Curly Hair Hacks & What I Have Taught My Daughter

As a little girl, my ringlets brought me lots of attention… people would tousle my curly hair and comment on how pretty it was. As the years went on and I needed my hair to conform to either school or sport or dance uniform requirements, the battle between my locks and I began.

I well and truly had my share of ugly hair days, the seminal moment being the morning of my First Communion when my mother decided to take to my hair with a small round brush to tame my crowning glory and make way for a wreath of flowers. The brush got so tangled in my knotty hair that almost nothing would remove it. You can imagine the level of drama that ensued because now apart from now being very late… what would God think of his new apostle so innocently taking her first communion with a brush dangling from her head? The resolution was a pair of scissors and thanks be to God that we had the wreath to cover up the gaping hole. The following months required a lot of creative hair placement until it grew back.

The ’80s were good to me because thankfully, the bigger and bouncier the better. So I learned to embrace the crazy and as time marches on, I think I have my hair down to a pretty good system, which is how I found Ugly Swan. They have all the tools I need in one place.

Here are the three curly hair hacks that I have taught my daughter…

1. No amount of styling tricks can fix a bad cut. Find a hairdresser who knows how to cut your curly hair and then follow them to the ends of the earth.
   
   
2. Never rub your wet hair dry, you’ll ruffle the hair cuticle. Blot and squeeze your hair instead. Drew Barrymore recommends paper towels to do this but clearly, she doesn’t know about the super absorbent Unicorn hair towel - It’s amazing for curly hair and coarse hair, and it comes in pretty unicorn colours.
   
   
3. You don’t brush curly hair if you want nice curls BUT curly hair tends to be dry so if you don’t brush it, you will never move that scalp oil to the ends where it’s needed. On non-hair washing days, brush your hair all the way to the ends before you get in the shower and then just wet it down, blot, and let it dry naturally or use a diffuser. If you want this to be a scream-free experience, there is really only one option, which is to use the Ugly Swan Maxi brush to work through those curls gently. 

My last pearl of wisdom is that curly hair is so individual…

Some of us have fine hair, and lots of it. Some have coarse hair but when straightened, is thin with no body. Some hair performs better when cut dry, some better cut wet… African curls… Irish red hair curls… Irish brunette curls… large soft ringlets… teeny, tight curls. In the end, understanding your hair is no different to understanding yourself and what makes you tick. You need to own what is uniquely yours and honour what works for you.