Oh hey! Happy Friday! And look at my hair – it’s CURLY!
I know I’ve mentioned it once or twice, but since I rarely (and this will probably change) post pictures of myself I figured I’d just go ahead and share. Especially since there was a torrential downpour right in the middle of when I was going to film my FaceTime Friday post – so next week? It’s a date!
I have two amazing friends who are also curly girls who have shared incredible posts that inspired me and have encouraged me in all of my curly glory. I think they are amazing reads in addition to helping those of us who have curly hair – so check them out! Here’s Emma’s and here’s Sarah’s.
Growing up I remember I always envied my mom’s hair – it was always perfectly straight (well, except for the perm years) and perfectly styled and it only took her 5 minutes to get it that way. Although I know now that it wasn’t really my “look” we decided when I was younger to give me bangs and slick the rest of my curly hair back. I think it maybe had something to do with the fact that taming one small section of hair and hiding the rest made for an easier morning; however, my cowlick had other thoughts. Should I ever gain the courage I’ll be sure to share some of those gems of school photos with y’all.
In middle school and high school I figured out how to use a curling iron to straighten my locks and worked hard every day to make sure they were as straight as possible. Please note also that we had volleyball practice and conditioning every morning before school, and I got ready in the locker room. I just can’t imagine how many times I was THISCLOSE to being late to class just to have straight hair that would frizz from leftover sweat anyway.
In college I purchased my Chi straightener and used it every day. At this point in time my hair was deeeeeeeeeeead and sad. But I kept going! Gotta have those Jennifer Aniston-esque locks, right?
At some point in time I started figuring out how to deal with my curls; note that I didn’t say love them or cherish them, just deal with them. I think it was a combination of opening my Starbucks store at 4:30am and sleeping in the afternoons after work. I just stopped caring about the straight hair as much as before and just went with it.
Part of me thinks that we’re living in a time where curls are just kind of on trend; like it’s OK to have curly hair and it’s something that’s sought after. That could just also be my perspective since I’ve finally started to embrace the hair God gave me. Regardless, I look at my curls in the mirror and I finally get EXCITED to see them. Straightening my hair is a paaaaaaaaaaaaain, but with my curly hair routine I can be ready to go in about 10 minutes. And y’all? I’ll take that time savings over Jennifer Aniston hair any day!
While there are a lot of things you can do to make sure your curly hair is nourished and looks good, here’s what I do:
- I wash my hair with shampoo maybe twice a week. I know that a lot of people say don’t use shampoo, but if I don’t my hair looks like a greasy mess. The other times I shower I use Suave Naturals Tropical Coconut conditioner and hot water to “shampoo” my hair (got this tip from Sarah).
- Every time I shower I condition using Suave Moroccan Infusion conditioner (for the record when I do shampoo I use the Moroccan Infusion shampoo).
- To style I rub 2-3 drops of the Moroccan Infusion styling oil through my hair.
- Then I apply Herbal Essences Set Me Up gel throughout my hair and tousle it to break up the gel a bit.
- If I need to I blow-dry using a diffuser, but 99% of the time I just let it air dry (since most of the time I’m just walking around the house). I will use my Chi to help some of the curls along if I need to, but otherwise I just go with it!
Since I’ve actually been working with my hair to let it be and stay curly I’ve noticed that it’s healthier and the curls are better defined. But more than anything I’ve seen that God really did make me exactly how I should be!
beautiful curls! i’m looking forward to meeting you at bean2blog!
Thanks Melissa! And ditto – so excited!
Heather! Thank you for talking about your curls. My hair is CURLY! (Note: you will never guess this from the photos on my site…but check out my instagram feed and you’ll see my curls shining through.) I hated my hair for YEARS. Finally in high school I figured out that my curly hair didn’t have to be synonymous with “frizzy mess” – and when I finally let my curls loose, I can’t tell you how many girls (even the cheerleaders!…and I was a nerd) fawned over my hair. It was a total revelation and completely shocking, to be honest. All these years later, I still get the most compliments when I let my hair do it’s curly thang (though I still straighten on rare occasion). I am like you – I really find I must shampoo it, but I only do that every few days (unless I just HAVE to get the sweat out), and every other shampoo I use coconut oil as a deep conditioner, just on the ends. As my hair therapist (this is what my mom’s best friend calls her hair stylist, and it’s really a great name) says, a moisturized curl is a happy curl! Diffuse, spot fix with my curling iron, and bounce out the door, big hair and all.
Oh, I LOVE the coconut oil idea – I may have to steal that from you 😉
Do it!! It’s seriously the best thing ever. I shampoo, rinse, rub a dab of coconut oil into the ends, let it set for about 2 minutes or so, rinse, then condition as I normally would. When it’s really stupidly dry you could probably get away with doing it every shampoo, and when it’s hot and sticky maybe every third or so. Right now I do it every other and it’s great. Makes my hair nice and soft and bouncy. 🙂
Yay for curls! It took me 30 years to embrace my curly hair!! Now I love it (well, except on bad hair days of course…)! I have also found that washing my hair only twice a week, but conditioning it every day, makes it much happier and the good hair days are much more frequent! I have not heard of the morroccan infusion sytling oil, so I think I might give that a try! I have previously used the Deva Curl line of products, but it is so expensive!! However, I did find the book that goes along with that system – Curly Girl: The Handbook, to be quite enlightening as to how to care for and style curly hair and I was even able to check it out from my local library.
I’ve heard that the Deva stuff is good, but I just can’t bring myself to spend the money. I like the idea of checking it out from the library though!
This is great…Such perfect timing for me. JUST Yesterday I went curly for the first time in many weeks (months?) And I was like “I like these curls!” haha. And as I sit with my hair drying (in curls) today, I read your post. Love it.
You look lovely, and now I have some new products to go check out–thanks!
Embrace ’em girl! There’s no way I would ever be able to live in Hawaii and have straight hair!
I’m a lot older than you are, and naturally have tight ringlets all over my head. About 3 years ago, my husband gave me for Christmas a year of going every week to have my hairdresser straighten my hair. Yes, I know that God gave me curly hair and perhaps someday I’ll return to the curls, but right now I’m enjoying the straight locks. 🙂 My best friend once told me that I’ll look like a little white poodle in the nursing home (it’s true). I really would love to embrace my curls, and maybe if they were more like your curls, I could. My daughter has curls like your curls and has discovered that using coconut oil makes her curls absolutely gorgeous! As our hairdresser says, “A well-moisturized curl is a happy curl”. Oh, and textured hair is coming back in style. I’m glad that you have come to peace with your hair. We should embrace all that God has given us (although I struggle with that, obviously). 🙂
Getting your hair straightened IS a gift when you’re a curly girl! Plus even though I love my curls it’s definitely nice to change it up a bit when you can 🙂 I think you should read my friend Emma’s post on her curls – it sounds like y’all have fairly similar hair! Besides, learning to love ourselves in any form or fashion is always a journey – I know if it’s not my hair, it’s something else that I’m learning to appreciate as-is!
Thank you for sending me to Emma’s site. Yeah, my hair is a good bit like that (it got curlier after my pregnancy), but now I add the coarseness of gray (and yes, I color my hair, no matter how many verses are quoted to me, I choose to not be the same color as my light complexion) and it is quite the challenge. One word: Product, product, product!! Growing up, we had Prelle shampoo or Head and Shoulders. No straightening irons, no curling irons, no picks. Just brushes and curlers. Not ideal for natural curls. I’ll work on embracing my curls. Meanwhile, I love your curls!
Curly haired girls UNITE! ….I totally embrace it- otherwise I would be late for work every. single. day. …..I appreciate being able to roll out of bed and just throw some hairspray in and go. SO lucky!
My husband had to get used to the fact that I DO NOT wash my hair every day- it is once every 2-3 days. At first he thought it was super gross but now he realizes how long it takes me to get my curls to set each time I wash it and likes that it helps keep me low maintenance.
I’m so thankful to Him for blessing me with this hair- He knew what He was doing!
Aww, I love this post! I totally feel you on embracing the curls. I’ve been doing the same lately too. I remember using a curling iron to STRAIGHTEN my hair too, haha! I’ve been doing the au-natural look these days too (bc it’s SO much easier when you have a 1 year old running around) and I have to say I’m loving my curls too!! <3 From one curly girl to another…THANKS for this post!
Oh hon, I am 100% with you on the chasing a 1-year-old thing. No time for going all out on styling anything these days 😉
My hair started out stick straight and long, until 3rd grade when I convinced my mother I wanted short hair (shag – I am dating myself now). At the very first clip, my hair curled and twirled. I cried after because my hair was curly and not like the other girls. After that I kept it short until my senior year in high school when some guy who came into my parents store called me a boy. My hair has been long ever since. I have embraced being a curly girl for about 15 years now.
I had a really short style in college, and my curls did the opposite – they got straighter! I always assumed it was because there was less of the hair strand to actually complete a curl, but who knows? 🙂
Loved your post! I have wavy hair and can bounce between straight and curly. I’ve been embracing the curly lately and I’m loving it!
Oh, you’re a lucky one then 😉 I love that you’re embracing the curl though!
Yay for curly hair!! Your hair is lovely. 🙂
It also took me years to accept my curls (and learn what worked best for them) but I’m so glad I finally saw the light.
I love that we can all band together with our curls! And YAY for seeing the light 🙂
I love this post. Especially as a fellow curly girl.
It’s been a long road to feel comfortable with my hair. I always feel like it’s big and people are looking at it. For the most part, I’ve accepted my curly hair and never straightened it more than once a week when I was in high school. It’s just too damn hard and time consuming! Plus, it never really looks that great anyway…unless a professional does it. Anyway, I’m finally feeling more content with my hair.
I have to laugh though, because my whole family has always told me how lucky I am, but I never felt lucky. I always felt like the odd one out.
Girl, trust me, I know how you feel. I got my curly hair from my Dad, which I love now, but at the time I just wanted to look like my mom and sister, you know? I love the curls now though; it’s kind of like a little legacy from my dad’s side of the family 😉
Thanks for the tips (and for using styling products that aren’t insanely expensive)! I have wavy hair that was much curlier before babies and I’m STILL figuring out how to work with it best!
I can’t imagine paying a ton of money for styling products. I’m all about treating my hair well, but there are other things that are more important to me than the really pricey stuff!
My sister has wavy hair which I always really envyed too. I can’t imagine how I would handle it now if I lost any of this curl!
I have stick-straight hair, and all I want is curly hair! The grass is always greener 🙂
That’s what my mom used to say too and I could never understand why!