Calling all Curls!!

It's been a while, but now that I have some time I'd like to give you some more rules for curly hair.

Honor your curls natural shape with gel.  I don't really consider this a rule since your hair can do without gel, but it really does help.  Gel holds your hair in place and protects it from outside elements such as wind and humidity.  For best results use a alcohol and silicone free gel that has a strong hold without leaving your hair crunchy.  I use DevaCurl's ArcAngel.  This is also an organic product, and it works amazingly on my hair.  I apply my gel before towel-drying my hair.  This seems to give me a stronger hold and less frizz.

You shouldn't dry your hair with a conventional towel.  A traditional terry-cloth towel will absorb to much moisture, which your hair needs.  The harsh texture of it ruffles the hair causing frizz.  I first used an old T-shirt which works really well.  Now I use a microfiber towel, which is very convenient, and will not cause frizz because of its smooth surface.

You shouldn't touch or scrunch your hair while it's drying.  Touching your hair while it's drying interferes with the curl's natural formation and creates frizz.  Some people think that if you scrunch your hair while it's drying, that will make it more curly.  This is not the case, however; and it will create frizz.  If I sit still (such as when doing school) after I get out of the shower for a few hours; my hair is always less frizzy. :)  After your hair dries it will have a gel "cast" on it.  When it is completely dry you can scrunch the cast out of it, and release your soft curls.

You should have your hair cut ONLY when it is dry.  This is very important, especially for people with tighter curls.  Let me try to explain.  When your hair is dry your curls have all different amounts of spring.  Some curls will be tighter, and thus, curl up shorter than a looser curl.  If you wet your hair and comb it for cutting, or straighten it, this makes your hair all one length.  When you style it again your hair will be all different lengths, because it was cut all length when it was wet.  I got my hair cut by a Deva certified stylist, which means that she was taught the curly girl methods.

For more information you can go to www.mydevacurl.com or find DevaCurl on Facebook. :) 

As the Curls Tumble

Well... now for the reasoning behind the Curly Girl method.  Is it really that different?  Oh yes, as you will soon see. :)

Since many people don't understand frizz, let me explain it like this.  Your hair is wet.  It is curly and beautiful!  Great start, right?  Then it dries.  The curls fall flat, and it morphs into a bunch of frizz!  *Pause for dramatic effect*  What happened?  Frizz is just a curl waiting to happen.
Your hair is a porous surface.  It absorbs everything that you put on it.  When it is not hydrated enough the hair reaches out searching for moisture creating... frizz!  This also explains why your hair is more frizzy when is is humid.  When your hair is well hydrated, it doesn't need more moisture, so it stays where you put it (most of the time). :)  It's that simple.

Here are some of the rules in following the Curly Girl method.  I'll try to explain them so they will make sense.

1. You should only use sulfate-free shampoos/cleansers.  Sulfates are the same detergents that are found in body wash, dish soap and laundry detergent.  It is the last thing that you want to put in your hair.  Sulfates strip your hair of its natural oils and hydration causing frizz.  People are addicted to lather.  The shampoo that I use is a Deva product.  They call it No-poo.  It is an all natural product that does not lather, but contains certain organic extracts that cleanse the hair.  This, I believe, is the most important step.

2. You should hyper condition your hair.  Frizz is just a curl waiting to happen.  It is hair desperately in need of moisture.  "Once curly hair fibers are sufficiently hydrated with conditioner, they hold onto the moisture they need, and the frizz disappears," says Massey the author of Curly Girl.  The conditioner fills the porous surface of curly hair, and smooths the surface so that light can reflect off of it.  Leave some or all of the conditioner in your hair rather than rinsing.  (Typically the tighter the curl, the more conditioner you'll need.) 
Will this make your hair greasy?  I have had this question asked me a lot.  When you shampoo your hair it overly strips the oil off your scalp.  This causes it to make more oil, causing it to be greasy.  On a person with curly hair, the amount of oil made naturally by your scalp will be absorbed into your hair.  I never rinse out any conditioner, and my hair is never greasy. 
I use a Deva silicone-free conditioner.  This is another all-natural organic product, and it smells amazing. :) It doesn't contain silicone because although silicone does make your hair shiny; it also blocks the pours in your hair which keeps your hair from absorbing conditioner.  Think about it; silicone is the same thing that they use in rubber and tires.  Why would you want to put that in your hair? 

3. You should never brush or comb your hair.  Brushing and combing your hair breaks apart your delicate curls, causing frizz.   If you look at a healthy curly girl's hair you will see that her hair is grouped into something we call curl families.  In other words each curl is actually a group of hairs that are all curling the same direction.  When you comb your hair, you break apart these curl families which causes frizz.  "Instead of combing your hair, drench wet hair with conditioner in the shower and gently comb it with your fingers," says Massey.  You tend to be much gentler on your hair when you are using your fingers anyway.

I hope that wasn't an overload of information!  Those are the three most important rules for a curly girl.  I follow all of these, all the time, with no exceptions.  I will post up some more later when I have time.  :)           

   

Twirls and Curls...

I found a few pictures of me, so I thought I would share them with you first.

This is before the curly girl method.  You can kind of see my hair... I think I had it back in a flip-through ponytail.

This is using the curly girl method without Deva Curl products, or a curly girl hair cut.

This picture is a little blurry.  This is after Deva Curl products, diffuser and curly girl cut.  It looks much better now.  The longer you use Deva products the more curly and defined your hair gets.  Since this picture I have gotten it cut again, and it is quite a bit shorter.

Let me leave you with this thought...
No one else in the world has curly hair like you do,
So why would you want to straighten it and make it look like everyone else's?
Be thankful for the curly hair that God gave you, and choose to wear it that way.
~Another Curly Girl

Once Upon a Curl...

The curl'tinued story. :)

My Grandfather, who happened to be a barber, was quite aghast that I didn't shampoo my hair.  (I will explain more about this later).  So, at Christmas time as part of my Christmas present he decided to do this hot oil treatment on my hair.  The point of this treatment was to repair damaged hair, supposedly making it look healthy and shiny.  I didn't think it would work on my hair, but I went along with it.  I didn't want to offend him.  In the end, it ended up making my hair a lot worse than it already was.  Besides the fact that they shampooed it, they also combed through it without any conditioner in it which broke off a bunch of hair.

I did a lot of research on the curly girl book when I got back home.  I found a few facts on their website, and implemented them.  I also discovered that a newer version of the curly girl book was coming out in January.  I bought the newer book and read it.  It was much better than the last book!  It had more types of curls, how to cut curly hair and more updated questions and answers.  I loved it!!

I went onto the curly girl website and looked up to see if I could find a curly girl salon around here, so I could get my hair cut.  The closest one was in Eureka, Missouri; however, my grandparents live close to there, so we booked an appointment for February; which is when we would be up there next.

This lady cut my hair, and she did an amazing job!  She looked at each separate curl and cut each one so they would all be the same length.  While I was at her salon I also bought Deva Curl hair products and a diffuser.  These products are created by Lorraine Massey, the lady that wrote Curly Girl.  They have been absolutely amazing on my hair!

This is my story.  I will write more later about the chemistry and method behind the curly girl book. :)

Was it Just Frizz?

Pretty much anyone that knows me, knows that I love curly hair.  When I am talking to someone, especially if I just met them, they will say "I love your hair!"  To which I usually respond, "Thank you, I do too." ;)  Let me tell you how I discovered my curls.

My hair has been frizzy ever since I was twelve years old or so.  I am not just talking about any kind of frizz either, I mean... it was one big, poofy ball of frizz.  So, to hide that problem I wore it in braids all of the time.  (If I hadn't of I would show you pictures... it was bad.)

Last summer I discovered a book, Curly Girl: The Handbook by Lorraine Massey.  This book was absolutely incredible!  It told all about how to take care of your curls.  This was like unheard of!  A book on curly hair?  Everyone I had talked to so far had told me to straighten it (which I had refused to do).  I read the book cover-to-cover several times.  I implemented everything that was practical for me to do at that time.  after a while my hair was curly, and I could wear it down.  It still wasn't perfect, though, and it didn't look like the pictures of the curls in the book.

Frizz is just a curl waiting to happen.  To be curl'tinued...