Seriously, I read Curly Girl today and I'm with the mom in one of the curly confessions that told her daughter "take care of your hair or I'll cut it off" It advocates insane amounts of time spent on hair. I was worn out just reading the description, let alone actually following the steps. I already feel like we spend too much time messing with her hair and all we do now is wash, condition, and comb. Every morning I spray her down with detangler and comb again. Otherwise, I leave it alone. I also never use product on my hair. I did for a very short period of time, when my hair was super short and I spiked it but that got old about the second day that I did it.
She can love her curs when she is old enough to handle them herself (maybe college) because I don't have time. Just watch, in 20 years she will be quoted in a book talking about how horrible her childhood was because her mom was too lazy to screw with her hair every day!
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Is Curly Girl a blog? A book? I Googled it - but too many things came up.
As a curly girl who is the mother of two even curlier girls - I totally advocate learning how to take care of the curls. Yes, it can be a pain. But it can also be a joy. I love it when people just stop in awe of the mass of beautiful twists and turns happening on my childrens' heads.
And I think it teaches them to love their hair too. That I'm willing to spend the time and energy on it and that others admire it, is teaching them that, though their hair can a little extra work, it's worth it. And that their hair is as beautiful and fabulous as anyone with dead straight, "easy," hair.
I've actually even started a blog about my journey in learning to care for and appreciate my girls' hair - http://boinghair.blogspot.com/
Of course, I can't keep up with the other two blogs I have, so I don't know why I would think I should start a third.
In any event. I think the more you give into curly hair the easier it becomes to care for. And the right product is EVERYTHING!!! Don't be afraid to experiment, because when you find the product that works just right life becomes so much better.
And, honestly, I've threatened to cut of Sugar's hair when she didn't want to sit still to have it done. We all have our moments.
Curly Girl is a book . As someone who deals with curly hair, how long do you spend per person, each day? I'm not sure how long the routine advocated in the book would take but the "short" version took 20 minutes. The only time in my life I have ever had that long spent on my hair was when I had it put up for my wedding. And then I paid someone to do it.
When my hair was short, I would spray it with water, run a brush through it, slap some gel in it and run spike it. I could do it in under 5 minutes. I have decided to regrow my hair because that was too much effort. With long hair, I run a brush through it and leave. I can "style" it sitting at a stoplight on the way to school by slapping it in a pony tail.
I have never been a "hair person" though. I can work ponytail holders, headbands and very occasionally barettes. All other hair sutff is lost on me. I used to have a curling iron but it died and I never replaced it. I didn't have a blow dryer until a couple of years ago my mom bought me one. I've used it once since then.
All that said though, your girls really do have some amazing hair. I'm very envious of how pretty it is. MT's on the other hand just looks like wild animals have been burrowing in it most of the time LOL
Seriously. Can we have a playdate during which I can mess with MT's hair? Did I mention I went to beauty school? Not only do I have decades of experience with my own curl issues, but I've been exposed to so many other heads of hair, that I just may be able to help you and MT.
She needs someone to mess with her hair! Poor kid, has hair that needs TLC and ended up with the world's most hair challenged mother. Fate is cruel :)
Email me and we'll set something up :)
As the one who recommended Curly Girl, I have to say that our 5yo usually takes care of her own hair in just a few minutes. Most days she would rather just brush through it and leave it down. Aside from that, she'll put it up in a (messy) ponytail.
We certainly aren't following everything from the book all the time, but when we do it definitely does help.
I haven't read the book - but 20 minutes? Are you kidding!! That's WAY too much time! I wouldn't have the patience for spending that much time on any one aspect of personal care every day. Not for my girls or for me.
For the girls I tend to lean towards hairstyles that don't have to be done every day. The texture of their hair allows for styles that can last for days at a time. Cornrows can even last for a couple of weeks. Some of these styles are time consuming - but worth it, if I don't have to think about hair for a few days.
With my own hair, when I wear it in it's natural, curly state, I never spend more than about 5 minutes on it. Maybe on a really bad, unruly day, I might have to spend 10 minutes. But I can't imagine spending 20 minutes on my hair to wear it curly.
I do know people who have these long, complicated regimens for getting their curly hair to look the way they want it to. Personally, I think those people have a very limited view of what they think looks good and are trying to make their hair do a very specific thing - and/or they haven't found the right product to use in their hair. As I mentioned before, I believe product is a HUGE thing. If you find just the right product for MT - half your battle is over.
I was just about to start writing out a list of tips that I've discovered really work for curly hair. But it was getting WAY too long for a comment. So, I decided I should just post it on my blog instead. But the short list would be:
Find the right product.
Moisture is important - wet and condition daily, but don't shampoo daily. Shampoo strips the natural oils curly hair needs.
DON'T BRUSH CURLY HAIR. Comb if you must, but the less you mess with it, the better off the hair will be.
Don't comb hair dry. Always wet it and preferably have some kind of leave-in conditioner in it.
Comb from the ends up.
Never expect curly hair to do the same thing twice. It might sometimes do that - but never expect it.
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