Curly hair!

[Drawmelikeoneofyourfrenchgirls]

I have naturally curly hair but I have blow dried and straightened it for years. I want to let the curls come back but how do you do this? If I let it dry naturally the curls come but it’s also really frizzy. Anyone with natural curls who can talk me thru how they do their hair and the products they use? Thank you

@Sallygoround631 love some of the curls, but I prefer the before pictures too. I think I feel a bit too made up/perfect/old fashioned unless I have a slight messy frizz or beach wave to my hair, but that’s just me.

@LucilleBluth

I don’t really understand curly girl. If you’ve got proper curly hair then you’ve got proper curly hair.

I straighten mine mostly but if I leave it to dry naturally with a bit a mouse then it just dries curly (and massive). I think it’s more about the product. I’m 40 and I’ve always known not to brush it when curly, my mum has curly hair and always had a spray bottle of water and an Afro comb for her hair when I was a kid.

Use a spay leave in conditioner sparingly and mouse, don’t mess with.

Don’t over think it.

I remember thinking this the first time I saw 'curly girl' was a 'thing'.

I thought 'wow, someone has said what I've done with my hair for 30 years on Instagram and got very rich off the back of it' 🤷‍♀️

You wet your hair every morning if you're wearing it down, you don't brush it between washes, you don't wash it everyday and you don't buy products that make it look shit. Dry it with a diffuser on low if it's long or winter and you can't be arsed waiting five years for it to dry. Simple.

None of this plopping, co washing or sulphate free nonsense.

My youngest DS has curly hair and I have already taught him the way of the curl at 5YO. He told off DH this morning 'you don't brush dry curly hair dad!'

These products are fab for curly hair

Conditioner www.amazon.co.uk/Handmade-Naturals-MuruMuru-Macadamia-Conditioner/dp/B076671QCP

Curl cream

www.allbeauty.com/1221749-phyto-specific-curl-legend-curl-energizing-spray-150ml-5-07-fl-oz

Curly girl works for some but not all - for me I found it really confusing and quite wasteful/spendy having to try loads of new stuff all the time.

Have a look at Nuala Morey on Instagram, her work on curly girls is incredible and she has tutorials online as well as a salon you can get a cut at after lockdown. You can even buy a tailored bundle of products for your hair type

@Moomoolandmoomooland

Finally some sense! I too have curly hair and been doing all that since I was 16 I just worked it all out on my own through trial and error. I think of you have curly hair you don't need to do all that kind of stuff to make it curly it just is.

Um... slightly confused about the posts suggesting curly girl is about making your hair curly - it’s not that...it’s just a method of looking after curls.

The basic idea behind curly girl is that curls are drier and easier to damage than straight hair, so you stop using harsh things to wash them and moisturise it more and that means you have to be careful what you’re then putting in it because without strong detergent it doesn’t wash out. Don’t do rough things with it, like rubbing it with a towel or brushing it dry and don’t use excessive heat.

All the rest is stuff that other people add on, the fifty products and weird really specific ways to dry it...

But it won’t make your hair curly if it’s not.

It can be a bit surprising how curly people’s hair actually is if they stop treating it like straight hair, but that’s not the same thing.

I always knew my hair was wavy, but as no-one ever told me what to do with it, I was treating it like straight hair and when I finally got sick of straightening it and dealing with frizz and tried actually dealing with the waves, it’s actually a hell of a lot wavier than I thought it was.

I mean, after loads of trial and error curly girl really didn’t suit my hair and I don’t follow it - but it doesn’t have to be the over complicated thing some people make it into either.

@Sallygoround631 Thank you. The thing is that in my before pic my hair was extremely dry, wispy and would get everywhere, including my eyes and mouth. It was also very easily damaged. Taking the harsh chemicals out of my routine has made my hair noticeably stronger, softer and more moisturised. It's also less prone to oily roots.

I'm not at all a strict follower of the method. However, it has taught me to be aware of ingredients and how to be kinder to my hair (and subsequently skin).