Curly Hair Problems

My mom and I are always on the hunt for the perfect hair product for our curly hair. Let me tell you, as any of you curly-haired gals out there, it is not easy. 

It took me just about all of middle school and high school to finally embrace my curls. After years of trying to blow dry and straighten, only to be left with a frizzy mess, I finally learned the beauty of giving up using a hair brush and letting my curls air dry the way God intended them. 

However, as any curly-haired girl would also say my curls are so different from everyone else's. They are somewhere between corkscrew curly and wavy, but my hair is so thin that when you hold all of my hair in your hand, it feels like a five year old's. When I grow it long, it looks ratty. When it's short, it's too poofy. If I use too many products, it gets greasy and flat. But if I don't use any, the frizz just takes over.

The weather totally determines what kind of day I'm going to have because my hair is so dependent on it. Sad, but true. If I took the time to flat iron my hair and I go outside to a cloudy sky, I panic. Yes, I own a Chi straightener and I absolutely love it, especially when I had my bangs. However, now that the heat and humidity has taken over, there is just no way that straight hair is going to hold up, even on the brightest and sunniest of days.

I used to love getting my hair cut, mostly because of the way it looked when I left. I loved how they could expertly blow it out and make me look like a model. In fact, I would go without washing it for as long as I possibly could just to maintain the perfect style, because I knew once I tried to do the same thing, it would just all go to hell. Now when I get my hair cut, I almost want to leave with my hair still wet so that I can just style it on my own because they will just never get it right. I cringe when they blow dry it with a round brush and then charge me extra to flat iron. My last haircut was when the girl gave me an angled bob, which looked super cute after styling it pin-straight, but is now starting to grow out into an uneven mess. 

This is an uplifting post, right? I pretty much wrote this because maybe I'm PMS-ing a little bit, but there is actually light at the end of the tunnel to all this, because I think I might have found the perfect product:

My mom discovered Deva Curl a few weeks ago and told me I had to give it a try. She sent me a copy of this book in the mail, and reading it was like an epiphany. The book explains all different types of curls, and then gives you the specific way to wash and style your hair based on the type of curls you have (Turns out I have 'swavy' hair). 

It also stresses the importance of using sulphate-free shampoo (read: nothing that you'll find at Walmart), so after lots of deliberation I bit the bullet and went to Ulta to pick up some Deva No Poo and One Conditioner. For a thrifty chick like me, spending more than five dollars on a bottle of shampoo is sacreligious, but after just a few washes I am really seeing what all the hype is. It's a 'cleanser', not a shampoo, so there is no lather which feels kind of weird. The idea is to cleanse your scalp, and then condition the ends. I finish by drying with an old t shirt rather than a bath towel. After applying gel and letting it air dry, I am really seeing a difference in frizz and softness. Even Ian noticed that I was doing something different the other day!

I'm hesitant to go out and buy the whole system just yet, but for now I am happy to announce that this stuff rocks. 

So for my curly haired girls: what products have been life changing for you?