The Frizz of Hair
The secret you never knew
O.K., so I'm the one who never knew. Because no one ever told me.
Apparently those of us with curly hair are not allowed to brush. When you brush your hair dry, it breaks the ends, causing those unseemly splits. My whole life I never knew that. Just recently, I found a fab hairdresser who "speaks curly" who told me to use a wide-tooth comb on my WET hair (never dry). No brushing, no fingers. The water offers a protective barrier against the frizz so that you can safely run through the strands without damaging anything. At night you can put it up in a ponytail or bun so that it doesn't unravel in your sleep. If you're willing to set aside vanity, use one of those "granny caps" but I can never bring myself to actually wear one, even sleeping alone.
Joy! So there is a remedy to this crazy bush-tail look, miraculously changing my snarls into delicate ringlets. After washing, I (very gently) separate parts of the hair into ringlets with leave-in conditioner or some other appropriate product. NEVER USE A HAIR DRYER. I let it air dry and if I am disciplined enough not to touch it, it will look like soft, wavy commercial hair. Who knew?
This is a revelation to me in many ways. For one thing, I've tried to straighten my unruly hair ever since I can remember. I used to carry a spare brush around (horrors) at school so I could keep taming the tangles. I thought I had severely high maintenance hair and once even had it chemically altered. Didn't keep that up long. But no, I actually have very low maintenance hair and all I ever needed to do was leave it alone and let it do its thing.
So now I can truly be my true self with my real look and revel in the naturalness. The lifelong road to self-identification just got that much easier. And I learned some savvy beauty tricks in the process. I now look at the salon shelves with a new artistic eye and wonder, of wonders, actually understand what some of them are for. More ways to shop - could it get better?
It just goes to show you that fighting nature never works.
