Hair: To Straighten or Not to Straighten

Every woman encounters it.  What to do with your hair in the morning?  We all have a basic routine for bathing, make-up and moisturizing as some women like to do.  But the ever facing battle for some of us is our hair.  A lot of us are not blessed with stick straight or un-tameable curls and, instead, spend time every day trying to coax our locks to behaving.  I know I have struggled with this for years.

The battle continues!

Straight hair is wildly popular and, for the longest time, I didn't want my curly hair.  I remember when it took three hours to straighten my hair when it was to the small of my back.  Even now, it take about thirty minutes to an hour to take a flat iron to my hair, only to have the curl immediately begin to return.  I finally began to realize I needed to embrace the spirals that sprout all over my head.  But here enters a new conundrum.

I would walk into a salon and say to the stylist, I would like to have a hair cut that helps my hair curl better.  Intuitively to even a non-stylist, we may equate this with something lighter to let the curls recoil and maybe some layers for the same reason.  For the most part, the stylist would take time to examine my hair.  I had one stylist even wait until my hair began to dry to see how the curls looked.  But a lot of the time, some form of heat was taken to my head, either in the form of a blow dryer and round brush or flat iron, regardless of what I had initially requested.

Last week, I began to try to find more answers on how to help my hair find its true form.  Granted, my locks are in severe need of a cut, but for the time being, I needed to find a way to bring life into my hair.  What I read was completely contrary to what I had learned but due to the different type of hair I have, it needs different treatment.  What I learned is that sulfate, which is found in shampoo, is an enemy to curly hair, along with silicone.  Both of these items fight against the curl.  Sulfate strips the hair of its natural oil, oil that is needed to help give the hair control.  Oil travels down from the scalp easier on straight hair versus curly hair. When you strip your hair of this oil, your hair appears frizzy and out of control.  Silicon weighs hair down, making it more difficult for the curl to shape.

So what did I do?  I found a link to HealthyCurls.net that gave advice on how to find the texture of your hair.  The advice?  When in the shower, use a shampoo to clarify your hair.  Then, go through with a sulfate-free conditioner.  Rinse thoroughly.  Then, turning the water off, put more conditioner, running your fingers through all your hair, turning your head over in order to cover all your hair.  I then took a towel and scrunched my hair, drying it slightly as I went.  Although it would be ideal to wait until the hair is completely dry, I actually went to bed while it was still drying.  However, I woke to this: -------------->

I love it!  I was sending pictures to my family.  Although my fiance told me I needed to wash it, I think it feels great!  I am so excited that I may know now how to handle my hair.  I will continue to explore this and keep your posted.  Until then, enjoy this beautiful day and a thing called, "La Vie."