Curly Girl!

At the end of the school year (early June) I found a book at the library that inspired me to make a change.  I have naturally curly hair that I've struggled with all my life.  Here are a few representative pictures of me - my hair was almost always frizzy and hard to control.

 I've been on NaturallyCurly.com before - there are some good tips and tricks. I've seen people talk about the CG method.  I found the answer in this book:

A-mazing!  I've struggled with my hair for so long, I have a hard time finding it beautiful. I want curls like THIS!  I'd love to be able to grow my hair long and not have it look awful.

I've found my curls. And I adore them.  Here is a shot from just a few days after I started the Curly Girl method.

Who knew my hair could do ringlets???

And here I am today - after working in my classroom for 5 hours.  My curls still look great!

Please pardon the cheesy grin, my daughter insisted. :))

So what is the big secret? What's the trick?  Here's what I go by:

• Shampoo with a sulfate free shampoo only once a week (possibly more often after chlorine pools or an extra sweaty day)
• Conditioner and lots of it! Use some to "wash" the hair and scalp and rinse.  Then apply more and let it sit.  Rinse some of it (for me, especially from the scalp as it makes me itchy and flaky) but leave some in the ends of the hair.
• Apply gel when hair is sopping, dripping wet.
• Don't use a towel or a brush (although a brush or a comb is fine on wet hair if you are detangling.) To sop up water from my hair I use an old long-sleeved t-shirt wrapped around my head. (Think something like Aunt Jemima.)
• Keep my hands OUT of my hair! No fussing with it as it dries or afterwards.  Sometimes the gel is a little crunchy so after it is dry I'll flip my head upside down and "scrunch" the curls.  But that's it!

There is an awesome YouTube channel run by Sarah (aka WaterLily716) that can answer all your questions.  Between the book, website, and YouTube, life as a curly girl has never been better!