I didn’t know how to take care of my hair until I got to be around 15 years old, when I met Angie. My mom had straight hair, whereas I got my dad’s 3B/3C curls, so I grew up not knowing what I needed to do to let my curls be themselves. Angie was 2 years older than me and — I’m pretty sure — didn’t like me when we first met. She always had her hair and makeup done, she had the meanest teenage attitude, and she made sure to tell me I could do more with my hair.
I think the second time we hung out, she sat me down by the tub and, with my head leaned back all the way back, gave me my first DIY spa day. She washed my hair and taught me the basics on what to do with my hair; brush when wet, wide-tooth comb, shampoos and conditioners specific to curly hair, deep conditioning treatment, and so on and so forth. And, even though my hair was horribly fried after years of flat-ironing it straight out of the shower, that was the first time I saw a sign of my true curl pattern. She is who I have to thank for leading me on the curl journey I’ve since become so familiar with.
Growing up as a curly girly, it was kind of hard for me to embrace my curls when I was being fed straight hair in magazines, TV shows and movies. I mean, the age-old trope is that the nerdy girl with glasses and frizzy hair gets contacts and relaxers, which suddenly makes her the prettiest girl in the world… As a nerdy girl with big glasses and curly, frizzy hair, this was something I had to unlearn — and quickly. Characters like Fran Fine from The Nanny and Carrie from Sex and The City were key Curly Queens that helped me become more confident in my curls. Seeing them love their curls made me realize I had no reason to not love mine.
So, with the foundational tools from Angie and the confidence boost from my beloved TV show characters, I set off to find out more about my hair. I realized how important it is to love the hair that I grow and to learn how to make that show. I started getting trims from my best friend’s mom more regularly, until at some point all the fried and split ends were gone. I looked into scalp massages and submerged myself as best as I could into my research. I adopted a curl routine with some basic curly deep conditioners and hair masks before realizing the excessive chemicals in the products were doing as much harm as they were good. This led me to look at products that didn’t contain ingredients with giant scientific names I could never pronounce — my thought process was, ‘if I can barely read the name, should I really be putting it on my hair?’
At 19, I moved to humid Humboldt, California from the terribly dry town of Temecula, California. This is when I discovered the effects of humidity on curls, and it almost felt like I was 14 again, with no idea how to take care of my hair! A completely new climate, atmosphere, environment — you name it. I met my friend Eden, who introduced me to Jessicurl; specifically, the Awe Inspiraling Refresher Spray and Spiralicious Styling Gel. My hair was curly without being crunchy for the first time ever and I had no idea how life-changing that moment would be for me in the long-run. I couldn’t stop raving about Jessicurl to my friends, and from there I discovered how incredible the rest of the products are as well. With no harsh chemicals, Jessicurl products are gentle on curls while still providing the much needed hold, cleansing, or conditioning that us Curlies are looking for! Some products can even do both at the same time, like the Hair Cleansing Cream that provides moisture to dryer curls while also removing unwanted oils and buildup.
To this day, I’m still learning new things about my curls. As I grow and change, they do too, and so we have to keep working together to be good to each other. And each day, I think I love them more and more. When a Curly realizes how lucky they are to be curly, there are no more “bad hair” days!