3.10.2010
Consider yourself warned ;)
*stands up* Hi, my name is Amanda, and I have naturally curly hair. I've grown up my whole life with people complementing me on my hair, even when it was at it's witchiest, most awful, fuzz-ball stage. As a kid, I absolutely hated my hair. I learned how to braid my hair at the age of 3 because my mom was a nurse who worked night shifts, and my dad was a hopeless cause, and if my hair wasn't braided, by morning it was literally impossible to deal with. As with most kids, parents don't give their kids hair products to use...no gels, mousses, or balms. And so, my family and I (because let me tell you, it was a family affair) struggled with my hair for years...broken hair brushes thrown away, hair elastics snapped, screaming fits, fights, chases around the house (with brush in hand), no cutsey little hair clips for me, oh no, I had too much hair to actually ever fit into any of those. Because along with being *blessed* with curly hair, I was also equally *blessed* with ridiculously thick hair.
In high school, I discovered the hair straightener. I had the hallelujah chorus coming at me from all which ways that day....I looked NORMAL!!! Not to dwell on this, but the straightener really has changed my life. I'm not one of those people who straighten their hair every day, a) because it takes far too long, and b) because it just isn't healthy for your hair, but I do do it for a couple weeks every month. I'd say about 1/3 of the time my hair is straight.
So lets get to the pictures...
Here's (to the left) what my hair normally looks like curly, when I've taken the time to make it look good:
Below, you will see why you never tell a naturally-curly haired girl to blow dry her hair. Personal disclaimer: I'm almost regretting putting this picture out to the public. Note: I know I look horrid, I'm not wearing any makeup, and I look half-dead. No need to point out the obvious-es to me, K? K. Also...can you tell the curly one was taken in the summer and the blow-drying one in the winter? WOW am I ever pale here....
So THIS is why you never tell a curly-haired person to blow dry her hair with the expectation that that is all she needs to do with it. Sorry folks, but I'm NOT walking out of the house like this, no matter to who's amusement. This is after product has been administered, a lovely anti-frizz brush has been used, AND half an hour spent getting overheated.
HOWEVER, should you have the decency to tell me I should straighten my hair more often, then this is what you might see (pardon the very myspace-ish picture):
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11 comments:
Really funny post! Love the picture evidence!
I half know what you mean about your hair. My ex had properly curly hair like yours. She used to have children come up to her and say she looked like a princess lol.
One thing she used to moan about was if someone brushed her hair too, which apparently made it frizz. I didn't realise -that- is how it would look blow dried though haha.
HOLY CRAP! You're absolutely right, no hair dryer for you! Now that I know this, I too will stop with the "why don't you dry your hair" bit with my friends.
I'm at the polar opposite of the hair spectrum with all the accompanying problems. I've got light-coloured extremely fine hair (I call it 'Swedish fluff'). The good news is that it air-dries in about 15 minutes (5 with the blowdryer) and is straight as a board on its own.
The bad news? It can't grow longer than my chin without breaking up, it gets greasy so easily, anything more than the lightest bit of spray makes it hard and gross, and if I don't have it the way I want it before it dries, it's stuck like that for the day. Light, straight hair is just as big a pain.
haha I love your post! oh and this is so true! I have curly hair and hate when people tell me to just "blow dry it" they don't realize that it don't work like that. Must have's of a curly haired person for it to look good are a shower before touching it, lotsa mousse, and hairspray. AND only brush it before you apply the mousse and hairspray and never brush after it has dried. otherwise you look like a complete frizzball? (is that even a word).
Hahaha I went through a phase where I tried to blow dry my curly hair.. and it always looked AWFUL! Now I don't even brush it unless I'm using a pick to get conditioner through it.
If you have trouble with your curly hair, have you tried the curly girl method? I straightened my hair practically every day for awhile, but I started the curly girl method in July of 2009 and haven't looked back since :D I even get my hair cut by a "curly hair expert". But it also means no straightening!
But for the record, your curly hair is gorgeous!!!
Oh my goodness, I can totally relate! My hair is naturally curly too. I just have it chemically straightened every 6 months. That's why I keep my hair long because if my hair is short, I'd look scary.
hahahaha
Sounds like quite the experience as a child.....
Looks like a lot of work, but the curls are gorgeous when you take the time to do them!
This is great! I have curly hair too, and I could never just "Blow Dry" it.....God bless the flat iron!
To all - Thanks for following!
Andy - "properly curly hair" - hilarious. I like that my hair is proper haha. I've gotten the princess thing before especially when I've done updo's with curls tumbling everywhere. And yeah, if I brush my hair once it's dry, it goes to what we call "angel fuzz" lol. If I brush it when it's damp, it separates the curls and makes them frizz.
Kate - One of my best friends has hair exactly like you...right down to the greasiness and no-hairspray rule. I envy her sometimes while I take up to half an hour to completely do my hair and it takes her 5 minutes total, but I see the downsides too.
Krista - Frizzball is DEFINITELY a word in this girl's vocabulary haha. And yeah, I know exactly what you mean about brushing...it was a source of confusion for me and my mom before we discovered hair-care products. I don't use hairspray or mousse however. Leave-in conditioner and a fantastic spray-gel by Pantene from their line for curly-hair. I find that both mousse and hairspray dry my hair out FAR too much, and any that worked had an alcohol content that was through the roof and super damaging in the long-run. Try the Pantene!
Heather - I actually get all my tangles out in the shower with a brush...slick some conditioner in, and go to town with my brush. Gently of course so as to not cause breakage, but I do it right under the water stream - so much easier! In regards to the Curly Girl Method, I researched it a bit, and I'm actually quite satisfied with my hair and my products and routines at the moment. As a rule, I never shampoo my hair more than twice a week (usually once unless I was using a lot of product for a special event) and I use really fantastic (and really expensive) salon products called K-Pak. They've given my hair new-life over the past 2 years and I would never stop using them. Thanks for the info on the new routine though!
Dyinetch O_o I would have never known your hair was curly lol. I chemically straightened my hair for 2 years in Jr. High and never again...although back then it was just coming into the market and I know for a fact they've refined a lot of the harsh chemicals that were in the stuff back then. When I stopped, my hair was awful...no one could light a match around me for fear that I would ignite. My hair was SO dry and brittle...it took years to get it healthy again. Your hair looks fantastic though, so keep doing whatever you're doing!
wanderingmenace - Thank you! It's quite the chore some days, and sometimes up in a bun it goes with a cute headband and no one knows the difference :)
MrsDixon AMEN! I love my Paul Brown flat iron...I love my curly hair though too...I'm not one of those girls that you could never tell that my hair is curly...I have it curly a lot of the time. However, it's nice to take the hour it takes to straighten my hair, and then be done with it for a week and still have it look great and be able to do lots of cute styles with it. I love my straightener, but I'd never use it all the time.
Hey! I know! My hair gets SO HUGE when I blow dry. Plus, it takes forever :)
Go curly hair!!! :)
Everytime I've gone to a hair stylist, I've always been told each time, "Oh, you have a natural curl to your hair." I've always kind of cringed at those comments because, for the longest time, I thought that curly hair was a horrible thing. Although my hair has never been as curly as yours, there is a ringlet curl in there but it's always been frustrating to make it managable to work with. And then (like you said) the straightener came along.
Though I would like to be able to work my own natural curls effectively. I'm jealous of your curls! When you work them like in the first picture, they look awesome! (The second picture made me chuckle a little, but then again, I know your pain. *as she sports just dried but very messy curled hair*) Today, I walked out into the living room and my stepdad looked at me and said, "What did you do with your hair? Did you get a perm?"
No, Dad, this is my actual hair when there is nothing in it. :P
Regardless, your hair looks really nice in both straight and curled fashions. I hate blow-drying my hair, too, as my hair turns into a mini afro before I actually do something to it. You must tell me your secret to getting nice curls though... I must know. :P
The nice thing about curly hair, as well, is that depending on what style you do, you can hide a lot with it. Plus, it's very volumeous, which can be pretty important with some hairstyles.
Yeah... us curly-haired people can only dream of having that dream hair that takes us only 5 minutes to manage in the mornings and then we can head out the door. For everything else, there's Mastercard. (Unfortunately. :P)
I've always loved your really curly hair! As a kid I wished my hair was curly, since it's so straight, but I've since learned to accept my straight hair. However, it's so fine and delicate that I constantly have split ends, and can never grow it as long as I want to. But I am able to blow dry it without too many issues, and it is fairly low maitenance.
Nobody has perfect hair, but I think accepting the hair you were born with is a great thing!
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