A couple of years ago, Rachel brought home the book Curly Girl for us to read to learn about Maggie's hair. Between Maggie's hair and my own curls that I've begun to develop since Maggie was born (curls? contagious? who knew?) I figured I should make another stab at learning how to care for curly hair. So I fetched the book from the library again.
One of the basic premises is that we need to embrace our curls and get over the whole thing with straightening them.
I used to hate curls. Not exactly like I had a problem with too many curls. I didn't need to iron my hair straight; those who did iron were going for the look I had naturally. My mom could curl my hair and hairspray it to death, and those curls might last an hour or two. I remember my mom and grandma trying to entice me to eat bread crusts: "They'll give you curls." Well! Talk about a way to discourage me from eating the crusts!
But now I like my curls. The major problem I'm having with the book's advice, though, is that we ought not brush our hair. The author acts like brushes are "straightening devices." When I wash my hair and air-dry it and have those nice loose ringlets, I love how it looks. But when a person goes out in the wind, or sleeps and then doesn't have time to rinse out her hair the next day, HOW do you untangle hair without a brush? Even if the brush straightens the curls, that'd be better than the tangled mess of not brushing.
I'm thinking maybe Maggie could use a wide-toothed pick in the shower with the water running through her hair. But that brings up the second problem with the book. What about the next day? We don't want to spend the hour or more per day wetting and air-drying our hair so that the curls are shown off to best advantage. Honestly, I'd rather use the brush and be frizzy than to take the time to primp. There's so much I like in this book, but there are practical problems to be solved here first.
Friday, April 18, 2008
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I have the same questions as you because I have a daughter whom I should be teaching the curly-girl method, but I know the tangles will look like a rats nest which would drive me nuts.
ReplyDeleteFor me, I only wash my hair every other day. The second day it looks a little more frizzy, but I think acceptable, so I throw in a headband and go about the day. Sometimes I use a spray bottle with water/conditioner and spray it in spots.
But one of the things I do for my girls is have them sleep on a silk (well, a satiny) pillowcase. My friend told me this helps let the hair slide over the case while sleeping and not tangle. It really works nicely. So maybe you'd want to try one of those and washing/wetting every other day.
Good luck! From one curly girl to another....
Try going with a wide toothed comb and keep a spray bottle of water in your bathroom. Just bend over, spritz, and scrunch. See how that works.
ReplyDeleteI am one of those curly heads that spent years fighting my curls--my problem has always been haircuts (bangs, etc.) that if left to their own devices would curl with no rhyme or reason and just look a mess. So I would use the blow dryer and curling iron to try to force a style only to have it destroyed within minutes of stepping outside.
ReplyDeleteA few years back I finally came to my senses and did away with the bangs and most of the blow drying (I just dry when I really need to get it dry fast). I still use the curling iron to make unruly strands behave. My motivation in changing was not any effort to do the right thing with my hair but just necessity--too much to do and not enough time to fuss over something as silly as hair. So maybe I should take a look at this book. What I just can't wrap my mind around is the thought of not shampooing. I shampoo every day because if I don't my hair is flat and limp and lifeless. I have very oily hair and skin and within days of this regimen I think I would feel like a French fry from all the grease. For me daily washing is a way of keeping the body and curl in my hair. And as for not brushing--again, I think I would look a mess. I would have to at least use a pick, like Susan suggests (I did this for a while in college when I had a perm for a few years--talk about a curly girl!)
The book suggests finger-combing with damp fingers to untangle either the next day or later in the day.
ReplyDeleteFunny thing is that I have mostly-straight hair, and reading that book and using the suggestions in it have made my hair much more manageable in the past few years.
I love curls of any and all kinds!!!! To me (and I am sure this is NOT scientific), the curlier my hair, the better kidney function. For me, when kidney function declines, hair becomes flat, straight, and lifeless. I have not had the courage to ask doctors about it, but it is one of the reasons I recently questioned what was going on.
ReplyDeleteI use a pick in the morning, and sometimes a spray bottle for some spots.
ReplyDeleteI have heard about the lack of tangling with a satin pillowcase, but I have not managed to purchase any of those yet.
I have also read this book and it did encourage me to embrace my curly hair, but honestly, if I had time to take a shower every day, which I don't, I'd have time to style my curly hair! I do a combination, I wear it curly often, but I have my hairstylist friend keep it trimmed and teach me how to style it with a straightener. I learned a long time ago not to take pictures of straight, flat styles to the hair salon and expect yourself to come out looking like that! It's not gonna happen! :)
ReplyDeleteYou don't have to shower/ wet it everyday - you can spritz it down with watered-down detangler spray or plain water.
ReplyDeleteI'm still in the adjustment stage of Curly Girl - but I think I'm loving it! And I'm saving a ton of money by not using so much shampoo, and buying simpler less expensive conditioner.
Cheryl, you gotta read the book - you're still cleaning your hair - just not with shampoo. :)
Make the lavender spray that the book talks about. Lavender has cleaning properties, and then use that and go through the tangles and then scrunch. Or use spray gel (or make your own by diluting gel). That works, too.
ReplyDeleteI second what EC said, it still cleans, and cleans the scalp where it is needed (I've loved using the brown sugar in the conditioner once a week, too. feels good). But it is the scalp that needs cleaned generally, especially if you have oily skin. Curly hair is dry, and doesn't need the shampoo...just the conditioner. The rinse takes out the excess dirt and oils.