My Picks
A great newsletter.
A great newsletter.
My hair is naturally curly. I wanted to get that out of the way since people actually ask me that question. Usually, my first thought is, "Like I would do this to my hair on purpose????" But on second thought, I really am happy with my hair.
It wasn't always so. When I was a pre-teen/teenager, everyone had straight hair, parted down the middle. It was the way to look. I guess it was supposed to be a "natural" look, a rebellion against the structured 50s. Except it wasn't natural for me at all. So, my cousin Dena showed me that I could achieve straight hair with the aid of an iron and ironing board. In fact, if you laid a sheet of wax paper over the hair as it was ironed, the wax would melt onto the hair, coating it and thus keeping it straight a bit longer.
When my hair began showing signs of heat damage, I moved on to huge rollers. I'd pull my hair to the top of my head and secure it with a coated band (kind of a high ponytail). Then I'd wrap my wet hair around three soup can size rollers. This is one of the few pictures of the technique. Even more amusing (if only there was a picture of it!) was when I would use my head as a giant roller, wrapping my hair around and around, then sitting under an old hood dryer. After 15 minutes or so, I'd take my hair down and wrap it in the other direction, so that when it was dry one side would not pouf up higher than the other.
I guess it was after I graduated from high school that I realized that my curly hair wasn't so bad afterall. I had it cut short and I was amazed how much better I looked when I let it air dry naturally. I tried the straight thing again around the time that I got married but soon tired of it. Back to curly for me, and that's how it's been ever since.
Amazing fact: Every time I got pregnant, my hair got straight. Stayed straight for several months after giving birth, too. Weird.
If your hair is curly, you absolutely must try Clinique Defined Curls. It is truely amazing. The first time I tried it, I attended a cookout party at a local yacht club. The couple who invited us took us out for a ride on a speed boat. While we were out, it started to rain lightly. I had no idea what my hair would look like when we got back to the party. I was floored when I looked in the mirror in the restroom and discovered my hair almost the same as before the boat ride. I needed to run my fingers through it a little, but if I hadn't done that it still would have looked fine. All you curly tops go and buy this stuff now.
Finally, the best place on the internet for curls is NaturallyCurly. You'll find lots of good advice, interesting articles, a friendly forum for sharing stories or asking questions about curly hair and lots of pictures of curly heads. I've worn out my naturallycurly.com t-shirt so it looks like I'll have to order a new one. Like the shirt says, "Naturally Curly, Naturally Proud."
