We recently had the pleasure of speaking with @coloured.swavy.tan, a wavy hair expert and member of our Curly Community. We asked her three questions to help our readers better care for their curls and we're excited to share her answers with you:
Question 1: What inspired you to embrace your natural curls?
Answer: In all honesty, it was a spare of the moment thing. My old hairdresser always said that my hair was "curly wavy" when wet but I didn't really pay much attention to it. Then one day, I was scrolling through Youtube looking for something to watch and I saw a video on my home screen of someone styling their hair. So I watched it and it got me thinking. I did all of the research on the Curly Girl Method, brought everything I needed right there and then on Amazon and styled my hair that very night with the products that I already had at home. I was truely surprised how curly my hair actually was. Then it began...
Question 2: How has the curly hair industry changed since you first started your journey?
Answer: I started my journey nearly 20 months ago and I found that there are so many companies out there that I'd never even heard of. Just because it says "curly" or "wavy" on the bottle doesn't mean that it will suit all curls and waves.
I've seen so many companies introduce new amazing products as they are now starting to listen to the Curly Community and what they need for their specific hair type. (Density, porosity, thickness of hair etc) They are making their products vegan friendly and cruelty free, which is amazing in itself. In terms of the Curl Community, I've never felt so empowered by all of these people that I've never met.
Question 3: Do you have any advice for people who are just starting to embrace their natural curls?
Answer: Keep it simple. There's no need to splash out on everything. Grab a great shampoo, conditioner and gel. I would also recommend a clarifying and chelating shampoo as I find that it is so important to get rid of build up from products or hard water minerals. I would also highly recommend a deep conditioner and protein mask or drops that you can introduce once you are comfortable with your new curly routine. The technique doesn't have to be complicated either. I usually shampoo twice, concentrating on the scalp but I run the suds of the shampoo to the ends of my hair and scrunch, to clean the ends too. I then use a conditioner to detangle my curls, especially the ends. I use the "squish to condish" method which is so important for hydration. Then when I apply the gel, I play around the with both the "glazing" method and the "praying hands" method - it's best to see what works best for you. It's not just caring for your hair, it is caring for your scalp too because without a healthy scalp, you can't have healthy hair. It would help to use an old cotton t-shirt or a microfibre towel when drying the hair and use a satin pillowcase to sleep on. Satin scrunchies are really good too. What I didn't expect was to feel such a huge confidence boost and realise that after all this time, I finally feel like me. Then, I was brazen enough to go bright haired!