OK my lovelies- I have been pretty outspoken about my new found love for my curly hair and the journey I have taken attempting to figure out how to make it look the way I want it to. My hair is curly- S curls and large ringlets. People who have tight curls think I don't REALLY have curly hair and people with straight hair think I just don't flat iron enough. Its funny to me because I never really realized that I indeed had curly hair until about 5 years ago. I thought that I just had unmanageable unruly, frizzy hair. Well- I went for a haircut and I had a chin length bob at the time- and while having it washed- the stylist started giggling because he was surprised how much my hair curled when it got wet. I never thought of it as curly before then- just stubborn and un-yielding.
So over the last three years, I have quit coloring. I have quit Brazilian blowing out, I have been reading about a thousand books, explored countless websites and basically grasped onto as much curly knowledge as I can. Let me tell you- when you start out this journey from nothing- its kind of overwhelming! I didn't know any one to turn to so the internet became my girlfriend who gave me advice. I learned so much about caring for natural hair that I had never even contemplated before. I felt pretty confident in my no shampoo, super hydrating hair care routine but I still felt like I just wasn't getting the results that I was looking for. I have tried about 3 stylists over the last three years and honestly- I hated the results each and every time. Why? Because they cut my hair wet and in a style for straight hair- but when it was curly- my curls wouldn't keep a form, the ends looked stringy and there was so much bulk that my hair had no movement!
I have been using Deva Curl products for about 9 months now and really liked it. Well- it was a happy accident that I found out that the creator had a salon that specialized in curly hair and had created a training for stylists to come and certify in how to properly cut and style curly hair! So I found out that there is a wonderful salon here in Salt Lake named Aura- where all the stylists are Deva Curl specialists and the whole salon embraces the curly girls! So when I found that out, I promptly went to the website and investigated all the stylists.
I read the bios and descriptions of the stylists and decided Max was the man for me. I booked my appointment and anxiously waited. The day of my cut came along and I was NERVOUS. For the first time practically ever- I had NO IDEA what to tell my stylist. I met Max and he INSTANTLY put me at ease that this was going to be amazing. I ended up telling him my journey of hair growing and quest for curls and then proceeded to tell him everything I liked and didn't like about my hair. We agreed that the length had to come up about 3 inches to get rid of all the layering to create a good base. He then told me that we were going to do uneven individual layers basically one curl at a time until we got the shape and the volume I wanted.
THEN THE MAGIC HAPPENED. He just had me part my hair and finger comb it into place and he started the two hour process of meticulously cutting one curl at a time. I thought he was somewhat exaggerating and that I was going to be in and out in a normal hour time slot. Nope. He dry cut and layered my hair for about an hour. Then he no-pooed (shampoo but not really shampooed) my hair, conditioned it, detangled it and the whole time taught me how to properly do it. Who knew you could wash your hair incorrectly?? Well- I found out that I had indeed been washing it too quickly, not putting enough conditioner on and rinsing it out too much.
He then styled my hair- and explained step by step what to do, what to use and how to know your doing it correctly. Once my hair was styled he went back in and finished up cleaning up any stragglers that got missed in the dry cut. I went home and almost got into an accident probably 5 times because I couldn't stop looking at my hair in the mirror. Seriously- I know how ridiculous it seems- its a hair cut- whats the big deal? But it IS a big deal to me! I actually feel like I can get the hair that I have wanted! That's pretty awesome and lets me honest- girls are emotionally tied to their hair. Who HASN'T cried after a terrible cut?
Anyway- I seriously can not recommend Aura, Deva Curl, Max- enough. Seriously- if you have curly hair and feel like you are in a hair rut or resigned yourself to having sub par hair- DON'T! Find a stylist who can educate you along the way- THAT is what made it an amazing experience. I felt like I could go home and know how to do it- and I did- and it worked! Whatever your hair type- rock it with confidence!
Ok - so have you tried to do it straight? I'm curious how it would look since it's so layered. I like to go curly, but I also like to straighten it out once and a while too. You need to post more pics! I wanna see it!
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