I have my hair straight or wavy my entire life. I was introduced to hair rebonding when I was 18, as my aunt brought me to a salon to have my hair fixed days before my college graduation. From then on, whenever I want a “makeover”, my go-to salon treatment will be hair rebonding.
My out-of-the-blue decision to have curly hair was a bit, I may say, careless. I did not prepare for it or at least read up about the difference between managing natural/chemically treated curls and a salon-treated straight hair. If not for what I thought was a botched curl treatment, I would not have bothered researching the proper ways to care for curly locks and choosing the right curl-friendly products.
So, if you are thinking of or have thought about having your hair curled for a change, better consider and ask yourself the questions below.
Would I look good with curly hair?
Always remember, not everything that looks good would suit you. I was kind of afraid to try something new for my hair (heck, I can’t even choose a great hair dye that complements my skin tone) thus I always end up with hair straightening or just my usual wavy messy hair in a bun. Try on curly wigs or mobile apps that allow photo editing just to give you an idea of how you might look in certain hairstyles.
Would I have the time to care for my curls?
I realized how difficult it is to maintain and care for curly hair. Watching vlogs from ladies who have naturally curly hair, or reading about cold and hot perm made me think that I should not have done this to myself (joking!). It takes time to wash, treat, detangle, style and dry curly hair. The process is not as easy as washing straight hair with water, shampoo and your favorite conditioner, brushing it, part it in between and dry using a fan, blow dry or air dry.
Am I ready to spend on curly-hair-friendly products?
Aside from a time-consuming process of washing, drying and styling curly hair, having curly locks demands certain products in order to highlight the quality of curls, avoid frizzy hair strands and maintain the great volume of curls throughout the day. One must invest in curly-hair-friendly products, and use it properly and religiously to one’s hair in order to achieve great curls every day. Curly hair demands shampoos and conditioners that do not contain sulfate and silicone (I learned to check the ingredients of a hair product because of this), needs curling lotion or hair mousse to help shape the curls, a diffuser to help in drying wet hair (I can’t afford it, I just go for air-drying), and serum to make it shiny and less frizzy (and many other products that I have yet to discover).
These, I think, are the major questions one should think about before getting their hair curled. I should have asked myself such questions before I went into the salon and asked to have my hair treated, but all is well now. I learned my lesson and have now invested in the proper products and methods to care for my [chemically treated] beloved curls. 🙂
