Curl Coiffing Routine!

Not that so many folks have been clamoring for my hair routine, but I do self-identify as a curly girl, and I thought I'd share my journey. 

Having curly hair really IS a journey that doesn't end until you do. Every day, I wake up to a slightly different curl; some days, my curls are bouncy ringlets, and some days I have fluffy waves. Some days, I need a hat.😅 The weather, time of day, how I slept, and all of the products I use seriously can make or break my plan for my hair. I don't often straighten it to avoid damage/use up a lot of my time, so having a cute but neat -looking hair style is all about my routine.

I would say the apex of my hair greatness was in college, which I attribute to how healthy and young I was. When I first got to school, I was required to have it cut, and I'd always had long curls so I didn't know how to do anything with short curls. 
Fortunately, my curls were mostly tamed by water when I had the time to flatten one side to match the other side I'd slept on. After a bit, I learned how to air dry gently, use a bit of product, gained some length, and voile! I used to use a lot of whatever was the cheapest curl product available at Walgreens for shampoo, conditioner, leave-in, and for curl sculpting. Literally, just the cheapest thing that said "curls" on it. Terrible idea, and I remember having to shampoo a lot of gunk out of my hair often. 

Those were some glorious curl days. I rarely had to do much and was still somehow focused on straightening it all the time. I even let me my mom talk me into chemically straightening it, which only resulted in a chemically burned scalp. Luckily, I was able to grow it back out to a decent length and texture again. Just before I got out of the Navy, I cut my hair on my own terms and pretty much loved it, so my hair hasn't been a lot longer than shoulder length since about 2012. Surprisingly, shorter curls haven't really been difficult, and I used to even be able to sleep on it wet and wake up and go! 

During my pregnancy, my hair was all over the place due to the hormone fluctuations, so some days I had greasy curls and some days I had fluffy, perfect curls. Mostly, though, it wasn't too difficult to style. Just before I got pregnant, I learned how to "plop" my hair, AKA wrap it in a t-shirt loosely for overnight drying, from YouTube videos of other 3B curl-girls. This allows me to shower at night and still wake up with hair that isn't too difficult to style. Now. all my REAL curl-girls with 3C curls and tighter curls are way ahead of me on wrapping hair at night and all, but for anyone who was interested, this is my routine when I need to wake up, shake out my curls and go. Disclaimer: these are REAL photos of ME, so no judging, JUDY. 

1. Out of the shower, gently squeeze excess water out and work in some leave-in conditioner/styler. I like almost ALL of Carol's Daughter's products, and Miss Jessie's, although that is harder to find lately.

2. Set out your t-shirt or towel (I use an old uniform undershirt that is so soft and worn). I also fold the bottom of this shirt up a little to shorten the amount that gets wrapped.

3. "Plop" your hair down by putting your head as upside-down as you can.

4. Wrap the sides of the shirt around the back of your head, then pull the sleeve ends over your head.

5. Pull the sleeves from the back around to the front so that the shirt forms a pocket over your hair. You can twist the sleeve ends to tighten it. I leave mine a little looser on the part that covers my head so I don't smush my curls.

6. Tie in the front and you're done! I tuck in the ends if they are hanging in my face. This plop method also means I don't have an uncomfortable bump- WIN!

 Lately, with Baby A. in tow, I don't have as much time to style, so this overnight drying and styling has been so extremely helpful. In the morning, I pull my hair down and sometimes finger-curl a few strands. I like to use the Hair Milk from Carol's Daughter as a finishing spray, because it sprays light but is still conditioning instead of drying my hair out like a mousse or gel would. I am so happy it is easier to find more hair products for POC, and specifically for a full spectrum of curl textures, since I am really in the middle with a fine texture and thin amount of hair, but still a boingy and unrelenting curl.

Still, after a few trims and learning how to wrap overnight, I am finding that I really enjoy my hair again, and I've been watching my son's hair curl with absolute joy, because I hope he gets big fat curls, too!!! I'm very open to further suggestions, and have been considering going to get a Deva curl before we move away from the mecca of accessibility that we live in now. If you have done that or something else I should be trying, let me know!

 

Happy wrapping!

-Big A.