Curly Hair Woes No More!!!

See this girl over here- "Fearfully and wonderfully made" and all that. I know that model subjected herself to curlers, hairspray and a half an hour of teasing with a comb to get that look. However, that is me every morning. No kidding.

I am the girl with the curly hair like you've never seen. I love walking into a salon. The heads turn. I see stylist turning red and breaking out in a sweat. Suddenly everyone is on "break".

I was born with beautiful blond curls like Shirley Temple. Old ladies used to call me angelic and children on the bus would fight to sit behind me so that they could bong my curls. It was all cute and fun until I hit that awkward stage. For me this was 3rd grade. The year I got glasses. The year my hair got dark and became wire like in nature. The year my front teeth were halfway present. (I have always been a bit delayed on the dental calendar). And to top it off my ears stuck out a little bit more that I would have liked. I actually made an ornament for my Mom that year with my school picture and cut my ears out because they so annoyed me. I thought she wouldn't notice somehow.

As a child I knew that I was unlike other girls. Other girls feathered their hair, used blow dryers, changed hair styles according to the "Facts of Life". In our classroom the girls would line up in a row and comb eachother's hair while the teacher read a story each day. (Can you say "lice epidemic"). Guess who was always in the back of the line? Guess who never had lice?

Being reasonable, I opted for the short cut. This was the only one that was manageable in the humidity of Indiana and the only kind of haircut my mom knew to give on the back porch. At night I would wash my hair and then use tape (yes, Scotch tape) to adhere the curls to my forehead in the hopes that it would by lying down in the morning. Strangely this did not seem to work.

Thankfully, by the time I was in high school I had found a hairdresser, Taffy Dinkle, who sought to tame this mane with a variety of straightening products, Afro-gels, conditioners and the like. I made it through being able to have the tall bangs which never went flat.

In my college years as bangs were going out, I joined the crowd and took the two year commitment of wearing a headband. It was well worth it and I've never turned back.
I actually let my college roommates brush my hair out one night after months of ceaseless begging. Needless to say, it was the talk of the dorm. I believe they referred to me as a "dandelion gone to seed".

Amazingly having children has actually relaxed my hair by 50% I'd estimate. It's getting calmer and grayer at the same time.

I know this little biography of my hair may seem trivial and self-centered. I apologize. But those of you in similar circumstances know the struggle and the blessing of naturally curly hair which are many.

Now I have five girls of my own with varying degrees of curl and like every mom I want them to appreciate the distinct beauty that God has given them. I want them to be okay with being different than others on the inside and outside. But I also don't want them to be so constantly preoccupied by their differences that they are reluctant to focus on what's most important. It's all a balance, isn't it?

And to help me along in my quest has come a hair product like none other.

Aquage.

Such a simple and strange word, but this product is like nothing I have ever known. And trust me, I've known about every major brand. I don't know exactly how it works, but it turns dry, crazy, frizzy hair into silky, light, bouncy curls. I can even wake up in the morning without the haystack!

I reluctantly bought some conditioner and gel after my last cut thinking that it was just another empty promise. But it worked better than anything I have ever used and the small tubes actually lasted me five weeks!! Now that's a miracle!

The price is comparable to any other salon brand. But for Shirley Temple curls in 90% humidity at age 35, that's priceless.

(Pictures to come)