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Guest Submission by Jessica Edited and expanded on by Kaycee B
Let me take you back a few years - It was the
middle of 2018 and I had had enough with dealing with my frizzy, fluffy hair. Using a lot of heat; curling and straightening, as well as bleaching my hair had caused major damage and I was over the frizz. It needed to be fixed! So off to Google I went looking for frizzy hair products.
"How to fix frizzy hair" I asked the all knowing google.
And Google came up with the goods! PERMANENT STRAIGHTENING! It seemed the only way forward but sheesh! It was super pricey for long hair, so I made the decision to cut half of it off.
Thankfully I stumbled across something amazing before I booked my appointment.
A Reddit page dedicated to the Curly Girl Method. My curiosity was piqued - yet I was quite hesitant. It seemed as though the majority of the options for curly hair products weren't available in Australia yet. So began my next search - off into the world of Facebook I went. I started searching away -
"Curly Girl Method Australia"
"Curly Hair Australia"
"Curly Hair Products Australia"
Thankfully, unlike my first search on Google, Facebook came through. I found Australian-based groups that were created specifically to guide people, just like me, in learning about the Curly Girl Method products and routines. WIN!
It was time to begin my wavy hair product journey.
At first, I was trying many of the more budget friendly products but I felt like something was lacking, so I soon delved into the professional, higher quality curly hair care brands like Everescents Organics and then their sister brand, Clever Curl, when it was created. Since then, I still enjoy trialling lots of different products, but these are the ones I always go back to. I'm a proud EverEscents Curly Girl.
About my hair and what I know now -
My hair is wavy, on the finer side, but I do have a fair bit of it. I feel like it's on the high porosity side, meaning the outer layer is open. This means my hair both absorbs and loses water quite easily.
Through my years of learning all about my wavy hair, I found that using dedicated cleansers, instead of co- washing*, was much better for my waves. Occasionally I'll use a sulphate-free shampoo that aligns with the original Curly Girl Method recommendations. This helps to prevent my finer hair from becoming weighed down and quickly illeviates any product build up, keeping my scalp fresh and my waves bouncy.
When styling, I find using a denman brush helps me distribute my products more evenly. It also helps with curl definition, which I didn't have a lot of when I first started out! To help keep the definition and reduce frizz, I layer my gels. This helps create a stronger, longer lasting hold .
After washing and styling, I will usually diffuse-dry my hair. I find this really helps to enhance my waves and means my cast* forms quicker AND I get less frizz!
Along with my usual wash day routine, I do regular hair treatments using products such as Curlsmith Bond-Curl Rehab Salve and Olaplex 3. Using bond repairers on my hair helps to counteract any damage from the blonde highlights I get every 6-8 months.
Olaplex helps to bring together broken, lonely sulphur bonds, creating Disulphide bonds. Disulphide bonds are one of the strongest naturally-occuring bonds and are responsible for keeping your hair strands in the shape they grew in (wavy, curly, kinky, coily). These bonds break through chemical treatments (colouring, perming, chemical straightening etc) and general wear and tear.
Disulphide and Hydrogen Bonds
‘Disulphide bonds are one of the strongest naturally-occurring bonds in nature. The protein structures of the hair shaft are held together by chemical bonds called disulphide and hydrogen bonds. While the curliness (or straightness) of your hair depends on the shape of the follicle, it’s the disulphide bonds that keep the hair in the shape it was formed, and they can only be altered by perming or relaxing. Disulphide bonds also give your hair its elasticity and strength. Hydrogen bonds, on the other hand, are easily broken by the application of water and can be temporarily reset with heat until they become wet again (either from washing or humidity). If you would like to find out more information, our clinics based in London and New York specialise in hair and scalp treatments.’
Since finding my way on this wavy hair journey, I have wanted to help others embrace their hair.
I'm lucky enough I now get to do this by co-moderatng one of the largest Curly Girl Method Australia groups on Facebook,
offering tips and advice to those new to looking after their curls.
Most importantly though, I wanted to be a good role model for my wavy haired and curly haired children.
Some of my favourite wavy hair products available in Australia include:
-Clever Curl dry weather clever gel
-Ecoslay Orange marmalade gel
-Treluxe gel
-Jessicurl Spiralicious gel
-Giovanni LA Hold gel (budget friendly)
-Kinky curly curling custard
-Everescents Oraganics shampoo and conditioner - Australia owned and made
-Everescents Berry blonde shampoo
-Everescents Cinnamon and patchouli conditioner and shampoo
-Everescents Mint shampoo and conditioner
-Clever curl rich conditioner
-Clever Curl Cleanser
-Clever Curl Australia treatment
-EverEscents Berry Blonde treatment
-maple and wattle hair custard
-Curlsmith Bond Curl Rehab Salve
-Olaplex 0 and 3
Curlsmith Feather Light Protein
- Thank you Jess, for sharing your wavy/curly journey with our This Little Curl visitors. Thank goodness for that Reddit post right?! If you have any questions about Jess's wavy hair, let us know in the comments.
-Kaycee
Glossary
*Co-washing - washing curly hair and your scalp with a conditioner that contains botanical ingredients and “chloride”
*Layering gels - using 2 or more gels, one after the other, to get different benefits from each gel and provide optimal results.
*Cast - a firm, crunchy feeling, created by medium-firm hold gels and styling foams etc. This curly gel cast is similar to setting a broken bone. As the hair dries and the cast forms, it keeps the curl clumps protected and helps them set in position. This means more defined curly hair, less frizz and longer lasting curl styles.