I've been in a rather rocky relationship with my hair ever since I was about 20.. I didn't really care all that much about my hair when I was in school even though I have had really bad experiences with haircuts and had my hair compared to a mop, dish scrubber and everything else you can think of along those lines, by my peers!! My hair looked different at various stages.. I was born with very curly hair. It got real thick & bushy when I was a school kid, it was wavy during my early college days (ages 16-20). It was pretty nice till I was about 20 and a half with lots of waves and volume... until I got introduced to straightening irons!! The temporary straightening made my hair look so awesome that I did it too often. I never realised those temporary straightening sessions would end up making my hair rough and frizzy later. My hair also started getting more curly post that..which is not a very bad thing, but it was also dry.. something I had to take care of.
I started taking care of it when a lot of damage (owing to prior negligence) had been done already.. and I'm going to share some of those tips with you!!
When you have curly hair, DO NOT comb it unless it's really necessary. I know that not combing your hair is the most clumsiest thing to do but trust me, those curls will survive as long as your comb does not touch them. You may want to just run your fingers through it instead. Also, most people with curly hair have a dry scalp. Don't ask me the logic but that's one thing I've noticed. So it's important that you oil your hair regularly. Heat some coconut/olive oil and massage it deep inside the scalp and the next morning, before washing it off, soak a towel in hot water and tie the towel around your hair. Keep it that way for 20 minutes and then shampoo the hair. This makes the hair soft and prevents dandruff. I generally mix coconut, almond and olive oil together. A conditioner is a MUST for curly hair. Use a leave-in conditioner if you can. On days that you don't wash your hair, use a serum or your hair will start losing its shine.
And when you absolutely HAVE to comb it, use a round brush with soft bristles, somewhat like this one:
It isn't too hard on your hair and settles all the loose strands down. I used this brush even when my hair was wavy. My hair has a lot of volume. For people with less volume, you might want to comb your hair backwards to achieve it:
I've also recently discovered something called a hair masque which works like a conditioner but provides deep conditioning and nourishment. It has to be applied after you shampoo your hair and has to be left for fifteen to twenty minutes before you can rinse it. Do not use a conditioner when you are using a masque and since applying a masque takes longer, you can keep it to once a week or two. I used the Dove Nourishing Oil Care Hair Masque last week. It made my hair feel a lot softer but a bit oily (probably because I had gone for an oil massage the previous day and the oil had not still left my hair completely even though I shampooed it). I was happy with the product though.
So to continue my story, soon, I got tired of my curls and too lazy to follow the regime. I straightened my hair permanently for the first time when I was 21 & a half (just about a month after taking the picture above).. One of the reasons for doing it was also that I secretly hoped the new hair that would grow wouldn't be AS curly. I thought it would be wavy and more easier to manage. I promised myself to take care of my hair once it started growing again so that I wouldn't have to straighten it again, and was in love with my straightened hair..
My hair grows real fast and I had not meant to do it again when the new hair started to show..
But I made another mistake then: I coloured it red!!
It was looking real good the day I coloured it.. after they blow dried my hair (almost ironing it) and everything. I was pretty happy with the new look..
The curls I was born with!
My lovely locks on my 20th birthday.. isn't my hair looking nice? Sadly, I ruined it by ironing it time & again that year...
Temporary straightening (ironing) that settled my waves.. making my hair look WOW! But ruined my hair later!
When you have curly hair, DO NOT comb it unless it's really necessary. I know that not combing your hair is the most clumsiest thing to do but trust me, those curls will survive as long as your comb does not touch them. You may want to just run your fingers through it instead. Also, most people with curly hair have a dry scalp. Don't ask me the logic but that's one thing I've noticed. So it's important that you oil your hair regularly. Heat some coconut/olive oil and massage it deep inside the scalp and the next morning, before washing it off, soak a towel in hot water and tie the towel around your hair. Keep it that way for 20 minutes and then shampoo the hair. This makes the hair soft and prevents dandruff. I generally mix coconut, almond and olive oil together. A conditioner is a MUST for curly hair. Use a leave-in conditioner if you can. On days that you don't wash your hair, use a serum or your hair will start losing its shine.
And when you absolutely HAVE to comb it, use a round brush with soft bristles, somewhat like this one:
The image has been Googled for
It isn't too hard on your hair and settles all the loose strands down. I used this brush even when my hair was wavy. My hair has a lot of volume. For people with less volume, you might want to comb your hair backwards to achieve it:
She's getting her hair blow dried backwards for volume.. This is how you should comb your hair too. It adds a lot of volume to the hair.
And yes, these images were Googled for as well!
I've also recently discovered something called a hair masque which works like a conditioner but provides deep conditioning and nourishment. It has to be applied after you shampoo your hair and has to be left for fifteen to twenty minutes before you can rinse it. Do not use a conditioner when you are using a masque and since applying a masque takes longer, you can keep it to once a week or two. I used the Dove Nourishing Oil Care Hair Masque last week. It made my hair feel a lot softer but a bit oily (probably because I had gone for an oil massage the previous day and the oil had not still left my hair completely even though I shampooed it). I was happy with the product though.
My hair at 21 & a half.. more curlier & frizzier because of the ironing sessions, but still looking good after the oiling, shampooing and conditioning...
So to continue my story, soon, I got tired of my curls and too lazy to follow the regime. I straightened my hair permanently for the first time when I was 21 & a half (just about a month after taking the picture above).. One of the reasons for doing it was also that I secretly hoped the new hair that would grow wouldn't be AS curly. I thought it would be wavy and more easier to manage. I promised myself to take care of my hair once it started growing again so that I wouldn't have to straighten it again, and was in love with my straightened hair..
Permanent straightening
Curly hair + Straight hair..
But I made another mistake then: I coloured it red!!
It was looking real good the day I coloured it.. after they blow dried my hair (almost ironing it) and everything. I was pretty happy with the new look..
The day I coloured my hair red
But as soon as I washed it, all the blow dry and straight effect was gone.. And within a month or two, my hair got so rough that it looked like hay (considering it started changing colour as well...)
Half curly, half straight, coloured hair after losing its colour...
So I had to break my vow and straighten it again. That was the only solution to making my hair look a bit presentable. Ofcourse, I've been experiencing excessive hairfall but my hair looks okay atleast. I didn't experience hairfall the first time I straightened my hair. I think the hairfall now is due to colouring AND straightening. Not bothered about the hairfall too much as my hair keeps growing real fast & I have a lot of volume anyway.
After straightening it for the second time..
My new hair has started growing already.. My hair grows so fast that it's actually stupid on my part spending so much money on getting it straightened every time. I'd have to do it three times in a year if I want it to look straight all the time! Anyway, so, thanks to the new hair, the coloured (& straight) hair has gone down now and doesn't show itself that much.
The new hair + coloured & straight hair below.. The look that I sport now.
The new hair seems nice.. except that my scalp is getting dry again and I am following the same steps that I listed above (for curly hair). My new hair is sort-of wavy and wavy hair can be given the same treatment, the only difference being- wavy hair or any hair except curly hair must be combed!! The steps above can be followed for straight hair too (not the "not combing" of course), but in case you have an extremely oily scalp instead of a dry one, you might want to follow a completely different regime (one without the oiling and the conditioning). The conditioning should be restricted to only the tips of the hair in case of an oily scalp.
So, you see, I have learnt a lesson from my hair escapades- love your hair the way it is.. and it will love you back! That is exactly what the Dove contest has to say too.. and also the reason why I wrote this piece! :) In one of my earlier posts, I had talked of the new Nourishing Oil Care Range Dove has come up with. With the launch of that range of products, the Dove team, along with Indiblogger, have organised a contest where we have to share small and special things we do to make our hair feel special !! You can take part too but you have to hurry up as it's only till the 10th of November. Check this link for details: http://www.indiblogger.in/topic.php?topic=45&sort=latest
Natural hair is the best kind of hair.. Love it and take care of it! This is what Dove always aims to tell us by way of its campaigns and advertisements- You are beautiful! <3
And even if you want to ever get straight hair, do it the natural way-
Mix one cup of milk, one spoon of honey and a few strawberries and make a paste. Apply it to your hair and rinse it off in 3 hours with a good shampoo. Follow this for atleast about a month to settle your curls down, and give your hair a smooth look. Alternatively, you can also mix a glass of coconut milk with lemon juice and refrigerate it for 2-3 hours. Apply it to your hair, tie a hot towel (towel soaked in hot water) around your hair for 20 minutes, and then rinse it off with a good shampoo!
These are some natural methods to calm those curls down a bit and make your hair more straighter.. It wouldn't be poky straight though. Natural poky straight hair is possible only if you're Chinese or Japanese :P I know it's wrong of me to generalise but I've seen most Chinese/Japanese women having poky straight hair. Either they are born with it, or they all get their hair straightened (which seems rather ridiculous).
Anyway, so the point is, you really need to love those tresses and it isn't too long before you'll have glamorous hair! ;)
5 comments:
This is a big hairy scary post ;-D
lotsa experiments with hair..good...lovely pics..looks great after colouring and straightening...but yes,sticking to natural methods is the best..i also did lot of such things and lost a hair
Here is my take on the subject - http://zradar.wordpress.com/2011/11/10/the-hairy-fairy-tale/. See if you like it..
Hey, I really liked your post and loved all the pictures! Thanks for sharing :)
Do visit my wow-hair moments at http://crispingcanary.blogspot.com/2011/11/affhair-to-remember.html too :)
Oh looks like you have learned ur lessons on hair care really well! I have to show my teenage daughter this post, as she has very curly hair as well, but she does all the things you once did, and does not listen to my warnings! I was not blessed with the same abundant hair(she got hers from gran)and I want her to have that thickness always...uff...thanks for the post...so much
Hello, my name is Abigail Taylor, and ive got the blog www.taylorandtails.blogspot.com. Your 5th picture on this post, with the girl with her head upside down backcombing hair, is me. I took this photo and it is on my blog. I would either like you to delete the picture, or link me in this post.
Thank you, Abigail Taylor.
taylorandtails@hotmail.co.uk
abigailjadetaylor@hotmail.co.uk
Don't hesitate to contact me.
Post a Comment