How We Love the Girls with Curls…

Andie MacDowell

The old adage of always wanting what we do not have never holds more true than when it comes to hair – I see it every day. Brunettes who want to be blondes, blondes who want to be redheads, women with silky straight hair wanting a head full of curls, and the girls with the curls wanting stick-straight hair. And it’s the ladies blessed with naturally curly hair that I want to convince the most to make the most of what they have. Look at Andie MacDowell – she’s made a career based on her mass of curls. 

Most of their complaints revolve around the facts that their hair is not shiny like their straight-haired counterparts. This is because the cuticle of curly hair is more open, so less light bounces off of it and instead penetrates the hair. But with the right shampoos, conditioners, and finishing products, curly hair can look just as shiny -- and even sexier – than straight hair.  

Corinne Bailey Rae

Curly hair takes a bit more effort and care to find the right product to match whether the texture is coarse and curly, fine and curly, frizzy and curly, or some combination of all three, like Corinne Bailey Rae. Some need products that relax the curl, other need products that define the curl – but no one needs products that make their curls look dry or “crunchy.” 

I like to cut curly hair wet, but it cannot be cut in the same manner as straight hair because it can look bulkier, so as a stylist there is more of a feel to the cut – it is freestyle cutting rather than precision cutting. In fact, it is very much like sculpting in that I have to feel as I cut in order to build volume where it’s needed, or take away bulk. 

Taylor Swift

Violante Placido

When it comes to color, highlighting curly hair is trickier, because traditional highlights can get lost. Highlights in curly hair must be much chunkier so they can be seen, like Taylor Swift and Violante Placido. Before I highlight curly hair, I study it dry and select the pieces where I can see that light should be.

AnnaLynn McCord

Vanessa Hudgens

When all is said and done, curly hair that is cut, colored and highlighted well can look like the mane of a lion – look at AnnaLynn McCord. When it’s cut well and treated properly, even when it’s unkempt it looks sexy, like Vanessa Hudgen’s crop, or Jordin Sparks long curls. It’s definitely more voluminous, it has more movement, it looks alive.

Jordin Sparks

So, to all you ladies blessed with curls, look for special shampoos for silkening curly hair and finishing products that are specially formulated for curly hair, curl defining creams, silkening oils, and for the very coarse curls, find an illuminating gelade that makes the hair glisten. Most importantly, find the right stylist. Not everyone know how to handle curly hair. And my recommendation for everyone, especially those with curly hair, is to always go in for a consultation, bring in pictures, and have a target in mind before you let anyone touch your hair.

Until next week, ciao!