Women with curly/kinky hair... anyone sick of it?

Stop complaining, at least you have long healthy hair.

same here, I'm thinking about cutting mine short.

I got the Kerastraight treatment back in January and I LOVE IT. It's only starting to wear off now, and I'm getting it re-done tomorrow morning. Basically what it involves is a Keratin treatment that is sealed into your hair so that while the frizz is gone, there is still a natural wave to your hair. I got mine on Groupon, for 90 euro, which was a godsend because she said that had I come in without a voucher, with my thick hair, she would have had to charge me 250 euro!!!! YIKES.

When I get it done I make sure to tell the girl to concentrate on my extra afro bits, like I have SUPER SUPER curly hair just in front of my ears, and a ton of frizz along my forehead, where my hair is like baby hairs? This treatment makes your hair SO HEALTHY AND SHINY, which I was so happy with because I've always had crazy big, but super healthy hair, and then I got highlights last year and it just died out on me. Now it's even better than it was before, people are always complimenting it!

After reading some of the posts on here, I feel like I need to come back and add a couple of things.

My hair is KINKY curly. There's nothing wavy about this red mop on my head...
Since starting the Curly Girl method, I no longer wonder what my hair will look like from day to day. I don't deal with frizz anymore because my hair is properly hydrated. And my curls no longer look like fuzzy dread-locks. My hair is now healthy, shiny ringlets (as the Gods intended). As a previous poster said, I now work with my curls, not against them.

Straighteners, relaxers, texturizers, chemicals... are the worst possible thing you can do to curly hair. They dry out and damage the scalp (the LAST thing a curly haired person needs). They break the hair; split and fray the ends; and overall damage the outer and inner layers of the hair. Heat is also a no-no. This goes for flat-irons, curlers, hair-dryers... all of it.

I use 3... count them 3 products on my hair (and 2 of them I only use every 2-3 days).
1. Shea Moisture's African Black Soap Balancing Conditioner
2. Shea Moisture's Coconut & Hibiscus Moisture Mist
3. Loreal's EverStyle ALCOHOL FREE Curl Defining Gel

I used to use try every product available to make my hair only the slightest bit manageable. For years I gave up on the curls and flat-ironed my hair (2 hours every 2 days wasted). Don't let me sweat, the air be humid or GODS FORBID it rain! I HATED HATED HATED my hair. I tried every cut any hairdresser would ever tell me would work. I was at the point of chopping it all off... Sinead O'Connor style... when I discovered The Curly Girl Handbook.

Here's a "Before" photo to show you what I have to work with. Unfortunately I don't have any after ones yet

Kinky is sexy

Try Devacurl products, and get your hair cut at Devachan Salon or by a stylist who's been trained by them. Buy the "Curly Girl" book by the founder of Devachan.

I really like my hair. I'm also committed to helping to develop styles and to make this hair become commonplace so in the future people won't feel compelled to use relaxers.

I love my curls. You can love your curls too, you just have to take care of them and unfortunately most hair advice is geared towards striaght hair.

1. Go buy a sulfate/silicone/paraben free shampoo and conditioner - I personally use Devacurl No-poo and conditioner. Sulfates are way too harsh for curls and silicone dries it out, both of these things are found in a lot of shampoos and conditioners and frizz products. Parabens are just gross.

2. DO NOT BRUSH YOUR HAIR. Especially when it is dry. brushing pulls out the curls and separates them, resulting in frizz. I run my fingers through my hair while it is wet and saturated with conditioner to get any tangles out. Then I put gel in it (silicone free), blowdry it with a diffuser (that weird attachment that kind of makes your hairdryer look like a raygun) and put a drop of almond oil at the ends. Then I do not touch it. Oh also don't towel dry it, keep it as sopping wet as possible and kind of squeeze the excess water out with your hands when you scrunch the gel into it. Then gently dry it with the diffuser.

I hope this helps.

THIS! I can't emphasize this enough :-)

I wrap my hair in a Curlease towel for about 15 minutes. It absorbs the moisture and defines the curls. The stylist at Devachan told me to comb my hair with my fingers after conditioning it. It takes longer, but I do it whenever I have the time because it is gentler on my hair and in time I've gotten a bit faster. I try always to let my hair air dry, although I do have some diffusing dryers.

Kinky is sexy

You have very nice hair, but it's not what most people would call. "kinky." Truly kinky - curly hair is a challenge in a culture that worships straight hair.

I love my curly hair....when i have the time to do something with it. I have recently started letting it be curly on its own, except for my bangs (i straighten them, i hate them curly), and so I use a cocktail in my hair. I shampoo (with the Organix Coconut Milk line) about 2-3 times a week, use tons of conditioner, then I dont dry my hair and I add in OrganiX coconut milk Serum, John Frieda Frizz Ease leave in oil, and FX Special Effect Curls Up. I dont brush my hair, and I can then blow dry with diffuser or air dry and I get some nice soft curls. The days I want straight hair I used second day hair and flat iron the crap out of it after using a heat protectant. The only time I get tired of my hair is when I'm working out and it gets all in my face and its HOT, and messy.

omg yes, relaxers do not work in my hair so i have to straighten it if i want my hair to look good. Had to chop my hair off when i went to the military about 4 years ago and it is still not long enough to look good curly even with product.. I end up looking like a poodle. But the good news is I was reading up on some things and went to have a trial on it at the local beauty salon. A keratin smoothing treatment and it was beyond amazing the trial only lasted a week but no frizz at just some morrocan oil and the curls looked amazing and as for straightening it usually takes me about 45 mins just to blow dry my hair and it only took me maybe 10 mins after the treatment but its super expensive if you want the one that lasts 6 to 8 months