The Origin

There is always a trigger or a reason for things. In my case, it all started with a home bleaching that ruined my precious curly hair in 2016.

Shortly after, thanks to that hair tragedy, I decided to start from scratch in taking care of my hair. This also led to starting to become aware, not only of the cosmetics I used daily on my skin or hair, but also of the origin of the clothes I wore or the food I filled my fridge with (but that is another story).

With bleached hair on the Lisbon metro in 2016

I had not yet heard of the  curly method at that time, but it didn't take long for me to connect that the advice I saw from accounts of girls (mainly from across the pond) had a name: Curly Girl Method.

When I started to explore more about this, I had cut my hair to refresh it, I had also been using solid shampoos without sulfates or silicones for a while (great! those steps were already done) and styling my hair with more natural products. But even so, it seemed that my hair had lost its magic.

What is happening to my hair?: The dreaded transition.

By stopping the use of products without sulfates or silicones, my hair looked dull and more straw-like. It frizzed a lot and struggled to define itself and look nice like before.

My doubts at that moment were Is my hair dehydrated? Does it need nourishment? Proteins? What does it need? Is this going to be like this forever?

I assumed that my hair needed to be hydrated and nourished mainly, so I armed myself with a whole arsenal of oils, butters, and masks to give my hair what I thought it needed.

To save you a few minutes of reading, I'll give you a brief summary: it went wrong.

I was right that my hair needed hydration and nourishment, but in my obsession with nourishing and hydrating, I applied too many products too frequently and for too long on my hair, so what I really achieved was to overhydrate my hair.

Little by little, I learned to use the correct amounts and times that worked well for my hair, to identify which ingredients suited my curls better or worse, and I introduced proteins into my routine (which, besides defining my curls as I expected, helped strengthen them).

Over time, and with realistic expectations in the medium term, I began to see my hair healthy, manageable, shiny, and with defined curls. Hooray!.

Transition completed: now yes.

And now what?: The day-to-day of a curly

As a good owner of curly hair, you know that the phrase "How lucky to have curly hair! I'm sure you don't brush it!" is, at the very least, the farthest from reality.

Okay, we don't have to brush our hair every day and generally we can go several days with nice hair, but our drama is another and it's called: wash day.

If one day my hair doesn't look good, it's okay, I'm sure it will look better on the next wash. After all, curly hair is always the best and probably only you will notice that on that day the definition didn't turn out as you expected.

In my particular case, depending on whether it's cold, if we are in summer, if it rains or not, if I forgot to use a mask for a month, or in short, the needs my hair has at that moment, I alternate and change my routines or even the defining methods.

In summer, for example, is when my hair suffers the most from the sun and heat, so I really like to do the LOC method to ensure my hair is always hydrated.

In the coldest months of the year, I follow these steps.

The possibilities for how to care for your hair are endless!

What are yours?