This week’s participant is Mir from Woulda Coulda Shoulda.
The girl has some curls.
Mir’s hair:
Dark mahogany brown rapidly going gray
Colors to cover the gray, prefers dark brown
Dry – rinses/conditions every day, and washes occasionally
Batshit curly, out of control, frizzy (her words, not mine)
Is open to all lengths, but hasn’t found a short hairstyle feminine enough
Went though a period of straightening every day, but is not willing to spend that kind of time now (THANK GOD)
Uses a salon quality shampoo and conditioner, de-frizzing serum, and curl-enhancing lotion
Wears ponytails frequently
I’m not even going to pretend that I am a curl expert. (Wave expert? Maybe.) The curl experts reside over at this fantastic website, which EVERY SINGLE curly girl (and boy) should visit.
On Naturally Curly, a classification system developed by Andre Walker is used to explain the different kind of curl patterns, as well as what products work best for each kind.
It seems like Mir is a 3b, and the folks at Naturally Curly have some great tips for this type.
What to try for 3b hair: For Type 3b hair, gels, styling creams and puddings work best. Curl & Tonic is our Curly Cocktail for 3b hair. Or, try some of these:
Curlisto Structura Lotion
Curlisto Control Gel II
Innersense Quiet Calm Curl Control
AG Hair Cosmetics Re:coil
Curly Hair Solutions Curl Keeper
Cutler Curling Cream
Long Lovely Locks Coco Light
Alagio Crazy Curl Curl Enhancer Balm
Miss Jessie’s Curly Pudding
Devacurl Arc Angell
Curl Junkie CoffeeCoco Curl Creme
Cutler Specialist Definition Cream
Curl Junkie Curl Fuel
Mixed-Chicks Leave-in Conditioner.
Tips for 3b hair : This hair type needs extra moisture and products that define curls and fight frizz. Let hair air dry or use a diffuser. Use duckbill clips at the crown of your head to lift top curls as needed. Once curls are dry, rub a little pomade into the palm of your hands and smooth over your hair. Please do not brush or comb your dry curls. Sleeping on a satin pillowcase is recommended to reduce tangles.
Oooh, satin pillowcase. Fancy.
First off, I’m glad Mir doesn’t want to deal with straightening her hair. EMBRACE THE CURLS, I SAY!
While I was looking at the tips, I noticed a photo of Juliana Marguiles and realized Mir’s hair has a very similar curl pattern. In my honest opinion, the length of Mir’s hair looks a little bit like a curly helmet. She has such great curls, but the slightly-below chin length really isn’t doing much to showcase them.
I truly think Mir needs to grow out her hair. Why?
1. I’ve seen Mir’s hair at even shorter lengths than this, and the thickness of the curls looks a little rigid.
2. It doesn’t need to be as long as the photos below (maybe brushing the shoulder or a little longer), but length will keep her hair from looking too stiff and boxy.
3. Her hair will actually be easier to style and she’ll have many more options for getting it off her face, if need be.
If you look at the first photo of Juliana, you’ll notice that Mir has a similar hairline. That type of hairline will give her a nice lift as her hair grows longer. I included the second photo as an additional styling option for Mir to keep her hair off her face during the warmer months, which still looks super polished.
(And that’s the thing, my friends. Sure, a shorter and trendier hairstyle might seem more stylish, but for curly hair like Mir, the longer the hair, the more styling OPTIONS will be available to her.) Ponytails will look prettier, barrettes will look prettier – it will just be a bonafide Festival of Pretty.
I know a Hair Thursday post about g r o w i n g o u t t h e h a i r might seem a little boring, but Mir needs to trust me on this one. Trims every 6-8 weeks and she’ll be there in no time.
No voting, as this is my FINAL WORD. Go forth and spread the hair love.
Happy Fourth!
Mir
July 3, 2008 at 9:06 amYou have NO IDEA how happy you just made my husband, telling me to grow my hair out. None.
Jamie
July 3, 2008 at 9:20 amDude, I am totally with you on this one – Mir would be a supah hottie with just a couple more inches, and some strategic layering/texturizing to take the weight out of her ‘do.
Excellent advice all around, and THANK YOU for linking to that website! Fantastic stuff.
kyran
July 3, 2008 at 9:29 amspot on. nothing is easier than shoulder-length-ish with long layers.
ehme
July 3, 2008 at 9:29 amI have the same hair as Mir, and I highly recommend the Diva line of products, and this fantastic miracle of a product called Fresh Curl Refiner from Redken. Both the Diva products and the magic product work fabulous,with no crunchiness, so the stiff helmet look doesn’t happen no matter what the length.
admin
July 3, 2008 at 9:30 amI agree with Jamie – strategic layering and texturizing will be key with Mir’s hair.
I emailed Mir this information, but if anyone else is interested, naturallycurly.com has a salon database with reviews and info on curl experts in your area. Take a look!
http://www.naturallycurly.com/curlsalons
sizzle
July 3, 2008 at 9:42 amI love Juilana- so beautiful. Great tip, Whoorl. I concur!
Angella
July 3, 2008 at 9:43 amHOW DID I NOT KNOW ABOUT NATURALLYCURLY.COM???
You have made my week!
And yes, long is better for curls. At least in my personal experience.
andrea
July 3, 2008 at 10:06 amAs a fellow curly headed girl, I’ve had the triangle hair cut, as I like to call it. I think she would look fantastic with long hair! And THANK YOU for the link to that website!!! I need it most desperately!
heels
July 3, 2008 at 10:13 amHow freaking cute is Mir already? But yeah- longer would be gorgeous.
Jeanmarie
July 3, 2008 at 10:19 amCoincidentally, I just discovered Mir’s blog about three days ago and haven’t been seen since :-) After reading her archives from May 2005 to current without coming up for air, I actually shouted “OMG – MIR!!” when I opened Hair Thursday, and thought “How would Monkey and Chickadee and Otto like her to wear it?” Time for a life :-)
Long would look best, but now that she is my new BFF (sorry Whoorl), she just doesn’t seem like a long hair person to me.
Lindsay
July 3, 2008 at 10:56 amFirst off, I cannot possibly explain how odd it is to see a list of 20ish curly hair products and to not have tried A SINGLE ONE. I really thought I had tried them all. My personal favorite is Paul Mitchel Super Sculpt (nice liquidy stuff which you can buy by the GALLON for not too too much) and a bit of soft hold hairspray, but I try just about everything else as well. I’d also mention, that if you can wean yourself off the anti frizz serums, you may end up actually liking your hair better – it will be a lot less dry and also more… “free flowing” and less helmet-like. That’s certainly what I found anyway.
But yeah, Mir, your curls are pretty!! A little more length and a lot more texturizing/layering, and it will be GORGEOUS. :)
Chiada
July 3, 2008 at 12:32 pmI agree that Mir’s hair would look really good just a couple inches longer, even. But I really think she should get some shorter pieces around her face, maybe even a curly “bang” type piece on one side.
I know that curly headed people hate the frizz, but I think it looks super cute when it is worn somewhat poofy (not total frizz-ball or anything, of course), especially if it’s poofy on top and then pulled back on the opposite side of the bang and tucked behind the ear or clipped with a cute barette, or a flower for a fancy look.
Kindof like the one at the very bottom-left of all the pictures on this page: http://www.naturallycurly.com/curlpix/styles
emma
July 3, 2008 at 1:19 pmHey, thanks for all that curly hair advice. I have straight hair and have curly headed twins and have been at my wit’s end about what to do with them. It was good to get a little help. Any advice on how to tell if a hair dressed really knows how to cut curly hair? They all say they can.
Jackie W transplanted Okie
July 3, 2008 at 3:06 pmYes, Mir go long ….
Anybody watching Shear Genius ?
One of the contestants took a curly headed red head & gave her a Mia Farrow/Twiggy short short short do.
I think he won the challenge. All the guinea pigs were those who wanted short hair. Her hair wasn’t this curly.
miguelina
July 3, 2008 at 4:10 pmMir,
I take Biotin supplements when I want to grow out my hair quickly. It’s always worked for me.