My hair and I have a love hate relationship, yes it’s on top of my head and I’m stuck with it, I often think about just shaving it all off because sometimes it can be super annoying in my opinion. When I was little it wasn’t that curly, it was cute little ringlets that could easily be moved and something could be done with it, however as I grew older and puberty came along my hair only became more curly, unruly and coarser in texture. I run into people who constantly tell me that it’s a gift and people pay hundreds of dollars to try to achieve my type of hair. Seeing that it is not going away anytime soon I’ve learned to deal with it, I still have struggles with it, but I’ve learned how to manage it. Here are the everyday struggles of having curly hair and how to tame the beast!

The people who ask “Can I touch it?!”

No! I just put product in it! It’s going to frizz. These people are the worst, especially when they ask while they are already moving their hand toward your head, hello what are you doing? This is my bubble you are invading right now.

“Is it always like that?” “How do you get it so curly?”

Yes, I don’t wake up every morning and curl my entire head, it’s always like this and water… considering I have naturally curly hair, water makes the curls the way they are.

Use a dime amount of conditioner (LOL)

Translated to: “use half the bottle”. Curly hair is generally very dry, so conditioner is a very big part of any curly girl’s hair care routine. Also, forget washing it every day that will make it more dry, and nobody wants that, just condition, condition, condition! I go through twice as much conditioner than I do shampoo, I have no shame. Also hair oils can be fantastic if you use the right amount so your hair won’t look greasy!

Do you brush it, or comb it?

I try not to anger the beast, that’s what I do. I can’t brush it when it’s dry unless you want me to look like the mad hatter. I’ll get it wet, I use a wet brush which probably isn’t the best but I don’t have the time to comb it. Brushing it should be an Olympic sport, don’t even get me started about straightening. I learned a few years ago that a towel is not the best thing to dry your curls with, it will just create more frizz! Try using a T-shirt, it’s soft and doesn’t rub on your hair the way a towel does which minimizes frizz and creates the ringlets you want! Just squeeze your hair with a T-shirt and apply your product! With product however, go with your hair, and let your hair dry naturally this way your curls won’t separate which creates the illusion of frizz.

It has a mind of its own I swear!

Did I intend on looking like a poodle? No, but my hair didn’t want to cooperate. Curly hair doesn’t enjoy being parted so it just flies all over the place. I didn’t really want to have a birds nest on my head but there was just no fixing it.

If all fails throw your hair up in a bun and call it a day, that’s what I do! Plus, there’s no such thing as a perfect messy bun, since your hair is probably already messy, every bun is a perfect messy bun!