Naturally curly haired humans, rejoice! Today’s blog post is inspired by all the 80’s/90’s films I was watching over the festive period – most of which involved curly haired characters that really made me wonder why I hadn’t let my natural curls reign supreme since the end of summer…
The curly haired amongst you may or may not agree with me on this one, but I tend to find it easier to wear my natural curls during the hot summer months. For instance, I prefer it when I can leave my hair a bit damp so that the curls dry with more definition throughout the day – a method that feels nothing short of torture during the bitter winter months.
My ‘natural hair journey’ has been a pretty long one – I won’t bore you with all the details, but I basically spent years trying to straighten my hair and make it look a completely different texture to the one I was born with. On days where I couldn’t be bothered to straighten it, I’d just wear it piled up in a bun on top of my head. I even had it professionally straightened once in a bid to kill my curls off forever!
Despite ‘queen of curls’ Julia Roberts being one of my biggest style/hair icons, I just couldn’t get to grips with styling my own curls, and it would often leave me feeling really frustrated/envious of people that had seemingly ‘easy’ hair. This was until a couple of years back when I cut my bob back in and my hairdresser styled it with a diffuser – the shorter hair meant the curls were way more manageable, and they actually looked better because the weight of my longer hair wasn’t dragging them down. Gaining this new manageability over my hair (due to having a cut that was tailored to my natural texture) suddenly opened a whole new gateway of confidence…
I’ve found that for so long, there was one type of hair that was really romanticised – you know, the long/shiny hair that’s perfectly tousled with those angelic sun-kissed highlights. It was the ‘hot girl hair’ in most movies, and the hair you’d be faced with when opening pretty much any glossy magazine. I know it’s only hair, but it’s definitely taken me until the last couple of years to wear my hair ‘big and loud’ and just let it do it’s thing. It’s tricky to let go of those silly beauty standards that are so ingrained within you – especially when you have hair like that resembles Mia from The Princess Diaries (PRE glamorous make over).
Hair may be a very small (and superficial) place to start, but embracing ourselves as we are becomes so much easier when you start to let go of how ‘you think you should look’ and start believing that you’re pretty great just the way you are. Even if you possess the type of mane that means you need to carry a miniature hair serum at all times to battle external elements beyond your control (humidity/wind/fine rain – here’s lookin’ at you)…
My advice to anyone struggling with their unruly hair? Start watching films where the characters with curly hair are celebrated. There’s so so many, and if you’re anything like me, you’ll come away feeling more positive about the fluffy hair that’s being kept at bay. I’m instantly influenced by the characters in a film I find cool/just identify with in some way, and as a huge cinema fan, the films that I watch pour into my personal style and the way I like to express myself. Whether it’s Julia Roberts, Andie MacDowell or Frances Baby Houseman (Dirty Dancing) – curly hair used to reign supreme in the 80’s/90’s (bad perms included) but right now seems like just as good a time as any to let the curls have their limelight…
Photographs taken by Catherine Booty
Jumper – Na Nin Vintage
I’ve linked most of the products I use for styling my curly hair/keeping it in good condition below for you. I use a ghd Air Hairdryer and the matching diffuser to half dry my hair, then I’ll let the other half dry naturally if I can! If I want a more polished look then I’ll add a few curls with the ghd ‘Creative Wand’. I find it really easy to use on short hair and I generally find the ghd styling products are the best (they last ages too).
I’ve been going to the same hairdresser for the last few years – Melissa Timperley Salon.
It’s where I’ve learnt to style my hair and discover lots of products that I continue to repurchase time and time again. They stock my favourite Unite products which you can find here!
HAIR PRODUCTS THAT I USE AND LOVE
I love this post, Alice! My hair is unruly, both curly and wavy at the same time which often results in a frizzy unruly mess. I hated it for so long! Nowadays I have a short pixie cut, which I love, I find it much more manageable compared to trying to tame my frizzy curls.