The Fight is Over

For as long as I can remember, I've been fighting with my hair. I have thick, naturally curly, Italian hair. I inherited it from my mom. When I look at pictures of myself as a child, I remember having to keep my hair short so I could contain it.

This is me, around 4 years old, with my then strawberry blonde short 'do. I also seemingly had quite an affinity for Mickey Mouse.

As I got older, knowing nothing of a little invention called a DIFFUSER, I grew my hair long and BRUSHED it (with a brush, with lots of bristles, the enemy of all curls) so that it would straighten into a fine mess of long POOF.

Yep. That's me, at Homecoming (3rd from the right) having BRUSHED the heck out of my hair and then heat styled it with a curling iron for some semblance of control.

As I moved into adulthood, I discovered the diffuser, which allowed me to control my curls without heat, but years of washing my hair with all the wrong products never made it look very healthy, and every Pantene commercial has women with long, straight, shiny locks bouncing around. I wanted to be one of them. 

Enter the flat iron. My friend. My pal. My long-time adult companion. The one thing I've at least done right is stick to ceramic plates, which do LESS damage. For the past 15+ years I've been having a daily love affair with this beautiful instrument:

The CHI. I call her..."Old Faithful."

And I would've kept doing it, too, if not for a little book called "Curly Girl Handbook" by Lorraine Massey. She is amazing, and her method really WORKS.

By eliminating sulfates and silicones, I've managed to not only bring back my natural curls in a very controlled, stylish way, but EMBRACE my God-given texture and curl pattern in a way I never have before. And the best part? I no longer fight with my hair. I actually kinda like it.

I've been doing the CG method for about a year now. That's not to say I don't go through periods where I just feel like going straight and using a flat iron, because I do. But, as I read stories of other women who have struggled as I have, I am really starting to love the hair I was born with for the first time. This blog is my attempt to share my experiences, product recommendations, and ups and downs as I go through this journey. There will be days I throw in the towel and grab the CHI. There will be days I want to freeze my hair exactly as it is and keep it that way forever. The style journey of a curly girl is far more interesting than those of our smoother counterparts. Our curls never seem to curl the same way twice. A product will work fabulously for months, or even years, then stop working completely. But, we have each other. And the internet. We're going to be just fine.