Caring for Curls

I inherited my curls from my dad. Guys have the option of just cutting their curls as short as possible so that other people are fooled into thinking it is "thick". Girls, however, are faced with the daunting task of creating a style from what can easily become a haystack. When people see our family one of the first things they comment is, "Wow, look at all that hair!" Our drains are saying the same thing for a completely different reason!

Curly hair can not be changed, but it will behave differently depending on how it is treated. So for you moms out there with curly headed kids here's the low down.

1. Never (I repeat, "Never!") brush, pick or tease curly hair when it is dry. If you do each individual hair will leave its friends to have a party of its own. There's no going back when that happens. Your only options are to put it up or wash it. Only wet, well conditioned hair should be brushed.

2. Curly hair is by nature dry. I myself was a church camp phenomenon when I could go under the water at the pool and come up with completely dry hair. You must allow the hair to be saturated before applying shampoo. Then let the conditioner have a little extra time. You must teach your daughter (and yourself) to be patient.

3. Use a good gel product applied to the ends first, but don't over "scrunch". (Creating volume is not likely a problem). To read about my all time favorite products look here. A good rule of thumb is that the gel should be watery, not sticky in your hand.

4. Curly hair is also more porous so it sucks in whatever it comes in contact with. This means that it needs some protection before getting into chlorine. Wetting hair and applying conditioner before swimming goes a long way to keep curly hair healthy.

5. Never, never, never blow dry or apply heat to curls. It is disastrous.

6. Run quickly from any hair stylist that says, "I can thin your hair" or "Let's texturize it here". This is done with special thinning scissors that remind me of pinking shears. Or they may use regular scissors and run the blade across the hair to "shave" back certain areas. This is a tragedy that is not easily undone. (I'm speaking from experience here). When curly hair is cut in this manner the individual hairs have varying lengths. This only serves to thicken the hair from underneath and create terrible rats. Also, the next time the same technique is used there is no way to tell how the hair was thinned the last time to repeat the same layers. It's very bad and can take years to undo.

7. Find a good stylist and stick with her. Preferably she would be a curly head, too. Thankfully, curly hair can go longer without being cut, but a consistent hair stylist will be able to tell what is and is not possible with one's hair. She will learn the patterns and quirks of your child's curls and be able to teach you both how to care for it.

8. Consider it a blessing. Once your curly haired girl learns to care for it herself she will be a low maintenance gal.

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)