How to Love Your Curls:
A Straightener-Free Guide to Having Frigging Sweet Hair
I have spent time unfathomable trying to tame my hair, and this is certainly not a unique plight. My curls were the bane of my life for a long time — Make them sleeker! Tidier! Edgier! Get rid of them altogether! JUST DO SOMETHING, PLEASE!
I would have sold my soul if I could have had straight hair in return. Short hair was my answer for a while, since it can only go so crazy when it doesn't even touch your shoulders. Since I've been letting my hair grow long again, though, I've had to learn to embrace its floofy bigness once more. I've decided that I'm tired of trying to subdue it, and am making it my mission to spread the big hair love instead!
In doing so, I've put together a list of tips — geared towards low-maintenance people who don't fancy getting up an hour early for a date with the hair straightener.
Tip 1: Above all else, look after your hair!This is obviously good advice for anyone, but curly hair is more prone to dryness and breakage than straight hair, so be nice to it if you want it to be nice to you. I'm not talking a crazy hair-care routine here; just try not to shampoo it more often than you need to, and condition it regularly. Avoiding hair straighteners, blowdrying, and metal hairclips (because of breakage) is also advisable. The healthier your hair, the nicer it will look on a day-to-day basis... duh.
Tip 2. Just say no to masses of mousse.A little goes a long way, is all I'm saying. There's nothing more off-putting than a head of "perfect" curls that feels as though it's been dipped in glue. I favour creams over mousse, in general, since I think they feel much more natural in the end — especially when applying to dry hair.
Tip 3: Back away from the brush.Give your hair a good rub with a towel, then brush or comb it - parting it as you normally do - and now
don't touch it with any sort of implement again until it's dry. You can run your fingers through it a few times as it dries, but don't touch that brush again! This will give you the neatest, shiniest curls with minimal effort. It took me about seventeen years to work that one out...
Tip 4: If you have to blow dry, keep it steady.Leaving hair dry naturally isn't always an option, I know. So if you must, move the drier as little as possible as you're using it. Waggling it around makes your hair dry faster, I know, but it also separates the strands of hair and stops them curling properly.
Tip 5: Look for inspiration. Look hard.This is really the most important part of loving your curls — it's all about accepting them, and not trying to turn them into something else.
Tips for straight hair are everywhere these days. Curly hair tips... not so much. And so many of those that do exist are about making your hair as frizz-free and close-to0-straight-hair as possible. It just gets boring (not to mention disheartening) after a while. But never fear! There is inspiration to be found, you're just going to have to take a bit more initiative and keep your mind open.
My favourite source of inspiration is vintage photos, because they remind me how fickle fashion is, and of the subjectivity of beauty. Stylish curls these days are tame and sleek, but...
Straight, sleek hair wasn't always all the rage, and it's great to look at vintage photos to remind yourself of that. Take a look at these curly ladies for some great ideas:
Louise Carbasse
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Mary PickfordSo have some fun with hairbands, clips and hats, stop worrying if your hair is as small as it can possibly be, and embrace the floof! Just maybe watch out
that you don't go too far... (On the other hand, maybe there's someone out there who can look amazing like that.)
Where do you look for inspiration for your curly hair? Or, if you've got straight hair, do you ever find yourself lusting after curls? Do share!
