Curly hair comes in different shapes, textures, sizes, colors, but we all struggle. Just because we struggle doesn’t mean we don’t love our curls though. I personally have 3B curls and I only learned that a couple years ago. This site will teach you a lot about what type of hair you have and what your hair needs.
We’ve all had our own journeys with our hair. Some of us might have gone through phases where we hate our curly hair (I did from about middle school through high school). Some of us have tried treatment after treatments: keratin, Japanese straightening, perms, you get the idea.
But it’s safe to say that after my own personal hair journey I’ve come to love and accept my curls (for the most part) but that doesn’t mean I don’t struggle.
1. Washing your curls
Why does nobody talk about how exhausting this can be? How often are we actually supposed to wash our curly hair? My hair is thick as heck and I’m always questioning if I’m really getting to all of it. You can only hope so much before your arms start to get tired. Speaking of tired arms...
2. Detangling your curls
Y’all have no idea how much detangling my hair has built up my pain tolerance. Sometimes getting a brush through it is impossible, but you somehow manage to find a way. I still have nightmares of when my mom used to detangle my hair as a child. Also, what is that pathetic excuse of a detangler they sell for children??? Who was that even made for? Now I count detangling my hair as an arm workout (it totally is don’t @ me).
3. Picking styling products for your curls
No two heads of curls are the same, so just because some product worked for someone doesn’t mean it will work for you, and I’ve learned that the hard way. Some products will weigh your hair down and you’ll look like a wet poodle. Some products won’t deliver enough moisture and you’ll be a dry, frizzy mess. Unfortunately, the best way to figure out what works for your hair is trial and error for the most part. Do still take into account highly rated products, it’ll help guide your search.
4. Figuring out the best way to style your hair
Do you blow dry it with a diffuser? Do you let it air dry? Is it a combination of both? How much leave-in conditioner am I supposed to use? Am I supposed to be using more than one product as a leave-in? Do I scrunch it? How long should I be scrunching for? I still have no idea. I feel like I do the same thing to my hair after a shower and it looks different every time. I'm telling y'all, curly hair has a mind of its own. Like with most things pertaining to curly hair, try out different things and you'll figure out what works best for you and your hair.
5. Listening to every hair stylist that exists complain about your hair
Yes, I know my hair is “soooo curly” and yes I realize that “wow you have so much hair” but you’re a professional so I would assume you’ve seen curly hair before and it’s not as big of a deal as you’re making it.
6. Having a hair stylist actually ask you to help
Y’all, this one gets under my skin. If I am going to a hair salon to get my hair done, it will ruin my day if the hairdresser asks me to help brush/blow dry my own hair. Why don’t I just cut it and style it myself too? I know I just complained about how difficult it can be to detangle and wash it, but that’s not the usual, just if you have particularly tangled hair by that time of the week. Regardless, I came to take a break from doing it myself.
7. Finding a hair stylist in general
There was a solid period of time where every time I went to a hair salon I was left disappointed. Why do hair stylists think the process for a blowout for curly hair is the same as straight hair? Sometimes you’ll end up with a bad haircut that makes your hair look frizzier than it is. Sometimes you’ll have a bad dye job. I actually cannot count how many times I’ve gotten a bad blowout. You can always take a curling wand to it and fix it yourself later on, but it can get frustrating. BUT, when you do find a great hairstylist for you, hold on to them and never let go.
8. Going through copious amounts of hair dye
I have friends who can use one box of dye for their entire hair. I’ve had to use 3. Even if you decide to get it done professionally, be ready to get charged extra because your hair will naturally need more dye than your straight hair counterparts.
9. Your hair pulling out bristles in a brush
After using a brush for a while you start to notice how many of the bristles are missing and you know you can thank the knots in your hair for that, for literally pulling the bristles from a brush.
But, at the end of the day when it’s all said and done, you love your curls because they make you who you are (and let’s be real the possibilities are endless with it).
