“AWWW! But your hair looks SO cute!” I can never accept people’s compliments towards my curly hair because I have never been able to understand how they could be genuine. My hair is a curly, frizzy mess, and no amount of mousse, conditioner, or hair product can tame the craziness. Don’t get me wrong, I think curls are GORGEOUS, but mine are just unmanageable and gross.
After much experimentin, I’ve discovered that the secret to natural curls is to keep hair hydrated and keep the split ends to a minimum. Applying and using constant heat can really damage a person’s hair, which can cause a “Hair-tastrophe” for a curly haired girl like myself. Plus, with all the hair that us curly haired gals have, it takes FOREVER for us to curl it so that it turns out decently.
I recently stumbled upon tons of videos that were designed to give you that “wand curled” look without having the negative consequences of using it. I chose three YouTube videos and tried them out. Now, granted, only straight-haired girls create these videos, but my reason was that they should work for us…right?
For the first hair trick, I washed my hair the night before with Pantene Keratin Infusion Shampoo and Conditioner. I then used an anti-frizz spray and Pantene Heat Protecting Spray in order to reduce the hair frizz and also assist in weighing down my curls. I then followed the instructions to the best of my ability.
In terms of sleeping over night with them, I was not bothered whatsoever and it was not uncomfortable to sleep through (like curlers are). In the morning, I took my hair out of the buns and twists and separated the strands with my fingers, as brushing/combing through the hair can yield the maximum results. I used Aussie Maximum Hold Hair Spray to keep my hair from becoming frizzy during the day. Here was the result (yes, I added filters on the pictures because who doesn’t love filters with their selfies, right?):
I feel as though the twists worked better in the front section of my hair as opposed to the back. Maybe that was because it was tighter wound in the front as opposed to the back. The curls seemed to be more defined and there was definitely less frizz and volume, but other than that, it was not the result I wanted.
For the second technique, I followed the same washing and preparation procedures as the night before. I then wound my hair tight up in the bun on the top of my head. Again, this technique was not cumbersome to sleep with, but it did cause a little bit of pain as I twisted so hard, my hair was pulling from my scalp. In contrast from the video, I only did one bun because I wanted thicker, fuller curls. In the morning, I woke up and finger-brushed my hair to prevent damaging the curls. I sprayed it with the same hairspray and walked out the door.
I personally found this hairstyle to be my favorite. Granted, it did not yield the movie star, Taylor Swift curls that I had hoped it would (I mean come on, her Baby Tay’s hair was PERF) but my curls were definitely a lot more defined than the day before and certainly yielded better results than my natural hair texture. However, being that we live in South Bend, the rain washed away all my beautiful curls and makeup, and within a few hours of exposure, my frizzy curls were back in full force, taking revenge on me for trying to tame them.
The third technique required pens, but I used thicker highlighters because I wanted fuller curls. I prepped the same way as before except this time I split my hair into four sections. Wrapping my hair around the pens and bobby-pinning them to my scalp was time consuming, painful, and kind of annoying. One ended up falling out onto the bed and ruined one portion of my hair. The other ones itched and pulled at my hair at night, and I could not sleep in certain positions because the highlighters were poking me.
This last hair style was the most disappointing. My hair was hardly curly and was mostly a frizzy wavy ball of mess. The curls were not defined, and they certainly were not like the perfect curls I have dreamed so long about.
I was hoping for results, but ended up being disappointed. At the end of the day, I found that I embrace my curls a lot more, however, and I feel more willing to wear my hair down and let my wild (and curly) side lose! Why try to tame the beast when you can embrace it and work it?
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