff, doesn't work for me. They don't get out all the tangles.

When I comb my hair, I sort of go in layers. I start at the bottom and comb the tangles out of the bottom then work my way up.

Then I've found what I consider the Holy Grail of styling products. That would be Sunsilk's Hydra TLC 24/7 Cream. It's the greatest thing to happen to curly hair. It doesn't leave your hair crunchy or sticky like mousse or gel.

I've tried balms. Yeah, that works well. It's like slapping Vaseline into your hair. It just makes one nasty glob of hair thats stuck together. Yeah I know, you're supposed to warm it up in your hands and comb it through. It still doesn't work.

I've discovered a few simple styles too. My hair is long, and I used to wear it in a bun ALL the time. My boyfriend finally convinced me to wear it down more. Now I can't stand to put it in a bun anymore.

I wet my hair every other day in the shower. I sleep with it in a ponytail. I only wash it maybe once every week to two weeks, depending. The days that I wet it, it gets my normal routine. Once it's about half dry, most of the time it gets put into a ponytail, mainly because it gets caught on things and in the way at work. If I'm off that day, its usually down. The day after I wet it, if it looks okay (meaning not too frizzy or tangled), I'll clip it up on top of my head when I shower and just spray it with a water bottle, slap a lil more Cream into it and keep it in the ponytail.

To mix up the style sometimes, I've discovered headbands. A simple headband put into my hair when it's still wet, and I've got a different look. If I try it when it's dry, not such a flattering look.

I do not even own a hairdryer. What's the point?

Also, I believe it's Goody's has these clips for thick hair, they sort of look like the stitching pattern on a baseball. They are FABULOUS!! I simply take my hair and clip it up like you would with a regular clip, but these actually hold all the hair. It makes a really cute kinda puff of curls on the back of my head.

I also braid my hair once in a blue moon. Just pull it back into a ponytail and braid the ponytail.

I own a straightener, but I don't straighten it much, one: 'cause it's bad for it, and two: 'cause it takes too long. But I did shell out about $40 for mine. (If you haven't figured out already, I've discovered the affordable ways to keep my hair looking good.) The model I got has tourmaline ( I think that's how it's spelled) in the ceramic plates to reduce burning and promote more even heat.

So yeah, If this has helped or could help someone in your curly hair care, then great! I'm glad I could be of assistance.

That's my curly girl story. Hope you liked it.