My Curly Hair Trials

My curly hair has taken me on a lifelong journey. I'm too lazy to make you a time line so this is how it goes. I'm a toddler with short brown curly hair, I'm sure my mother got plenty of "What a cute little boy!" but she will never admit it. All through grade school I struggled with "why is my hair so curly"? I specifically remember having my first experience with hair jealousy at the age of 6. A girl in first grade class had perfect straight blonde hair that was always done perfectly by her hair dresser mom. That was the first time I was cursing the hair gods! Oh and the agony of mom having to go into work early on a school day!!!! Dad had no idea how to tame the mane. Years later in middle school, I was still rocking the half up/ half down with very round over sprayed bangs that every girl had in the 90's. By the conclusion of middle school I was wearing slicked back hair in a bun (yet not so slick because I HATED hairspray at this point so I just had a million flyways on the front of my hairline.) Also baby hair all across by head! Don't know what they are? Look up any photo of JLO she knows how to rock the baby hair. Thank you hispanic genes! Pushing forward to freshman year of high school wasn't any better. I never wore my hair down. I HATED it. LOATHED it! Then one day my mom comes home with a BLOW OUT! A BLOW OUT! The holy grail of hair styles. She bought this huge round brush and told me the hair dresser said she could get my hair that straight! There was this cool new beauty appliance! A STRAIGHTENER! Well you know my mom HAD to get one. We had to see if I could finally wear my hair down. My parents love my curly hair but I think at this point they were tired of hearing a whiney teenager complain. It took my mom over 2 hours to blow dry and straighten my hair. Thank God it lasted several days (if it wasn't even the least bit humid out) and the new miracle John Frieda anti frizz had come out. What a lifesaver.  I eventually got good at doing my hair myself. But I was always leery of getting it wet. At the pool or beach. I would bring hair products everywhere I went so I could get it into a bun ASAP. No one could see my crazy hair. My hair has seen a lot of changes over the years from coloring it to pregnancy. Now it is less frizzy, whether straight or curly. But since having Olivia 4 years ago my curls have kind of fallen flat. I admit I was using cheap products since they were in my price range but nothing ever helped my hair look good curly. I just kept straightening. My mom is the best and kindly sent me some school pictures so you can all see my hair throughout the years.

Lately I've been leaving it natural, seeing if I could get back some of my curl. Ironic you say?!? Now to the good part, it's actually been looking better. Thanks to my best friend and hair stylist Sarah. She recommended Moroccan Mousse and it's been amazing. Perfect curls and no crunch! I shampoo, condition, dry, I DO NOT comb it, and just throw the mousse on. Scrunching up obviously. We all know the SCRUNCH.  And I've found my hair comes out best if it air dries. The Moroccan mousse recommends air drying on the bottle. This is definitely a splurge product but it works so well and you don't need that much unless your hair is long.

Olivia inherited my curly hair and I LOVE that. I LOVE her curly hair. She is so beautiful inside and out and so is her hair. I hope she never hates it the way I did. I hope it never makes her feel LESS. Because there were times it made me feel that way. I have found two products that I'm going to rave about for kids with curly hair. Shea Moisture Kids Detangler and curly hair butter. They are both currently $8.49 at Target and can be found in the adult hair care section. Click through pictures for direct shopping links.  Olivia's curls are in such great shape. I spray the detangler and use a pick to get knots out. Then add a little of the curl butter and scrunch. Her curls stay moisturized all day and are so soft.

So a couple of weeks ago I'm on Facebook and my lovely friend Becca posts a new profile picture. Her curls! They look so good! She likes to call them her Sarah Jessica Fro! And I can see why! I NEEDED to know how she achieved this look. What did she use? What is her process? Here's the thing about my friend Becca..she's smart, witty, a natural beauty, and an excellent writer. She is truly inspirational. And she's here to guest write and let us in on her curly hair secrets! Don't miss out on her guest post here!