This one is for all of you curly girls out there.
Mariah’s hair:
Natural red color
Coarse, thick, curly and pretty dry
Prone to frizz
She misses her long hair
Uses LA Looks hair gel and scrunches, air dries
Straightens with a flat iron on occasion
Lives in humid Florida
Oh, do I ADORE Mariah’s hair color! Plus, she’s in possession of some great curls. I really don’t think she should cut much off at all! Maybe some very subtle layering, but it’s just beautiful as is. Am I wrong?
Moira is a curly girl as well:
Moira’s hair:
Brown with chestnut highlights, from a home color kit
Curly, fine-textured, normal condition
Prefers shoulder-length or above
Styles with a dab of styling cream and air dries
Uses flat iron on occasion
Wears ponytail every day
Moira definitely has some curls just waiting to make their debut. Considering Moira’s hair texture and her height (6 feet tall- she’s got LEY-EGS, she knows how to use them), I wouldn’t recommend going super duper short, but a trim with some light layering and a new product would make all the difference in the world. Also, I think she would look beautiful with an allover deeper brown hue. (I’m talking a richer, medium chocolate brown. Don’t go all goth on me, Moira.)
I know, I know. Not the most dramatic of advice.
BUT we’re just getting started over here. Both of these women need to embrace their curls, not fight them. In fact, ALL of you curly gals need to follow suit.
Never fear! My newly-appointed resident curl expert, Jamie, is going to give all of you curly gals some fabulous tips.
(For the record, Jamie also received a quasi-mullet and believes she resembles this. (SHE SO DOES NOT.) Although, I’m currently lobbying her to visit California for Halloween, as we could totally rock Ann and Nancy Wilson.)
Inhale all of her curl wisdom:
Holy hairspray, Batman! I cannot believe I was called upon by the Grand Duchess Poobah of Hair Herself, Ms. Whoorl. It’s great to be here! Let’s get to it.
Curly hair can be difficult to deal with because every single person’s curls are different, and incredibly finicky. Then again, that is what makes curly hair so fabulous! Skipping the most obvious tips (like ask for a stylist who is experienced with curly hair, and NEVER EVER flat-iron your hair straight on a daily basis), let’s get started with my top tips for the corkscrew set.
I think it was the Byrds who sang “to every season, turn, turn, turn.” Your first step in taming your mane is to pay attention to the seasons. Obvious to some, not so obvious to others. What tames your frizzies in the sticky summer months might be the bonehead move that is making you look greasy in cold, dry December. Turn, turn, turn to your medicine cabinet and take a gander – are you using the same product all year long? If you must be consistent, great all-weather products include Aveda’s “Be Curly” Line, Bumble & Bumble Curl Conscious, Graham Webb “Brit Style” Whipped Wax (which I personally use and loooooove), and from your drugstore, John Frieda Frizz Ease Dream Curls, and Finesse Curl Control Mousse. Allow your hair to air dry in warmer weather, diffuse in the winter, and remember that you don’t need to wash your hair every day!
Tip Numero Dos: Give up the fight. Every curly haired girl must come to terms with the nature of her hair. Let your swirl pattern loose – don’t force a part when you get your hair cut, and whatever you do, DON’T poke at your hair after you’re done styling it. The more you touch it, the worse it will look. Also, it’s not recommended for curly girls (or guys for that matter) to wrap their hair up “turban style” post-shower/bath. Twisting your hair into a towel disrupts the curl pattern, yanks your hair about, and leaves you with who-knows-what for shape when all is said and done. Instead, flip your head upside down to blot most of the moisture out, ideally with an old t-shirt – terrycloth towels won’t get enough moisture out, and super chamois towels take too much. Some fantastic treatments and products to get your hair back to “home base” are: Ojon Restorative Hair Treatment (if you want to splurge), Biolage Daily Leave-in Tonic, Redken Fresh Curls Spray, and Back to Basics Curl Refreshing Shampoo/Conditioner.
Lastly, make sure to think positive! Curly haired girls never have to worry about getting caught in the rain for fear their hair will spoil. Curly haired girls almost never have to worry about ponytail ridges, and we can straighten when we want to! We can have our cake and eat it too!
If any of you have seen Jamie’s hair, you know to hang on her every word. She has some of the most amazing curls I’ve ever seen. Thanks, Jamie, for helping me out!
Giselle
March 6, 2008 at 7:24 pmI love Mariah’s hair color. So lucky she is! I have wavy hair, but I think I can use some of Jamie’s tips too!
Lissa
March 6, 2008 at 8:22 pmI have curly hair and I straighten it. (please don’t hit me) I like my curly hair but after I sleep in it I feel like I look like David Bowie from the movie Labyrinth… only with curly hair. It’s a matted fro that looks like a birds nest. How do I get it to not looking like that? I would wear my hair curly everyday if it means I didn’t have to wash it everyday so it will look decent.
Jamie
March 6, 2008 at 9:12 pmLissa – you bring up an excellent point. My advice works better for people who bathe/shower in the morning, as opposed to the evening. When I sleep with my hair wet, I wake up looking like Dennis Quaid in Great Balls of Fire – only with a mullet in back. Therefore, I shower in the morning.
I would suggest trying refreshing sprays, like the Aveda one mentioned above, in the morning to reset your curls. Body Shop also makes a Vitamin C spray that I like (even though it designed to go on your skin!) Sprays dry faster than water (usually).
silverblue
March 6, 2008 at 11:42 pmMariah’s hair is absolutely gorgeous. No changes, please! (Ok, maybe a tiny bit off the bottom and a bit more layering if there has to be any change at all. No more! Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful as is!)
Sarcomical
March 7, 2008 at 5:17 amhey! one of our DeLush gals! how cool!
i thoroughly agree with the advice for the two lovely ladies this week, too.
Cindy
March 7, 2008 at 8:30 amHey! I just got my curly hair cut on Wednesday, looked through Hair Thursdays for inspiration, and totally took Jaime’s picture with me to the stylist! She does have amazing curls…
Stacy
March 7, 2008 at 9:33 amCurly Gurl here: If I decide to go short, I also will take Jamie’s pic with me to my amazing stylist. All the short cuts I’ve ever had made me look like I had a muffin transplanted to my head. Jamie’s cut would minimize my GIANT face as well. SUPER cute hair, super cute Jamie! *sigh* (I have a hair crush!)
I’m UBER jealous of Mariah’s hair colour. I think she would benefit from some face-framing layers and a few in the back to lighten up and release some more curl.
Jamie
March 7, 2008 at 9:54 amUmm, Stacy and Cindy- would you like to live in my bathroom mirror at home? Pretty please? (blush)
The shorter styles you see on my Flickr are all various phases of re-growth after I chopped 10 inches off my hair for charity – so I can’t exactly say I cultivated those styles – they just kind of happened on their own. So if you take a pic to your stylist, beware – they might tell you my hair actually looks like butt.
ashley
March 7, 2008 at 10:34 amYAY! Curly advice!! I just got 5 inches cut off my hair, so it’s curlier than ever…I will definitely be seeking out those products. Thanks for including more affordable ones…. :)
Swistle
March 7, 2008 at 11:29 amMariah has that color AND those curls, both naturally? Life is an unfair bitch.
Swistle
March 7, 2008 at 11:31 amOH NO! WAIT!! That sounds like I mean Life is an unfair bitch because those things are BAD! When what I meant was TOTALLY THE OPPOSITE! That Life is an unfair bitch for giving Mariah all the treasures! Life is an unfair bitch TO THOSE OF US WHO ARE NOT MARIAH, is what I meant!
fairydogmother
March 7, 2008 at 1:01 pmOoh, Swistle is really going to hate me then because my hair is somewhere between Mariah’s and Jamie’s, both in color and natural curl. While I do realize that makes me very lucky, it has its own set of challenges that can drive me absolutely crazy.
Then I remember that I can just jump in the shower, treat my hair to a little Be Curly conditioner, let it air dry a bit before throwing it in a ponytail, and nobody can tell that I haven’t had a haircut in 7 months because I can’t figure out what to do with it.
Danielle
March 7, 2008 at 1:53 pmI’m still perplexed by the idea that you don’t have to wash curly hair every day. I am a shower in the morning person, so I don’t sleep on wet hair, but when I wake up, my curls are a crazy, tangly, frizzy mess. I can’t imagine not washing on a day when I actually have somewhere to go. (On my lazy days, I’m fine to have dirty crazy hair in a ponytail or a baseball cap.) What magical styling tools am I missing?
Isabel
March 7, 2008 at 2:14 pmAm loving the curl advice. Thanks.
(I sore my hair straight for over 30 years before I decided to let it air dry to “see what would happen”….curls! I heart them and am now learning to work with them!)
claire
March 7, 2008 at 4:07 pm5’10” with curly (as long as it’s not too long) hair here:
You mentioned height as a factor in not getting really short hair- is that just so you won’t be mistaken for a man, or was there other reasoning?
Danielle: I wash my hair every other day, but I still shower every day. Getting my hair soaking wet lets it go through the same drying process as usual so the curls are about the same as a shampooed day. I usually towel it off, comb it, then towel and muss it up again a bit later, and leave it alone.
Thanks for sharing the curl wisdom, Jamie! I’ll have to check out some of the products. Are they light? I’d be more inclined to wash my hair every day if I were using products on it.