She doesn't know it, but Tori Kelly saved my hair.
When I was a little girl, my mother struggled to curl my hair. She would make me sit in curlers for what felt like hours, and when she pulled them out...my hair was still straight. However, in middle school I noticed my hair getting curlier, but no one taught me how to take care of my hair. My sister told me to scrunch my hair in mousse, and everyone has seen that result: crunchy curls. So instead, I would dry my hair straight. For years, nobody knew I had curly hair.
Then one day in high school, I wore my hair natural and people didn't recognize me. From that day on, I wore my hair curly. My curls are practically apart of my identity, now. Any of my friends will tell you that I take personal offense to people who say my hair looks great straight.
But my hair is also kind of a unicorn when it comes to curls. And by unicorn, I mean I have fine, thin, non-textured curls. My hair slips out of braids, and my curls need a little encouragement. Not enough product and my hair looks flat. Too much product and it weighs my hair down. I've tried a water-mousse spritz, gel, several styling creams and different shampoos. I have scoured Pinterest for hours trying to find a solution. At one point, I was using six products in order to achieve my desired look.
So when all hope was nearly lost, I watched Tori Kelly perform and immediately fell in love with her hair. My mom said, "Her people probably spend hours to make it look like that." I thought, No way, it looks too natural.
So I looked her up. Thank goodness, somebody had already asked her about her hair. Tori shared the secret to her luxurious curls: sea salt spray and a diffuser. I had tried both individually, but never together.
My life has not been the same since. The compliments I get now are almost on the daily. I am confident to call my self a curly-haired girl. I can style my hair with pride.
Due to all the time I have spent researching, I know a lot about curls. And if your curls need a little help, try these steps:
1. Moisture. Get a moisturizing shampoo and conditioner. Then put a moisturizing cream or coconut oil in your hair. (Without it, your hair tries to get moistures from the air. That means frizz.)
2. Layers. Layers help separate the curls, which create more volume.
3. Different length. Length weighs down curls. So if your hair needs taming, grow it out. If the curls need to be coaxed, cut it shorter.
Thank you, Tori Kelly. You saved my hair.
You can read the article she talks about her hair routine here.
