Curly hair is a big marmite moment amongst people, the people without it love it, and the people with it hate it. Some days it can be your best friend but under the alarming circumstances of entering a mildly humid climate and you start transforming into a cloud of cotton wool. I’ve battled with ringlets in my hair all my life and over the past year or so learnt to tame what seemed like the unruly and ever expanding nature of my hair. I’m going to share with you things I wish I learnt from the start!
Plait your hair before you go to bed – for me this now comes naturally, sometimes I slip up and have a naughty night from being too tired, but always keep scrunchie at hand (on the subject, abolish all hair ties, favour a fabric or silk scrunchie or a bobble without the metal clamps and something too tight that’s going to eat at your hair) I’ve found not only by me throwing it in a long chunky plait does it not get knotty but it also tames the curls to a series of curly waves instead of extreme ringlets.
Invest in a Tangle Teezer – I read some nifty reviews online about this hair brush and considered it for months, previously paying quite a lot in paddle brushes, and hell I even tried a afro comb, it worked when I was little but trying now was a task getting a little comb through a mountain of hair.
Day after day I would have Princess Diaries moments where the brush would snap in my hair and eventually I gave in, walked out of Boots smirking, got home and managed to get through the longest, frizziest and curliest part of my hair root to tip, what an absolute miracle!
Since I never look back, the special technology of the soft and bendy bristles doesn’t damage your hair next to others (avoid cheap brushes with plastic bobbles on the bristles like the black plague!) It reminds me of a horses brush but I don’t mind, I haven’t had a princess diaries moment since!
Sleep on a satin/silk pillow case, this is a new one for me a very old lady with hair gorgeous black hair past her waist told me when picking out hair serum, thank you hair lady! The cotton in normal pillow cases causes so much damage when we sleep on it, which makes sense, the underside of my sheep hair turns to static when I sleep on normal pillowcases, now I take one when I go anyway, or alternatively if you don’t favour the slippy case, wrap your hair in a silk scarf to protect your hair, in the morning it takes the stress out of styling knowing your curly locks have that effortless definition!
Rule out styling tools completely – I know this one is very hard for some people, for years I straightened my hair, and went against completely what it naturally intended, sometimes it fought back with force and became extra curlier than usual when heat was applied. I know so many people who couldn’t give up heat and they ask how I don’t do anything, and I literally mean ANYTHING. The trick is to leave your hair to its natural ways. Heat is so damaging, and now as a convert cannot fathom why people would destroy their gorgeous hair! In my personal opinion my curls are at their defined, sexiest and most beautiful looking when air-dried, yes it takes 8 hours to dry but I the results are perfect, and the great thing with curly hair is that no two day they look the same
This leads to my next point, my lack of styling was thanks to one decision I made – to grow out my hair. Curls look sexy short, mid or in long hair, I myself always see myself as a long hair kinda gal because the curls are so unruly and super ringlety to manage them requires some weight, this also takes out half the brushing. But with long hair comes great responsibilities, and if you take care of your curly hair it will take care of you. Take a moment to consider if longer hair is what you need, particularly if you use heat to style, that decision could be the answer to your underlying problem.
Next we’re going to talk about products! Here I will tread carefully because I feel products somewhat go hand in hand with heat, they both enforce unnatural habits in your hair which is a no no. I am so picky with what products I will and will not use. Firstly, always pay attention to the ingredients on the bottle, 9/10 times if I cannot pronounce the longest word in the ingredients list I will not buy it, that’s alarms indicating the sheer amount of chemicals.
The best advice I can give with regards to products is buy anything with coconut oil or argan oil in, your curls will eat up all that moisture in a heart beat, I favour coconut oil more, and cannot live without a massive jar, it’s one of the few substances that is fully absorbed into the hair follicle. I use this with a small amount of conditioner, which by the way is your curly hairs best friend!
High street stores don’t all stock these but ranges like Umberto Giannini’s Curl Friends and Tigi’s Curly Fox are amazing for serums, conditioners and intensive treatments that all promote healthy natural bouncy curls.
Finally learn to love your curls, don’t fight what you have, curls are such a blessing to have and if we let them do their thing we won’t damage them any further! There are so many better things to be doing than spending a life time trying to control something that is actually very beautiful. My curly hair is my personality, I wouldn’t be Stephi without my hair and I will do anything to keep it looking beautiful till I am a very old lady with glamorous curls!
What are your hair secrets?
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