Embracing My Natural Hair

Hey there!

Something I’ve been trying out lately is embracing my natural hair texture. I have naturally really thick, what I thought was wavy hair (it might be curly? TBD.) with a TON of frizz. My mom used to spend so much time wrangling my hair into tight braids & cute updos, but by the time it was up to me to style it, I felt frustrated. I felt envious of the girls’ whose houses I would sleep over; they’d wash their hair & it would air dry silky & smooth. I could only get my hair to look like that after hours of heat styling!

But that’s the type of hair I thought was “pretty”. So I heat styled my hair for years & years, trying to wrestle my frizz into submission.

I never felt put together or pretty or confident with my natural hair, until John & I went on a cruise right after Christmas. I brought my straightener, but didn’t use it once. The ocean water brought out my natural waves, & I threw some oil in it to help control the frizz. I felt sun-kissed, confident & beautiful; I couldn’t be bothered locking myself in the bathroom to style my hair for hours. I’d rather lay in the sun with a margarita in my hand!

Since then, I’ve been trying to embrace my natural hair more. Quarantine has been a good time to try out new products & see what works for me & what doesn’t. I’m seeing my waves/curls become more & more defined! I’m living for my natural volume that I once hated, & I’m excited to see where this little hair journey of mine takes me!

Something that I wanted in my curly hair routine was simplicity; I don’t want to sit & finger curl each strand of hair or apply ten products. I watched videos & got product recommendations from friends, tried those out, & narrowed it down to what seems to work for me. I have a feeling this routine will change a bunch, but this is what I’m doing currently!

1. I wash my hair; I LOVE trying out shampoos & conditioners, but here is what I’m using currently. This shampoo bar from Target soothes my dry scalp; I alternate that with this shampoo & use this conditioner. Let me know if you have any shampoo/conditioner recommendations you love! (I’ve heard that sulfate & silicone free is best for curls?)

2. While my hair is still wet, I use this leave-in conditioner, along with this curl activator, this curl cream, & this gel. I know I said I didn’t want to use ten products, but 4 isn’t terrible, right??

3. I “plop” my hair using a T-shirt, & keep it up in this for 10-30 minutes while I do my makeup.

4. After makeup, I use my diffuser to dry my hair. I do this really sloppily & without much technique or patience.

5. Once my hair is dry (or mostly dry), I put a hair oil throughout my hair, like this one!

Most of these products are super affordable & better yet, effective! I’ll keep you updated if I find any more that I like!

Edit: to refresh my curls, I’ve been wearing my hair in a loose ponytail at night & then spraying it with a misting spray bottle in the morning. After that, I spray this leave-in conditioner & scrunch my hair a bit.

Danielle

P.S. I wanted to give an old coworker of mine, Josie, a shout out for a bunch of these product recommendations! I’ll link her hair routine video here; she’s STUNNING, so sweet, & really knows her stuff with how to make curls look good!