The Method, Part 1

So, assuming you've read the title of this post, I'm sure you think that this will be about acting? Or, maybe how my move is going? Or maybe just how I manage to juggle a job, hobbies, and a social life all while staying fit with a smile on my face and shiny, perfect hair?

HAH. Especially if you thought anything about that last sentence was true. HAH.

Well, you're right about one thing. I'm going to write about my hair.
It doesn't always turn out shiny, and it sure is a far cry from perfect, but I've been making some changes to my routine over the last month or so, and in the last 2 weeks alone I've had more people ask me about my hair than in the last year.

Having curly hair is a blessing and a curse. Lately I've come to see it as more of the former, but growing up, it was a different story.
It seems like before about the year 1995, no one really knew a lot about curly hair. Any information available was supposed to apply to all hair types, whether it be cutting, brushing, cleaning, or setting your hair. Someone had finally turned curlies onto the diffuser, which helped, but for girls who lived in humid climates, trying to get your curls to look good and stay that way was next to impossible.
My own mom, who has full, beautiful hair, kept it in a pixie cut for most of high school in muggy South Florida, just because she didn't know what else to do with it. After she grew it out, she would blow-dry it most of the time, and it wasn't until after she married my dad she finally started to work with her natural texture. I have heard and read about similar stories so many times, and to those curlies who got through the 60's, 70's, and 80's without the products/information we have available today, I salute you.

As for me, I didn't really care much about my hair until middle school rolled around. Mom taught me to diffuse it, but beyond that, I just had no idea. I went from bushy, brushed-out hair, to helmet head ponytails, to crunchy misshapen curls, and all the while, frizz FRIZZ FRIZZ (using text size to demonstrate how it got progressively worse throughout the day). I got really good at the 'messy bun' look. Or, for me, a bun.
Basically, I spent days alternating which I hated more: my acne-prone skin, or my hair.
Through late high school and college, I found a mixture of products that more or less worked, but my hair would only feel healthy right after a cut, and never stayed that way for long. It always felt dry and just on the brink of total rebellion. I was treating the symptoms, not the cause.

Then, a few months ago, I decided to do some real research on my hair. I've been going to the same woman to cut my hair since middle school, and the 2 times I've 'cheated' on her, (and yes, that's what it felt like) I was horrified at the results. So, knowing this time around I would not have time to go home by the time I needed my next cut, I started looking up the real curl geniuses. I found one, but through his site, and about 100 links later, I found a storehouse of information on caring for curly hair; so much so that I found out styling, while important, is incidental. Healthy hair doesn't need or want you to mess with it much, and after hours and hours of research, I think I've stumbled upon a method that has changed the way I see my hair forever. I can now say, with no sarcasm, I LOVE my hair.
Not to mention that while yes, most guys prefer straight hair, the ones who like curly hair are REALLY REALLY into it. And hey, who can blame them?

This may all sound very shallow and narcissistic, but confidence is strongly linked to hair for many women, including me. My mom and sister always make fun of me for how much time I spend on my hair and face, but I feel like they are my best features, not to mention the ones people see first. I feel the most beautiful when I am healthy, and if my hair can project that, I can walk out the house with a little bit of swagger.

So, my fellow curlies, this is for you. In my next blog (Part 2), I'll give you a step-by-step idea of the method I follow, and some helpful links if you feel like educating yourself further on this matter.

And to my dear beloved girls just born with shiny, healthy, straight hair, just to make it clear: we don't hate you.
Well, ok, sometimes we hate you, but on our best hair days, we know you get jealous of us too :-)