If you have naturally curly hair it can be an undertaking to take care of it. Curly hair can be extremely difficult to take care of especially if you do not know all the important steps to take to make your curls bounce and to end the frizzies.

I know this from experience because I was born with naturally curly hair. When I was very little my dad heavy-handedly comb my hair every morning. It was a memory I sometimes wish I could forget. He would slather on Vaseline to my semi wet hair and work that comb through the knots. It was painful and many teeth were lost in my hair when the combs would break. Finally my mother (who was not even doing my hair) decided it was time to chop it all off. I cannot say I blame her because curly hair is not easy to take care of especially if you do not know what you are doing. Of course this was over 30 years ago and things have changed greatly. Curly hair is not such a mystery anymore. It may have taken me a few years to figure out but I finally rebelled against my mother cutting my hair and grew it out starting in high school. By the time I graduated from college my hair was down to the middle of my back (remember curly hair grows slower because of the shape it forms and is not growing straight. During those years I was able to experiment with my hair and find the perfect solution. During this time I learned to truly love my hair and what it had to offer me.

I WANT YOU TO BE ABLE TO EMBRACE YOUR CURLS TOO!!!

When I tell others how I take care of my hair they are shocked and amazed. This is because I never brush my hair and I hardly ever shampoo my hair. This helps to keep it from getting frizzy. My hair is incredibly curly mostly in little ringlets and my hair comes to the center of my back when its wet (maybe a bit longer) once it dries and curls my hair shrinks up quite a bit and takes on that ringlet look. What I have found for myself is that there are 10 very important points and steps to follow to allow your true curl to come out.

These are 10 points that are truly important to remember when you have curly hair because they help you to work with the curl and not against it.

•1. Do not use a brush

When you have curly hair you do not want to brush it this just causes the "frizzies" and helps to make your hair unmanageable. Using a brush defeats the purpose and goes against your curl.

•2. Always finger comb your hair

Finger combing your hair is the best method in keeping your curls in tact and keeping your curls tame. Finger combing does not cause the "frizzies".

•3. Do not use a blow dryer

Again too much heat is not good for your curly hair. Let it naturally dry and soak in the conditioner. Blow dryers are also frizz makers so cutting down or getting rid of the blow dryer will help bring back that natural curl.

•4. Do not wash your hair more than once a week

There is no need to wash curly hair more than once a week. Doing so can be another frizz creator. If your hair needs a pick me up before your next shampooing do a quick fix. This can be getting your hair wet and finger combing through a bit of conditioner.

•5. Always use conditioner

Conditioner is your best friend; use it every time you wash your hair. Finger combing your hair with conditioner will make it easier to maneuver through your curly locks. Not only do I use a combination shampoo/conditioner to wash with I also conditioner my hair twice. The second time I leave the conditioner in my hair.

•6. Find a stylist that understands curly hair

I cannot stress this enough there are so many stylists that have NO IDEA what they are doing when they are met with curly hair. I have had to find that out the hard way and believe me it is not fun because then you have to go through the process of fixing their mistakes. What a waste of money. There are many sources such as the naturally curly website where you can search for stylists in your area.

•7. Try different products until you find the right combination for your hair

Sometimes it takes awhile to find the right combination of products that works for your hair. I find that for me and my daughters although our hair is similar there are differences and our hair responds to different products. So take suggestions and switch around until you find that perfect combination. In addition sometimes that perfect combination does not work after awhile and you will have to switch it up a bit.

•8. Ask other curly haired people what they do and use

The best way to understand your hair is to ask someone else with curly hair. Usually they have been through the same process already and might have some helpful hints. This can be on stylists that they like or products that they have tried and liked. You should make sure you understand why they did or did not like that product because you might be able to use the products that did not work for them. For example my cousin and I have similar hair mine is just a little thicker than hers so one product that did not help her worked great for me and vice versa.

•9. Do not use too many products

Although products are very important for curly hair it is also extremely important that you do not over do it with the products. Too much products will also help to hinder the natural curl and can also cause the "frizzies" by drying out your hair which you want to avoid.

•10. Enjoy your hair

This is probably the most important point. When you do not understand curly hair it can be frustrating to take care of. Love your hair so many people would die to have the curly hair that you do so learn how to take care of it and learn to love it for what it is; beautiful bouncing curls.

Now that I have two girls of my own with long naturally curly hair it is amazing to me that even though their hair looks exactly like mine each is slightly different in several ways. One daughter's hair is a bit thinner than mine; one daughter's hair is easier to manage. Still I rely on the do's and don'ts above, only washing their hair once a week and making sure to conditioner their hair often. For myself and my daughters I use a combination shampoo/conditioner and then conditioner our hair afterwards and as soon as we get out of the shower I use leave in condition and I only finger comb our hair. This works on all of our hair even if the conditioners that we use are different.

It took me many years to figure out these 10 steps and they are all individually important and together give you all the tools you need to make your hair fabulous. So go on learn the 10 steps and then go out and flaunt those curls.

EMBRACE THOSE CURLS!!