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BERMUDA | RSS PODCAST

Keeping your curls natural and pain free

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Wild and free: Singer Solange Knowles arrives at the recent 55th Annual GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center on in Los Angeles, California with a head full of curls. (Google image)

On a good day, girls with naturally curly tresses can appear to be the belle-of-the-ball. But on a bad day, when humidity rears its ugly head, they can end up feeling like they dropped the ball instead.

Curly hair has its own unique demands and challenges — so its no surprise that some of the women who spoke to The Royal Gazette said they tend to have a love — hate relationship with their kinky, wavy or coilly locks.

Shannan Swan said the most frustrating thing about having curly hair was the painstaking process of combing it out in the mornings.

“Without the right conditioner, it can get pretty messy — and painful,” she said.

In order to manage her “crazy curls”, Ms Swan tries to saturate her hair with moisture and avoid anything that will make it dry or hard, like hairspray, foam mousse and thick gels.

She swears by products like Mixed Chicks and Miss Jessie’s — both are made up of anti-frizz ingredients that help to tame tresses.

“Using a diffuser to dry your hair after applying the hair products will also help to prevent frizz,” she added.

According to hair stylist Onika Outerbridge, the more natural the product, the better it is for curly hair.

She recommends that women with curly hair stay away from products with alcohol or sulphates, which can dry out the hair. Instead it’s best to use organic products like coconut or argan oil, which can help hydrate hair and make it more soft and manageable over time.

One organic product that has worked for Langre Edwards is a shampoo called Petal Fresh, found at Robertson’s Drugstore.

She stumbled on the product randomly while looking through the St George’s store — and has been hooked ever since.

“Not only does my hair feel soft and moisturised, it smells absolutely amazing,” she said.

She washes her hair once a week, but will condition it regularly with Aunt Jackies Curl La La, which contains shea butter and olive oil and helps to prevent frizz and dryness.

She also deep conditions once a week with Virgin Coconut Oil. After leaving it in for two hours or overnight, Ms Edwards said she wakes up to shiny, healthy looking hair.

One of the biggest challenges with her hair is finding a way to get enough moisture into her colour treated locks. The weather is also another concern.

“Frizz has always been an issue, especially with the humidity in Bermuda and it makes absolutely no sense trying to wear it flat pressed,” she said. “But by making these few minor changes my curls are a lot fuller, tighter, and look healthier.”

DeShae DeShields’ swears by a product called Uncle Funky’s Daughter. After she decided to stop chemically processing her hair in university, it took her 16 months to get back to her naturally curly state.

“Natural hair is easy to maintain, and I was able to travel freely without the hassle of straightening irons and blow dryers,” she said.

“However, once I moved back to Bermuda I noticed a big change in the texture of hair- it became very soft, and appeared to be thinner and shorter than usual. Also, it would take forever to dry, never fully absorbing the products I was using, which meant that I my hair was constantly wet.”

After a friend recommended Uncle Funky’s Daughter, she started seeing drastic changes in her hair.

“They are expensive but they definitely work,” she said. “I also recommend Curly Magic and Extra Butter to everyone I know.”

Another curly haired friend suggested that while it might take a little bit of trial and error before you can find the ideal product combination for your hair type, it’s worth the effort.

“All curly hair types differ, so what works for one person may not work for another,” she said. “It may take a while to find the best product and combination, but be consistent and persevere.”

One tip that has worked for her is checking out social media sites like Facebook or Instagram, which has some helpful resources like ‘curlbox’ and ‘naturalhairdoescare’.

“My frustrations with my hair do not stem from the hair itself, but the weather and how it will affect my hair — humidity can be a pain! “Another ‘frustration’ is when I break hair elastics,” she said. “Because my hair is curlier, it’s thicker and sometimes an average hair elastic cannot hold all of my hair so the elastic will break.”

Despite some of the challenges, she said she loved the health and volume of her curly hair.

“I also like the diversity that I have now. If I want to go curly or straight the option is there, but nonetheless rock your curls with confidence!”

Loose curls: A model shows off her healthy looking hair in this photo (Google image)
Girls and their curls: Singer and actress Jordin Sparks shows off her natural curls.