Got Curls?? Here's a few tips from our resident Curly Girl

As a kid in the late 70’s I was really jealous of the smooth “Farah Faucet” wings, unfortunately I felt cursed with frizzy curls. Like a lot of my naturally curly brothers and sisters, I grew up hating my curls. I lived through bad haircuts that were always cut too short because the stylist didn’t consider “shrinkage.” I tried every crazy thing I heard of to get those long straight locks. Like orange juice cans as rollers, really harsh chemical strengtheners that broke my fine hair, and I have to mention how my best friend would help me use an actual clothes iron to straighten my hair out! That’s not healthy.

Even when I became a stylist, I was motivated by vicariously living through the silky straight hair of my clients. As the years passed, new products were developed and my knowledge grew of the hair world. I finally learned to love my curls, but it wasn’t will out a lot of trial and error… and a few tears.

If you’re a curly girl, my hope is to share with you some tips to take to your stylist that will help you get the best cut for your curls. Be prepared! Stylist love pictures! It gives us a visual to work from. Think about the texture of your hair. For instance if you have fine thin curly hair, don’t take your stylist a picture of someone with thick course curls.

Long layers work great with curls! It doesn’t matter if your hair is a chin length bob or curls down to your waist. A common complaint I hear from new curly clients is that they have flat hair at the roots and “poofy” hair toward the ends. It creates a triangle shape. Long layers will help create balance throughout the shape of your hair. Ask your stylist to cut your hair where you part it. I have often seen clients come in with imbalanced haircuts because who ever cut their hair last parted it in the middle. Cutting hair with a middle part is fine if you part it in the middle every day, but if you part your hair to one side, get it cut that way. Your curls will hang better and you will have a more consistent style every day.

Okay, so here is where I get controversial. I believe cutting curly hair with even the sharpest razor makes it frizz. Your stylist may not agree, but I am a scissor girl all the way! There’s a time and texture for the razor but on curly hair it acts like curling a ribbon on a Christmas present.

Lastly, depending on how tightly curled your hair is, remind your stylist that your hair shrinks up! I suggest adding an extra 2-3 inches to your desired length. You can always ask to have it cut shorter .As you probably know curly hair seems to take longer to grow because of the curl.
-Rachelle Perrin, owner Blue Velvet Salon