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| My hair. Actually, also my make-up |
On the day that I wash my hair it curls beautifully. But if I have to go outside (entirely likely) it begins to frizz. Come day two after the hair wash and I look like I've been fighting (unsuccessfully) with badgers in a hedge. From there on in, I scrape it back into a pony tail. Although I've never seen a pony with a tail that looks like my hair.
I have had it straightened in the past - a keratin treatment which is actually quite good for your hair for reducing frizz - but I still had to do a lot of straightening. And straightening isn't good for your hair. And then there's the time. And the cash.....
Reader. I. Have. Had. Enough.
*stands up in manner of AA meeting* My name is Hestia Slattern and I HAVE CURLY HAIR.
MAN, that feels GOOD!
Since deciding that I need to work WITH my hair and not against nature, I have been acquainting myself with forums that exist PURELY FOR GIRLS WITH CURLY HAIR. I have learned about twist outs, bantu knots, spray gels and PATIENCE. I have signed up for curl-hair newsletters and watched a gazillion youtube videos of latte-skinned beauties demonstrating their nightly hair regimen.
It has been a revelation.
The first thing that I tried, was sleeping with my hair up, rather than just au natural. The coloured girls with gorgeous spirals of natural hair favoured sweeping their twist outs up into a pineapple on the top of their heads, secured loosely with a scrunchie and popping on a satin bed cap to keep it all in place.
Since satin bed caps are kinda hard to come by on this remote rock, I opted instead to do a do-rag (think Rosie the Riveter) and retire to my boudoir looking like Hilda Ogden.
The divine Rosie
The slightly less divine, Hilda Ogden from TV's Coronation Street
Surprisingly, the head-scarf stayed on all night, In the morning, I unknotted the scarf, swished it off and shook out my hair. O.M.G.
Reader, swear to God the Hallelujah Chorus was sung by dimple-bummed cherubs in my ears as I surveyed my still-perfectly-in-tact curls!
Since then, I have put the scarf on every night (Tartarus was away, so there was no-one to see my new look) and every day my curls were in tip top condition! Now Tartarus is home you might think that I should be ditching the do-rag for something black, sheer and maybe with marabou feathers. Not a bit of it. What Tartarus and I do in bed is.....read books. So he was not in the least bit phased when I appeared from the bathroom with my head-square on. Truthfully, I don't know whether to be pleased or insulted about that.....
The second thing that I tried was abandoning shampoo.
Our hair doesn't actually NEED those gazillions of sweet-smelling bubbles to get itself clean. This is something that has been sold to us by those clever people at the advertising agencies. So, I thought I would ditch the poo and see how things progressed.
I was a bit sceptical about stepping into the shower and washing my hair in conditioner, but that's me been poo free now for two weeks and my hair feels in the best condition that it's ever been in.
So, if you are a curly girl that's two things to try:
Get your curls in place and sleep with them piled high in a Hilda Ogden stylee head square.
Abandon shampoo and cleanse in conditioner.
Yesterday I hit the mainland and stocked up on various moisturising sprays for curly hair and I'll be letting you know how that pans out.
Bet you can HARDLY WAIT :-D
Man, if you'd found this out earlier, how different your life would have been x
ReplyDeleteI know. I am totally evangelical about this now. Hairdressers need to learn the Dark Arts of Curly Hair :-D
DeleteHere in the States, the European-Americans with curly hair have learned to go to the African-American styling salons. Those with African ancestry have developed great skill in dealing with the curls, and except in some parts of the South where there's still a lot of social separation, they've been great resources.
ReplyDeleteMy mother (her mother was English/Welsh) has hair very much like yours, Ali, and had many struggles with it until she cut it short (but in the 1950s, that was cool).
This hair-cleaning with conditioner instead of shampoo is a brilliant idea, though. Of course that would work better. :) Of course I don't know who Hilda Ogden is, but I like Rosie the Riveter. But then the 1940s are my fav style era.
So glad you are happier with your hair, finally. I had that same feeling after finally being properly fitted for a bra after 40 years of suffering....;)
Joanne - have added an image of Rosie for you. And also Hilda - because she's an icon too!
DeleteThanks so much, Ali! I have seen Hilda before, just didn't have name and face matched. I saw a couple of episodes of Coronation Street when I lived in Norfolk, but never really got into it. Some of the British TV shows were just too difficult in the culture gap area (although I did manage to adopt the Doctor, as in Who).
ReplyDeleteAnd now I can see the scarf wrap for real. That would be likely to keep the frizzes at bay in the morning. :)
What I can't wait for is pics of the new, curly you! I love curly hair (having straight myself) and am delighted you're finally embracing it :)
ReplyDeleteCx
I love your hair
ReplyDeletei've started (for the first time EVER in my forty-plus years) washing my hair every two or three days, and in between i rinse it with a apple cider vinegar rinse that i add essential oils to for smellification, and it's fantastic! and i'm always glad when a beautiful woman stops fighting her god-given hair and embraces its awesomeness. woot woot!
ReplyDelete