It’s a New Year full of the promises of new beginnings for many people, and this is also true for our curly haired sisterhood. The mistakes of heat styling tools, chemical treatments and that stylist who butchered your hair are now passed. As we rise above the over conditioning, the no shampooing, the oils and silicone's, we vow to our curls that this year, we will do better! But how? Let’s start with…
Acceptance
As with all areas of life, love and acceptance of “what is” is crucial for our mental well-being. In other words, if it’s not within your control, accept it and let it go. Our curls have been begging us to let go of the fact that one area that has a completely different curl pattern than the rest of our head. We can’t just love 75% of our natural curls and then have dislike the last 25%. Loving what we have will make it easier for us to find ways to understand, and then work with our hair.
To diffuse or not to diffuse, that is the question
Okay, so Shakespeare knew nothing about curly hair style management! But thankfully, we do, and there are benefits to air drying, as well as diffusing! The great thing about not diffusing is you are completely avoiding the use of heat styling altogether. This is so beneficial to your curls and especially you fine haired curlies who are cursed with split ends every few months. However, diffusing has its benefits too: for example, if you have ton of hair that takes hours to dry, diffusing can help speed up that drying time. I also find myself personally it helps me achieve more volume as I play with my hair while it’s diffusing, giving me bounce and volume everywhere! But at the end of the day, you should choose whatever method suits your hair goals this year!
Invest in some quality styling products
Those of us who have a real education about our curls know that we don’t need to get a trim every six weeks. Rather, the quality of our style is about how we style our hair between cuts and every wash. In order to be successful at styling, you guessed it, we need quality styling products. Now this doesn’t mean the most well known brand or the most expensive item on the shelf. Do your research! You want to look for products that: have no silicone's or oils, are safe for chemically treated hair, are pH balanced for curly hair, (This is incredibly important, as the pH balance affects the dryness of our hair and scalp) and is a reasonable price point that fits your budget. So you want to look for products like the Curl Keeper Styling Collection, a collection that focuses on the health of the curls as well as appearance.
Healthy girls, healthy curls
Let’s be honest, we are what we eat. So if you are inhaling fast food every day and expecting your hair to grow and be strong, you might need to readjust your thinking. Drinking plenty of water is even more vital as ensuring we are taking a good multivitamin. Healthy hair starts from the inside out, so start paying attention to what you eat. Exercising on a regular basis is just as important and I know I could take my own advice here. Come up with a manageable weekly routine that you can stick too, and then stick to it!
Make some reasonable curl resolutions this year and find yourself a support group! Whether its friends who have shared curl experiences, or even a social media group you have a dialogue with, any community of friends and supporters would be helpful. This will help to keep you accountable for your curls and ensure you have a great, and healthy 2016!