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Like many other curly haired girls, I’ve been on a wild hair journey throughout my life. I’ve known I had curls since I was little, my hair following in my Dad and Grandmother’s kinky-haired footsteps. But even though I’ve always known I have them, I’ve still had lots of difficulty learning to care for and manage them.
Up until the age of ten or so, my mom always took care of my hair for me. I’d wash and condition it in the shower with whatever products she had bought me, and then I’d sit in front of the television while she brushed my hair out with some detangling spray. She’d finish it off with two braids and send me on my way to bed. I wholeheartedly believe she’s the reason I can rip a brush through my hair and feel nothing to this day. Sometimes I wish taking care of my hair today was still as easy as my mom doing it all for me.
The past five years or so have been a big learning curve for me and my hair. Even though my mom stopped doing my hair around the time I started middle school, I didn’t really care about the way it looked until the beginning of high school or so. That’s when I realized I wanted to do something about the frizz ball growing on my head. Like any other high school girl, I watched YouTube videos and found products other curly haired girls recommended. There’s been a lot of trial and error over the years, especially with post shower styling products, but I finally feel like I’m at a place with my hair where I can recommend some products and tips to other curly-haired girls.
Shower
Let’s start with my shower routine. First off, I always try to brush my hair before I shower, because brushing out knots in wet hair is more likely to cause breakage. So I’ll brush out my curls until I have a big frizzy nest on my head and no knots to be found. I usually only wash my hair once or twice a week, which might seem gross, but I have ridiculously dry hair. Even by day four or five without a wash I have minimal oil build up on my roots. When I do shampoo my hair, I rotate between Carol’s Daughter shampoo and whatever dry scalp shampoo I have on hand at the time. Next, I use my tried and true Shea Moisture Conditioner, which is a brand I love for anything curl and hydration related, and let it sit for at least five minutes. I make sure not to get too much near my roots and scalp, because even though I have a dry scalp, I find putting conditioner on it just irritates it more. Then I’ll finish it up with the Eva NYC Therapy Session Hair Mask, which I absolutely love the smell and consistency of. About once a week or so, I’ll use the Shea Moisture leave in conditioner for a boost of hydration.
Post Shower
I put my hair up in a microfiber towel for 10-15 minutes after getting out of the shower. Then I’ll let it down and run my fingers through it to make sure there are no knots. Next, I’ll use the shea moisture hair smoothie, putting a big glob in my hands and running my hands through my hair until I’ve got it evenly covered. After that I’ll brush it out and then scrunch up my curls, so they look even and not haphazard. Lastly, I’ll put it in two braids just like my mom used to, add some shea moisture curl gel to the places that tend to frizz a lot, and call it a night.
Curl Tips
Personally, it hard to keep my curls looking good after a day or two. Between sleeping on them, being out and about during the day, and me constantly throwing them into buns, they begin to look mangled, flat and frizzy rather quickly. My solution to this has been to mix a spray bottle with one part shea moisture leave in conditioner and two parts water. Then I’ll wet my hair just enough so that it’s damp and I can re-scrunch and shape my curls without having to completely wash my hair.
While my curl journey hasn’t been all fun or good hair days, I’m happy to say I’m at a place where I love them as a part of me and feel mostly competent in caring for my hair.