One year of being a curly girl.

This time last year I started an experiment! I was to do something bold and daring, something that, if I had told my friends and family before hand, they might have questioned my sanity. I was going to embrace my natural hair…no more flat ironing it every single day, no more hiding it in a ponytail, no more anything that would hide what God put on this head of mine!

Here is how it looked the first two weeks

I'm still unable to find a picture of my hair straight and down. I'm thinking of straightening it tonight just to do it and to take a picture for y'all.

Before I show the "now" pictures I want to share what going curly has taught me. I'm sure some of y'all are thinking "yeah right what can hair teach some one", well I'll tell you. First of all it has taught me acceptance.
Accepting my self the way God made me, not the way my friends look or how Hollywood thinks some one should look. What first got my into this horrid cycle of frying my hair into submission was none other than my best-friend. She was beautiful; she and everyone who saw her knew it. Little did I know she had curly hair! Until one day, it rained. Her hair looked just like mine, slightly frizzy and poofy. Then one day, before a youth event at our church, I went to her house to hang out. That was when the self inflicted abuse started. In my best friends bedroom. As skilled as she was with that flat iron it still took an hour- hour and a half! All the compliments that night left me sure of one thing. Straight has was good. My hair was bad.
While she was not to first person to straighten my hair she was the person who got me into doing to daily.


Second it taught me that being different is okay. Really, it is. Here I was 13 and already hating every thing about my body simply because my best friend did. I was short and skinny with "that" hair as people called it. I wore glasses and was clumsy. Some how I always blamed my hair on my misfortunes. Most of my friends were Mexicans with dark skin, hair, and eyes. I was white, boy was I white, with bright hair and bright eyes. Needless to say I stuck out! I tried everything to blend in but in time I realized that maybe God didn't want me to blend in. Maybe I'm God's "sore thumb"...OK lame joke but ya get the idea. I stuck out.


Thirdly, Beauty is more than what is on the outside. Yes the outside does count a little, but loving your self for who you are is what beauty really is! A truly beautiful person not only accepts how she looks but how those around her looks. She thinks others are pretty and lets them, in a sincere and honest way, lets them know

As strange as it seems the one thing that I swore was ruining my life is now the one thing that every single day people compliment and notice. I get asked all the time "do you hate your hair?" "My daughter has curly hair like yours but she flattens it every day! What do you do to your hair?" To this I smile and tell them how I use to hate my hair but I learned to love it by accepting it. While this may not be a purely Biblical based thought itis so true, If you love your "faults" then those close to you will learn to see them as your "trade mark". I can't say it enough, being happy with how you look is the first step to being truly beautiful. I deal with the doubts every single day just like y'all. "Am I to skinny, is my nose to big, are my eyes to big, am I to short, is my hair out of control etc. etc. etc." In the end I always end up closing my eyes and thanking God for how He "fearfully and wonderfully knit me in my mother’s womb". I may not always like what I see but I know God does, and that does count for something.

OK back to hair. Here is the method! You can also find this on Wikipedia
I found out about the method the YLCF site. Here is their translation of how to get your curl on.

Curly Care
the Curly Girl Way!

"My philosophy is, `Blow-dry straight, you're happy for a day; stay curly, you're happy for life.'"
-Lorraine Massey to The Toronto Star

So how does a Curly Girl care for her curls? Lorraine Massey's curly care principles include:

* don't use shampoo (except if you're a wavy girl, and then only a little bit once a week)
* never blow-dry your hair (unless you use a diffuser)
* never comb your hair
* use lots and lots of conditioner

Curls needs lots of moisture (think conditioner) to maintain their curl. But the main ingredient in most shampoos is a harsh detergent (such as sodium laurel sulfate, ammonium laureth sulfate, or sodium laureth sulfate), which dries out your curls (making them frizzy to boot!).

As Lorraine Massey told New York Times, "The curly-haired can leave their hair hydrated with natural oils and clean their scalps quite well by rinsing only with hair conditioner once a week or less. Rubbing the scalp firmly with fingers is enough to loosen dirt."

The Basic Steps of Curly Care

1. Step under the "waterfall" of your shower and rinse your curls well (but don't touch them!).
2. Once-a-week Cleansing Step: Using your fingertips and a bit of conditioner (gentle shampoo if you're a wavy girl), gently rub your entire scalp. Rinse well.
3. Gently but generously and evenly distribute conditioner through your curls. Wavy Girls, rinse well. Botticelli Curly Girls, rinse 'til your curls feel right. Corkscrew Curly Girls, rinse for just a second. (Rinse with cold water to "seal" the hair shaft.)
4. Use your towel to "scrunch-dry" your curls, gently scrunching towards your head.
5. Spread a small amount of gel over your palms and scrunch your curls in an accordion motion. Repeat until all your curls have been scrunched (scrunching the canopy last), but don't over-gel!
6. Use claw clips to arrange and style your curls (click here to see examples), twisting any last curls into place. Then don't touch your hair while it dries! (Use a diffuser on the coolest, lowest setting if you must speed the process.)
7. Bend over and shake your dried curls to give them more volume. Enjoy your soft, springy curls!



Extra Tips

* Thin your conditioner by adding water to the bottle and shaking well, in order to allow for a more even distribution of the conditioner throughout your hair with less to rinse out.
* Blondes, mix lemon juice with your conditioner to eliminate product buildup and discoloration of your hair.
* Use a mustard-like squeeze bottle with nozzle to cleanse or treat your roots only.
* Use cold water, especially on the last rinse, to “seal” the hair (hot water strips the natural oils that protect your hair).
* Hang in there for at least three weeks. You may have to wean yourself off shampoo gradually, as it takes a bit for your scalp to adjust, so shampoo a bit if you must, but don’t give up yet! Curly hair is happy hair!

My changes to the method:
My hair is to long and thick for the clipping method to really work with out giving me a killing head ache, so when I have an important day or I just have some free time in the morning I do what is called "plopping". Here is a very helpful video on how to do it; while Jessi calls it "plunking" it is still the same thing, just a difernt name. Sometimes, when I'm rushed on the weekends, I will wash my hair after work on Saturday nights and plop it while I sleep or at least for part of the night!
I also use baby shampoo or a this natural shampoo instead of cutting it out all the way.

For those who are older or have your parents permission check out the curly girl forums for helpful tips! When I first started Naturally curly's site was extremely helpful and encouraging! Thanks guys!

OK, so for the now pictures.














I'm not saying that straightening your curly hair or curling your straight hair is wrong. You just need to learn that there is nothing wrong with your hair the way it is naturally.
Sometimes I straighten mine; some times I’ll curl it a little more for concerts when it is looking a little flat. So, for the sake of your hairs health, please, practice moderation! If you do use a flat iron or curler, make sure you use some sort of a protecting product on your hair first. I use this. It works wonderfully and doesn’t take a lot, it doesn’t even leave a film on my hair the next day!

So, if your an incognito curly girl, give this a whirl, the looks on peoples faces will be worth it when they first see what your hair really looks like. Be warned your friends will want to touch it! A lot! My first few weeks where kinda crazy. At choir my hair would get touched and played with though rehearsal. So be ready for your friends and family's' shock. Oh yes, and for brothers to throw stuff at the back of your hair to see if it sticks in your curls... or to randomly flick your hair...or pull a curl just to watch it bounce back...gotta love em =]