**Disclaimer, I am not a hair expert! Every kind of hair is different, these are just the products and methods I used to make my hair healthy again**
We all grew up watching our favorite beauty gurus and influencers talk about all things trending. From their go-to skincare routines, what outfits to wear for school, and even how to style your hair. Many of us fell victim to the world of online beauty and fashion tips. Even today, “Get Ready With Me” videos on TikTok captivate our attention and influence us to apply someone else’s routines, favorite products, and lifestyles to our own. Of course, this may not have been the case for everyone, but I know watching my favorite celebrities/influencers do their hair or makeup grabbed my attention in ways other videos couldn’t. Hence, this was the start of my unruly hair journey, and how I trained my straight-burnt hair back to being its beautiful bouncy self.
my journey
Watching videos online from some of my favorite YouTubers and influencers always made me feel like I was on track with all things trending. If a certain outfit or item was in style, I made sure that I would buy it. The same goes for my hair, if pin-straight hair was in, I was going to make my hair like so, even if it meant flat-ironing it to crisps every morning. All I wanted to do was be just like the girls I was watching online — flat hair, cool-toned highlights — I wanted my hair to look anything but how it truly is. It felt amazing at the time, especially when I would receive so many compliments on how long, beautiful, and healthy my hair looked straightened.
However, in reality, my hair was far from that. After I washed my hair, the heat damage was so bad that I didn’t even recognize my own hair anymore. Chunks of my hair would lie straight instead of bouncing into little spirals like they once used to when they were wet. My split ends were terrible and dry, and no matter how many times I trimmed them, more and more kept showing up. It was a nightmare thinking about how much I needed to depend on a flat iron to make my hair look “prettier” again. It wasn’t until I went to my local hairstylist who told me how beautiful my natural curly hair actually is. It doesn’t feel good knowing that I had to have someone else tell me how great my natural hair is for me to realize it myself, but truthfully, this was the motivator I needed to help change the way I managed my hair.
I knew the first thing I needed to do was to give up the excessive amount of heat I was applying to my hair. The direct heat through the flat iron was making it harder for my hair to revive itself and breathe, killing the curl pattern I once used to have in earlier years. I knew it would be hard since I was so co-dependent on this item, yet I knew it wasn’t doing my hair any good. Of course, the flat iron wasn’t the only thing damaging my hair, it was the products I was using too. From harsh shampoos and conditioners to damaging heat protectant serums, I was using products in my hair that were stripping away the moisture my curls needed to revive themselves.
I couldn’t keep depending on different beauty gurus and influencers online for which products I should use on my kind of hair. Every kind of hair is different, and everyone has their own opinions on what and what not to use. It was time to take things into my own hands. After experimenting on my own and consulting with a professional hair stylist on products and brands that work the best for my kind of hair, I narrowed it down to two of my top picks that I still swear by to this day:
miss Jessie’s
Miss Jessie’s products for curly hair were and still are my holy grail. From their Pillow Soft curl cream to their Jelly Soft curl gel, this product never feels too heavy nor too light on my hair. After wash days, I always went in with some of Miss Jessie’s Leave In Condish, which left my hair so soft and smelling amazing! During the process of training my hair, I would go in with the Honey Curls curl enhancer and use it to spiral my hair with my fingers. This technique has helped me achieve bouncy curls in places that were once straight from the heat damage. Another plus, this product is also affordable compared to other high-end brands that I tried. To my convenience, I was also able to find it in every drugstore or market nearby!
Camille rose naturals
There are so many other favorites on my list, but another brand taking my top spot has to be Camille Rose and their line of natural curl products which allowed my curls to become more enhanced and healthy looking. Their Algae Renew Deep Conditioning Mask has helped my hair so much, and has made a difference in my wash days. I used to struggle to find a good shampoo and conditioner that was free of harsh ingredients like silicon, sulfates, and parabens…until I found Camille Rose. All of their products are free of harsh chemicals and ingredients that will allow for a vigorous hair-wash/curl routine.
techniques
Besides products, there are also other ways in which I improved my curl routine. This may sound gross, but I made sure I was not washing my hair as often as I used to. Washing my hair almost every day had made my hair drier and breakage was way more evident. I didn’t understand why my hair was getting so frizzy if I was doing everything else correctly. After speaking to my stylist, I learned that washing my kind of hair every day was stripping my hair of the natural oils it needed to grow and go back to its normal pattern. If I was washing it every day, I was only drying it out (which was the opposite of what I needed!) I made sure to change my wash days from washing every day to only washing almost every five days!
Haircuts were also a big help as well. I made sure to keep up with my trims so that I could get rid of any split ends or dead areas of my hair. I knew that the sacrifice of my hair length was only temporary, so the outcome would be all worth it.
Finally, one of the most important things I learned throughout my hair journey, was that good things take time! I came to the realization that I was not going to have curly hair within months of starting my routine. Just like any other routine, whether it’s a skincare or even a workout routine, it takes time for our bodies to process new things (especially if we are so adjusted to what we do prior to any changes). My curls are not as bouncy as they once were, but progress is still being made every day. I won’t sit here and say I don’t straighten my hair, or that my hair doesn’t get frizzy, but I will say my new routine has made so much more of a difference to my hair than ever before. It has made my curl pattern so much better, and I am so glad that I was able to learn how to embrace my natural curly hair in a healthy and conscious way!
