Today’s Wardrobe Wednesday is a bit different than normal, but this post has been a long time in the coming, and I’m excited to have finally made time to write it. I absolutely love having curly hair, and I certainly don’t mind that it’s a memorable feature that helps set me apart (or at least helps people remember me). Over the several years that I’ve been blogging (and really well beyond that), I’ve gotten many emails, FB messages and had random conversations that all start with, “So what’s your hair routine??”. I love meeting fellow curly-heads and discussing the similarities and differences of our curls and have always made it my mission to get girls to embrace their natural curl. I, by no means, have discovered THE way to go about caring for them, but through a lot of trial and error I’ve figured out what works pretty well for me, and I’m going to share that today!

A little history.

My hair has had “personality” and wave/curl of some sort ever since birth. I’ve had a full head of hair since day one, and it’s no wonder, since both of my parents are natural curly-heads.

Because my hair was difficult to deal with, my mom would give me and my sister body perms when we were little to help make it more manageable. And I certainly had a flair for my own unique style even at young ages (for better or worse, hah!).

At the age of 11 my hair actually started turning from having “body” to really having curl – and I was not happy about it. None of my friends had curly hair, and so I didn’t want it, either. For the ages of 12 and 13 I denied it and fervently blow-dried it creating a lovely, poofy, triangular effect with the oh-so-awesome curled bangs of the late 90’s/early 2000’s. Finally my mom convinced me to start working with the curl, but because I didn’t want “poofy curl” I slathered it with gel which was an altogether unattractive look, as well. My curl was still figuring itself out, and was more of an overall wave at that point. When I was 14 I decided to get a perm to help it be more evenly curled, and that apparently covered over the awkward stage because the perm just never grew out. From that point on my curl had come into it’s own, and things started getting a lot better with figuring out how to work with it. (Ironically, my hair twin Sarah had the same perm experience!)

As you can see in the above photos, I grew to embrace BIG hair, and ranged from a bigger, frizzier look to smoother and shinier. I liked both, and having the option of a slightly wilder look to a more refined curl were both fun in their own right. The right photo is around age 19/20 and was probably when my hair was its longest.

In 2006 I decided to take the plunge and get my hair cut above my shoulders. I figured if I was going to do something drastic, I might as well have enough hair to donate to Locks of Love, and so that’s what I did. I’ve pretty much had it above my shoulders (or right around there) ever since. In the Fall of 2007, after being inspired by an 80’s movie kick, I decided to cut my own bangs. I loved the way they framed my face, and have kept them ever since.

In the years since, I have experimented with different hair cuts and shapes, and love having short layers and lots of volume whether in an angled bob, or more of the shape below. The trick has always been in knowing the parts of my hair that curl up more than the others, and being able to accurately explain that to my hair stylist so they can adjust accordingly and make sure the shape and layers come out working with my curl, instead of against.

As mentioned above, I love having a friend that we fondly refer to each other as our “hair twin”. Though I’ve known lots of curly-haired people….truly, when Sarah and I are in photos together you really can’t tell where my curls end and her’s begin. In addition to being a fellow photographer, and kindred spirit, it’s pretty awesome that we can also share hair-talk together. :) She wrote an awesome post about her hair routine a while back, as well, and you should definitely check it out! While we do a few things similarly, it’s always so cool to see the different things that work for different curly-heads. :)

The routine.

Now that you have a little bit of my hair history, it’s time to share my favorite items and my hair routine! Since that’s really what most people are interested in. So, for a quick reference here is a little collection of the things I use on a regular basis. 1. Alcohol-free hairspray | 2. My trusty pick | 3. The best curly-hair resource of them all | 4. A blowdryer with diffuser attachment | 5. Spray gel (I’m not necessarily tied to one brand) | 6. Sulfate-free cream gel | 7. My little hair clips | 8. Natural-ish conditioner (I buy the affordable stuff that’s at least more natural)

When washing my hair, I only use conditioner. This may seem weird to a lot of you, but the method is explained in depth in the Curly Girl book. Essentially, because curly hair is coiled, the natural oils that our scalps produce don’t actually get down into all of our hair easily like they do with straight hair. So instead of having an oily problem, we tend to have a dried-out problem. Shampoo only furthers that problem, and so regularly using just conditioner keeps the curls moisturized, soft and shiny, while still being able to cleanse the scalp. I DO still use shampoo, but only about once every 2 weeks, and I try to use the more natural options. I also go 2 – 4 days between washing my hair (using a shower cap on the in-between days).

After washing my hair, I gently scrunch with a towel, and then use a pick to separate my curls. For me, leaving them in their natural clumps right out of the shower just doesn’t produce the volume that I want. So I lightly pick through them, and then use my hands to re-scrunch them so they create new clumps. I then use a small amount of cream gel that I scrunch into the ends of my hair and nape of my neck, when bending over upside down, and then a little bit more on the roots and the remaining hair after flipping right side up.

Then, I put in my clips. This is the part that always has houseguests looking at me strange, and that unfortunately the UPS guy has seen a time or two. It’s not attractive, but it really helps in maintaining volume and keeping the hair at the roots from being flat. I take the small Goody clips pictured above and I place 3-4 along the part of my hair, and then I use the others to clip up my bangs, and some of the surrounding areas on the top of my head. I typically shower at night, and will sleep in the clips. But, if I shower during the day, I try to let them air dry like this for at least an hour, whenever possible.

If I slept in the clips, I take them out the next morning, spritz all of my hair just a bit with some water, and then bend over upside down and use my diffuser to loosen the curl and add volume. If I showered that day, the process is the same except I don’t usually need to spritz with water. After diffusing I use a little bit of hairspray to set the curls, and then I’m good to go for the next few days! The only touch-ups I do on days 2 and 3 is to spritz with water or spray gel any areas that need it, and then re-clip for a little bit. Then I take out the clips, shake my hair and it’s been revitalized. Day 3 and 4 are often half-up or ponytail days, but the curls around the face can still be kept looking good with the re-spritzing help.

My routine and products are really nothing super special, or crazy all-natural or whathaveyou. The Curly Girl book has suggestions that are more extreme, but I think the most important thing is finding what works best for your curl, and what makes your hair feel its best. I do love that there are all sorts of special treatment recipes you can make at home for extra conditioning masks, etc. In the end, I just love experimenting and most of all, embracing the curl that I have. That’s what I love seeing others do, as well. So, I hope this post was informative or at least interesting to some of you. :)

If you have any questions, feel free to ask and I’d be happy to try to help! Likewise, if you’re a curly girl, I’d also love to hear about YOUR routine in the comments! Here’s to embracing the curl! :)