Why Going Natural Will Save Your Curly Hair?
“No Madame, we don’t deal with that kind of hair here.” If your hair has a curly, frizzy, or kinky texture, you may have already encountered this kind of remark at a hair salon.
20% of women in France have BFC (Curly, Frizzy, Kinky) hair, but the market offer for this hair type is poor. Professionals in the industry are not trained to take care of curls. Worse, there are no state-recognized diplomas for treating and styling BFC hair.
The lack of knowledge about curly hair in France is very real.
And this phenomenon has repercussions on women.
Like Laureen, the founder of La Belle Boucle who kindly answered my questions, many women arm themselves with a straightener in an attempt to make their curls disappear. Thinking that this is a solution to have a good hairstyle and conform to standards.
Unfortunately, this kind of gesture can harm the curls. Smothered, damaged, even burnt, the hair can really be damaged. Your mane then looks more like a bundle of straw than a full head of vibrant hair.
What if the natural approach was the best way to save your curly hair? Let them express themselves and give them all their power?
That’s what we’re going to try to clarify in this article.
With a conclusion to remember right now: using natural methods and products for your curly hair will bring you much more than just a stylish effect.
Why is curly hair misunderstood?
When talking to Laureen, I quickly understood that the main issue for women with curly hair is not the appearance, but the relationship they have with their hair.
Many of them don’t know what type of hair they have to deal with. And it’s precisely because they don’t understand their hair that they make the wrong moves.
The typical example is the profile of a woman who finds that her hair is neither straight, nor wavy, nor curly. And who, out of a desire for conformity, straightens her hair to achieve a neater result.
The lack of knowledge about one’s hair potential is therefore the crux of the problem.
However, BFC hair is not more complicated to treat than any other hair type. It has long been labeled as “rebellious” hair. In the collective unconscious, curly hair has never been kind to its owner. But it has never been more difficult to style than any other type of hair.
On the other hand, what makes the difference between a beautiful mane like Carrie Bradshaw’s and a frizzy mess can be explained in two points.
Firstly, it’s about understanding your hair situation. For that, it’s important to diagnose it by asking yourself:
- The hair texture: wavy, curly, kinky?
- The hair condition: dry, normal, oily?
- The hair type: fine, medium, thick?
- The hair porosity: low, medium, high? This refers to the hair’s ability to absorb and retain moisture. Low porosity hair will have difficulty absorbing treatments because the cuticles are too closed. Conversely, high porosity hair has cuticles that are too open, so the hair will not be well protected.
Secondly, it’s about the right actions. When you know little or nothing about your hair, it’s common to adopt bad habits. You end up styling the curls instead of helping them form naturally, using chemical products that are not suitable for your scalp, or straightening your hair, thinking that it’s the best solution to tame your curls and have a neat hairstyle.
Unfortunately, these gestures that may seem harmless at the time are the same ones that will harm your hair in the long run, preventing it from being in full health.
Saving your curly hair: what if the natural approach was the remedy?
Why would the natural approach be more beneficial than a traditional approach to enhance your curls? Why couldn’t you just shampoo and dry your hair to make your curls as beautiful as they are shiny?
“Traditional” hair care products easily found in supermarkets have something that hair (curly or not) doesn’t like: chemical ingredients.
Among the most controversial ones is sulfate. You can find it in most shampoos in supermarkets. It is very effective at cleaning the scalp because it “strips” well, but it is particularly aggressive. In the long run, it creates an imbalance, as Laureen tells me, resulting in an excess of sebum production. The hair then becomes easily greasy, which leads us to clean it more often. It’s a vicious circle.
Silicone is also responsible for hair damage. In the short term, it allows for easy detangling and softening of the lengths and ends. But in the long run, it weighs down the hair, preventing it from breathing.
Shampoos and hair care products have the advantage of providing immediate satisfactory results. But their composition chemically alters the hair, resulting in long-term hair damage.
To have beautiful curly hair, the traditional approach is not the solution. It is the cause.
On the other hand, the natural approach respects the hair. In the long run, it allows your hair fiber to be in full health. And a hair full of vitality is a hair that appears strong, well hydrated, and shiny.
The natural approach is also closely linked to the idea of accumulated effect: small intelligent choices that, when applied frequently, will result in massive changes.
This is one of the keys to having beautiful, vibrant curls.
A moisturizing mask every Sunday night doesn’t have a spectacular effect after a month. But after 2 years? The use of a targeted natural shampoo will give you a feeling of cleanliness in the moment, but after 6 months, it will have contributed to the growth of your hair.
That’s the accumulated effect, the repetition of small gestures (consistent with your goal) that over time produce unexpected effects.
What you decide to implement through your actions today (no matter how small they may be, but targeted) will impact your future. Taking care of your curls by repeating regular gestures to wash, care for, and maintain them will pay off in the long run.
The recipe is not miraculous, it lies in the daily details.
And who knows where that will lead you? You may become passionate about curly hair like Laureen. “The more you take care of your hair, the more you notice that it works, and that inspires you to continue. It’s fascinating.”
Taking care of your curls naturally: tips and beauty routine
Now comes the question of how.
How do you proceed to achieve a result that enhances and highlights your curls?
Firstly, it’s about establishing a routine, as Laureen explains to me. If you are going through a natural hair transition to reclaim the power of your curls, it will be very useful. And it involves 3 steps:
- Step 1: washing. The goal here is to take care of the scalp. And this is essential because an unhealthy scalp means unhealthy curls. So we choose our shampoo based on our scalp, not based on our curl type.
- Step 2: care. Care is always applied to the lengths and ends. You can use a mask (more nourishing) or a conditioner for that. Its mission is to moisturize, nourish, and care for the hair.
- Step 3: styling. This is the least known step, but perhaps the most important for having beautiful curls. It consists of defining the curl and restoring its natural shape (without frizz). For this, we use leave-in products such as cream or gel that we apply to the lengths of the hair.
The benefits of this type of routine will depend on the hair base you start with. If you have been accustomed to chemical treatments or straightening, it may take a few weeks. On the other hand, if your hair is rather healthy, you will see the benefits immediately.
In addition to that, you can add some natural tips to apply.
Massaging your scalp before shampooing with natural oils will boost the roots and promote faster hair growth.
Using ingredients from your kitchen will serve as a basis for creating many hair recipes. Laureen explains to me that the kitchen is actually a goldmine for naturally caring for your hair. “There are many ingredients in the kitchen that we can use to create small recipes. When I started, it was something I practiced every Sunday.”
For example, honey softens and adds shine to the hair. By mixing it with a little water, you can use it as a hair mask. As for oatmeal flakes, boil them with water until you get a creamy texture. This treatment will serve as a conditioner to moisturize your curly hair.
The powers of natural ingredients are truly remarkable.
And in a hair transition to have beautiful curly hair, they will definitely be your allies, both in substance and in form. Because if the natural approach is applied with products, gestures, it remains a matter of understanding. It is experienced, lived.
From complex to self-acceptance: is there only one step?
The complex of curly hair: an epiphenomenon or a fundamental issue?
Where one might think that the complex is limited to how we perceive our weight or our chest, Laureen proves us wrong, even stating that hair has a definite impact on self-acceptance.
“It’s not just about hair. It allows you to regain self-confidence, to accept yourself naturally. It’s the starting point for taking care of yourself naturally. It starts with hair, then the skin, the body, health, etc.”
The question of curly hair leads us to understand 2 important things:
The first is that taking care of your curls is like a first step towards what we call natural beauty. Many women start by taking care of their hair before continuing to take care of their skin, body, and even their home with homemade natural cleaning products. The approach becomes widespread and becomes a true way of life for some. By becoming aware of the beauty of their true nature, they finally accept themselves as they are and apply this process to other areas of their lives.
💡To naturally improve your facial skin, discover Facial Yoga, a relatively unknown discipline with many benefits.
The second is that taking care of curly hair goes much further just a style exercise. It is a fundamental issue that deeply affects women. For some, it is even a sensitive issue that touches on years of complexes and strategies to try to hide what mockery or society conveyed. Laureen confides in me that “people at the salon cry because they feel self-conscious, but they also cry tears of joy because they are happy to discover themselves au naturel.” For many, allowing their natural hair to express itself is a way to rediscover themselves in their entirety. To leave the past behind and finally allow themselves to accept their true nature.
And that makes a big difference in how they perceive themselves and their self-confidence.
Going natural is not only beneficial for the health of curly hair, it is also a way to give power back to curly hair. It is an authentic way to understand oneself and to allow oneself to accept oneself as one is.
Saving your curly hair: final thoughts
Healthy hair, shiny and beautifully defined curls, self-confidence, well-being ritual… The benefits of the natural approach to having beautiful curly hair go far beyond a simple aesthetic effort.
To save your curly hair, going natural is definitely a good idea. And to top it all off 🍒, it will bring you much more than you can hope for.
➡️ You can follow La Belle Boucle on their Instagram account.
Cover image: © Pexels/Tim Mossholder
