Life with Curly Hair

I have a confession to make, I have naturally curly hair, not lovely and straight like in my pictures. I also make weird faces in photographs. That is my hair naturally, all curly and frizzy and in desperate need of some hair dye. Most of the time I just put up with it, it’s my hair and I was born with it. Curly hair can be a real pain to work with. If left to it’s own devices my hair forms large knots in the back of my head and puffs up to a flighty ball of hair twice it’s size and very ridiculous looking. My hair is like an unruly child in an ornament shop, it can not be left on it’s own.
That being said here are a few things I’ve learnt about managing curly hair:

Blonde is not your friend.

Curly hair is naturally dry and bleaching the crap out of your hair is the perfect way to strip what little moisture is left in your hair. I am currently growing out my year long attempt at blonde hair. I loved being blonde, it was fun and I could add whatever colour I wanted over it (I had a pink layer of hair for a while which was fun) but your hair will not thank you for it and in the end it will go dry, brittle and even more frizzy than it started.

Put the brush away!

Brushing curly hair when it’s dry is another good way of turning your nice curls into a puff ball. Don’t do it! The only time I brush dry hair is when I’m going to straighten it. I avoid having to brush my hair by putting it up in one or two plaits when I go to sleep then I just finger brush it in the morning.

Diffuse it

If you want your hair to curl nicely  the use the diffuse connection on your hair dryer. Take a few sections of hair and twist it around your finger and put it in the diffuser to add even more curl.

Air dry

It’s best for all hair types to air dry I think but if you do have to use heat make sure your hair is about 80% dry and use the diffuser. This will minimise the time your hair is under the heat.

Don’t use too many products

Too many products is just going to weigh down your hair and make it look greasy and nasty. When I use a leave in condition I only use about a 5 cent coin size for my whole hair and I concentrate it on the ends of my hair. If you put too much product near your scalp it will make your hair look greasy.

Make your hair oily!!

Yes that’s right, OIL! I use olive oil at least once a week (usually Wednesday's when I also use a face mask). I have also used coconut oil which was pretty good but far too expensive whereas I buy a huge tin of olive oil for the kitchen for between $20-30 so I just poor a bit into my hands and work it through my hair from roots to ends. It takes about two attempts with the shampoo half an hour later to get it all out but it really makes my hair feel and look so much better when I do this regularly.

Get a regular trim

This is a rule I don’t stand by but one I definitely should. I haven’t gone to a hairdresser in years. I don’t enjoy the experience of going to get my hair cut and I never had. I hate waiting around and I can never seem to get them to understand what I want which is probably my fault. These days I trim my own hair (in fact I was just doing it which is what inspired this post) with a normal pair of scissors in my desk drawer but I can’t recommend doing that. Hairdressers train for years to be able to cut your hair and they generally know what they’re doing. I’m just cheap and can’t be bothered with the effort of going to the hairdressers which may also be why I don’t have the best hair.

These are just some of the things that I’ve learnt about my type of hair. Have any of you got curly, dry or damaged hair? If so what are some of your tips for managing it? I’d love to know because I’m always looking for new and better techniques and products to help with my hair.