Hail Curls!!! How to love your curls

I naturally have curly wild hair. When I was younger I didn't like my curls so much and they didn't like me either. My hair was always a mix between frizzy curly locks and an afro of tangled mess. I never understood why I was being tortured like this. Why does my hair have to be so wild and unmanageable? If it was humid outside at all my hair would double in size and frizz. I knew that I liked curls. Other women looked beautiful with their curls but mine didn't look so beautiful. Needless to say, my hair in my childhood was a pain in the butt.

It wasn't until I got older that I truly appreciated the art of the curl and learned how to cultivate the most beautiful of curls. I had to do some experimenting and learning when it came to handling and styling my God-given locks. I learned many things about curls and taking care of hair in general.



First, I learned you have to love your hair. No matter what kind of hair you have, you should LOVE it, but especially the curls. Not all curls are created equal but they are all sensitive to normal hair care routines. Curls need extra special love and attention. When my sister or girlfriends want to scrunch their hair and ask how I always get mine to look the way they do, I tell them,

be gentle and love the curls.

Let me clarify. Curls tend to be a little drier than the average head of straight hair. Curls need a little extra conditioning and nourishing treatments. It is important to not wash your hair with shampoo to often because it can lead to dry hair. Second, curls need a good conditioner when you wash your hair as well as a good light-weight leave in conditioner. When handling your curls or wet hair, you have to take care to be extra gentle and not toss your hair about like a normal head of hair. You can't just put your hands in your curls and toss them around without purpose.

After you get out of the shower and your curls are still wet, use a comb, hair pick or your fingers to detangle your hair. Do so gently and don't comb too much. You don't want to use a regular brush on your curls because it can brake your hair more easily and in general it affects the integrity of the curl.

After you have combed out the tangles, gently toss your head of hair over and use a really good leave-in conditioner or mouse/gel. This is where it really counts to be gentle. With my product spread on my hands, I gently cradle the ends of my curls in the palms of my hands and softly scrunch the curls towards my scalp and gently close my hands around them and gently release. I do this a few times until I feel like I have given every curl a good scrunching and that the product is evenly distributed. I try to keep product away from my roots because it can weigh down your hair even more.

Now that your hair is scrunched, you can flip your head back over to the upright position and use your fingers to twist and manipulate the curls around the crown and frame of your face. This is just a little something extra to make sure that your curls dry how you want them to.

Next, you can simply let you hair dry naturally or you can use the help of a blow dryer. If you choose to blow dry your curls, I would only use a blow dryer if it has a diffuser attachment. The diffuser will ensure the best looking curls. It keeps your hair from getting too dry as well as provides indirect heat so that your curls don't get blown to smithereens. You can gently throw your hair back over and start blow drying the curls from underneath first, since they take the longest to dry and this will add a little extra volume. Now flip your hair back over and again manipulate the curls in front and blow dry any other curls by gently cupping and scrunching them as you dry.

As a last touch I like to use a anti-frizz hair serum or Moroccan oil. I rub about a dime size in the palms of my hands and gently scrunch the ends of my hair all over, paying attention to avoid the scalp. This will add an extra barrier from humidity and add a little extra shine to your curls.

If you have curls, you know exactly how challenging it can be to get the most out of styling them.
Curly hair is beautiful and a blessing, I have learned. All you need is a good routine for fixing your lovely curly locks and life seems to be right again. I hope that this helps anyone looking to make their curls more beautiful, bouncy and manageable. I wish I knew how to take care of my curls when I was a young girl and looked like Little Annie. But now that I do know, I want to share it and I wish you luck. Love your curls and they will love you back.

Blessing