Personally, I find this exchange cute. However, my heart bleeds for the curly-haired girl. (For one, cos my hair's the erratic, perennially PMSing, wavy-curly category.) Honestly, I'm not able to completely empathize with the straight-haired girl. I mean what does she have to complain about? Hair's boring? Hello... Atleast you can depend on it to not look like a cat got electrocuted on your head. I recall an interesting conversation with an old friend ,who has super-sleek, polished hair. She says, "Straight hair's like having this really hot boyfriend but also very, very dull at times." Uh-huh? Well curly hair's like having this wild beast with tentacles sprouting in all directions for a boyfriend defying all acceptable laws of conduct... Who's also a freakin' weather barometer for Pete's sake!
So enough dramatics...I'll cut to the chase. I kind of have a love-hate relationship with my hair (bordering towards hate most of the times). There are times when I can't take my eyes off the bouncy cascading spiral curls that make me ME. But then mostly, I lead a follicular dual life and just blow dry them out of sight, the customary tangles done away with. I'm so damn attached to my blow dryer that I spent a whole day whining and hunting down a multi-plug extension cord on a vacation in Spain and didn't rest until my bangs were underneath the comforting hot stream of air that has so much to promise. Still sends a cold shiver down my spine to think of life without it. Now don't get me wrong. I have nothing against curls and embracing who I am. But at times my hair's a freaking nightmare...all the frizzy kinks and antiquated curls come to life and haunt me for the rest of the day...and if somebody dares ask, "What have you done to your hair?" or if a vacuous hairdresser would say, "Why don't you get it straightened?", I swear, a part of me just dies a little every time.
And the inevitable happened. I got exhausted from the subservience to straighteners and thought of giving myself some personal gratification by moving over to the other side. I got my hair relaxed. The verdict? Even though initially I was thrilled to bits about how organized and professional my hair was, I did get weary of the same look everyday. And along with the glossy sheen and sleeker locks, came various stages of hair trauma, the worst being raggedy Bob Marley-ish kind of mops that were stuck somewhere in no man's land, totally nondescript.
But it occurred to me that there's got to be a simpler, less neurotic way of accepting who I am and I don't have to feel like I'm stepping out without my pants every time I go out with my natural curls.
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| My curls - Au Natural |
So after a lot of experiments in the hair lab, I've come up with some kickass styling tips for all of us curlies that guarantee a hair identity loaded with purpose and pride.
What you will need to include in your styling kit:
1. A smoothening hair conditioner and shampoo
2. A leave-in conditioner meant for curly hair
3. A hair brush with soft bristles
4. A wide-toothed comb
First of all, let me go ahead and say it, I think both straight hair and curly hair are beautiful. And both come with their own woes - maintenance hiccups so to speak. All you need is a commitment to a hair care routine that works for you.
This is what works for me:
1. Washing curly hair:
My scalp's pretty oily so I need to wash my hair thrice a week. I use a straightening shampoo and conditioner to relax my curls but if you like your curls as they are, you should use a curl-protection shampoo. Of course, I make sure that I get atleast one DIY deep conditioning treatment and/or hot oil massage per week to counter the dryness and frizz.
2. DIY Hair Conditioning Treatments:
I've done a plethora of hair treatments using the frugal goodness of pantry products.
My top-rated treatments that'll not only help smoothen your hair but also give it that extra boost are:
I Coconut milk and honey mask:
I can't rave about this enough. I mean it takes precious little time and literally works like a hair reincarnation especially for the lower strands that can look so lifeless and burnt out. Plus it smells nice too. All you need to do is get a bowl of coconut milk and mix it with a tablespoon of honey and heat it until warm. Apply it on your hair until your hair's dripping with it. (Really just no need to economize.) Leave it for 15 minutes and then wash your hair the usual way. You'll find your hair light, bouncy and frizz-free.
II Beer conditioner:
Again, you can't get simpler than this. Just pour a glass of flat beer through your hair and use your fingers to massage it onto the scalp. Leave it for 15 minutes and then wash your hair. This definitely helps get rid of any build-up and gives your hair good volume (Not the crazy Humidity Monica kinds but the fulsome Amy Adams kind.)
III Yoghurt and egg hair mask:
Stink bomb but a deep moisturizing one. Break an egg into whisked yoghurt and massage it onto your scalp. Leave it on for 30 minutes. Wash it off with a mild shampoo to seal the moisture onto your tresses.
Disclaimer: Not recommended as a pre-wash treatment if you have a hot date or any other commitment involving people.
IV Olive Oil Massage: Lukewarm extra virgin olive oil massage does wonders for your hair. For best results, leave overnight.
3. How to Style your Hair (Au natural):
"Throw that blowdryer out the window!" NOT.... I'm not suggesting you need to get rid of your hot-headed stylist friends completely but here's how you can minimalize heat damage and still not look frazzled, in fact maybe even get your curls to dazzle. (Excuse my lame attempts at poetry.)
I. Leave-in Conditioner:
Get an absolutely brilliant curl-protection, frizz-control, smoothening leave-in conditioner. Absolutely must-have for curly locks! I find the L'oreal Kerastase Nutritive Oleo-Curl Definition Creme quite spot on. Does what it claims. I haven't had frizz for the longest time and I live in Mumbai!
II. Combing your Hair:
III. Styling:
Ok, I know that we all have days when your hair just won't listen to you, no matter how much time and product you invest in it. And that's when you'll be tempted to give it some hot blows to keep it under check. But trust me, you don't need a high heat setting to style your hair.
Just follow these steps:
- After wash, towel dry your hair and then apply a leave-in. All you need is a dime-size amount on your fingers and work it first on the ends of your hair moving up to the roots. To get looser curls, run your fingers through your hair in a downward motion.
- To detangle your hair, just run a wide-toothed comb through it. Now it's ready to be styled. While your hair's still wet, just flip it upside down and scrunch your hair by taking handfuls of it and squeezing them upwards. Let your hair dry naturally. Once detangled, DO NOT comb your hair until it's dry.
- If you have to use the blow dryer, use it to straighten your bangs. Use a medium-heat setting and ensure that the blowdryer is at least 8 inches away from your hair. Style your hair till it's about 80% dry. And then use the cool setting to finish. (This way you won't have flyaways and frizz)
- If you don't have a blow dryer and you also can't have your hair wearing a flaccid, lifeless, and shaggy look, don't fret. All you need is a couple of bob pins and a clip. After applying a leave-in and scrunching your hair, when you get to the point when your hair starts drying and doing the crazies, twirl it all up in a bun and secure it with a clip. If your bangs are prone to getting uninvited kinks that you just can't stand, comb them down and off to one side. Slide on a hair pin where it's prone to getting curly and leave it on for as long as you can. This is best done overnight but may also work as a quick fix.
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| Straightened bangs with scrunched hair |
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| Swept up bangs with crimped waves |
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| Side braid with loose curls |
Frankly, even though, I'm not successful at being completely off the blowdryer (as I'm enslaved to it to straighten my bangs), there's a bit of a liberation in wearing your hair the way it is - the lightness of knowing that you don't have to worry about contact with water, the Cinderalla-ish "chariot turning into pumpkin" sorta obsession buried underneath. I'm trying to wean off heat styling gradually but meanwhile, I'm happy to explore the variety my mane in its natural state has to offer. A constructed naturalness so to speak :).
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