I still remember the days when I used to comb and brush my curly hair over and over again expecting miracles to happen, but my hair forever looked like hay. Nobody around me told me that I should be doing it any differently. Thankfully I had never chemically straightened my hair. So my transition was just from ugly curly hair to curly hair that I love and adore and hair that I am obsessed with. And this love started around 7 years ago. There was no chronological flow really – I just started realizing that my hair looked better uncombed, and that was followed by a good haircut one sudden day, and then months and years later I realized I had fallen in love!
It was not at all common in India to see curly hair in all its glory – wash hair, oil it, comb it, braid it – this is the most prevalent hair care routine in India. Most people in India are not aware of their hair type. They assume what they have is frizzy ugly hair. You can hear excuses like “My hair isn’t curly, it’s just frizzy” “I don’t really have curl, just unruly hair”. And they keep combing and brushing it to make it look straight. Or resort to chemical relaxers. Because hair can only be straight, right? Even advertisements and movies (Bollywood included), magazines and posters mostly showcase women with straight hair. This is despite a large proportion of the population actually having curly hair, especially in the southern part of India. This article was featured on NaturallyCurly.com 🙂 Continue reading…
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Hi! I am Anjana and I fell in love with my curly hair after years of hating it. YOU can too!
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Sheetal (Halo of books)
June 20, 2016 at 12:50 pm
Wow !! Superb Anjana !!! Congrats 🙂 Really we need to break the stereotype which has attached with the curly hair … Amazing article you have written 😀 😀 Need to read by every curly hair girl ..
Anoop
June 20, 2016 at 6:35 pm
My experience as a curly head was totally different than Anjana. I was always complemented on my hair which is loose wavy curls; as was my sister, who has tighter curls. I never faced the stereotype of curly hair being ugly, on the contrary on wash days when we would sit outside to soak up sun and dry hair in winters we would always get asked which hair-salon we get our hair done and how the aunties would want themselves and their girls to get the same hair.
While i agree that washing, oiling and braiding is go to haircare, i would say it is more of deep-coditioning and protective hairstyle. I guess we already knew that washing it all the time and letting it down most of the time and not oiling it to give proper care would lead to hair damage.
For special occasions you have so many pretty curly hairstyles – in my experience even the girls with stick-straight hair would get dreamy beach curly half up-dos or up-dos with loose curls framing the face.
The only complaint about curly hair that I had growing up which i shared with my sister and cousins was that our hair always seemed shorter than it actually was. I did experiment with straighting my hair a few times – not because I hated my hair but because I wanted to know what straight hair feels like. But, once I realize that heat was visibly damaging my ends and giving me split ends – I promptly stopped.
The stereotype is not as much against curly hair as it is against unkempt damaged hair!
Anoop
June 20, 2016 at 6:39 pm
I forgot to add, while we do not have many commercially available brands for curly hair, but we do have many traditional haircare products – right from washing to deep conditioning.
Anjana
June 21, 2016 at 10:32 am
Would you like to share the traditional products you use with the readers? 🙂
Anjana
June 21, 2016 at 10:29 am
Absolutely – “The stereotype is not as much against curly hair as it is against unkempt damaged hair”. If only all curly haired Indians knew how to take care of their hair from the start. I didn’t learn it until 7 years ago. So when I speak about the past, it is keeping in mind the majority of curly haired Indians(including myself). Of course the scenario is changing, albeit slowly. And I hope more & more people begin to fall in love with their curly hair 🙂
Ritu
June 21, 2016 at 9:28 pm
Great post 😀 … And you are so pretty 🙂
Anjana
June 22, 2016 at 10:13 am
Thanks a lot Ritu!
Vidya Ravi
June 29, 2016 at 9:16 pm
Lovely article Anjana. I can completely relate with it. However, I still have a long way to go. My hair sort of resembles your earlier look. I am still to understand which product would give a good hold to my curls.
Anjana
June 30, 2016 at 11:45 am
Vidya, trial and error is what works best to find a curly hair routine perfect for you
Aishwarya Aneesh
July 19, 2016 at 1:24 am
Anjana.. Thank u so much for creating such a blog. I found it very informative. I have curly hairs and I tried everything to make it a straight long hair. I used to hate my curls n I I did permanent straightening for my marriage and my soft curls turned to rough freezy dry hair 🙁 now even after trying so many products nothings working… Plz help me out..
Anjana
July 19, 2016 at 10:30 am
Hi Aishwarya! This post will help you with your concern – https://www.curlsandbeautydiary.com/how-to-transition-from-chemically-straightened-hair-to-your-natural-curly-hair/
sarah
August 4, 2016 at 5:54 pm
Can we apply serum rayt from the root part and scalp? How often yu trim yua hair!
Anjana
August 9, 2016 at 2:19 pm
Hi Sarah, Yes you can apply serum from root. But avoid it if you have flat roots. I trim my hair every 6-12 months .
divya
September 3, 2016 at 11:56 pm
Hey .. your posts are truly inspiring . I wish i had nt gone through chemical treatmnts for straightening. Now i am waiting for my natural hair to grow fully. I apply coconut oil altrnate days for fast growth. Can you please suggest some more remedies ?
Anjana
September 6, 2016 at 10:35 am
Thanks a lot Divya. It’s great that you have decided to go natural. These posts will help you – https://www.curlsandbeautydiary.com/how-to-transition-from-chemically-straightened-hair-to-your-natural-curly-hair/
and https://www.curlsandbeautydiary.com/7-ways-to-grow-healthy-hair/
Revathy
November 27, 2017 at 8:03 am
I was teased so much in school for my curly hair so I hated even looking at it in the mirror.. had it tied up tightly as much as possible.. when I arrived at college I used to straighten my hair every oppurtunity I got. many friends complemented me on my curly hair instead and One day looking in the mirror I fell in love with it 😅
Thank you for your blog because I have always needed advice on how to maintain my hair.
Anjana
November 27, 2017 at 9:23 am
So so great to hear that Revathy! Would love to see some pics 🙂