Those of you who have known me for a while know that my 'naturally curly hair' (ref. Frieda in Peanuts) has been alternately a joy and a total burden. There are lots of us curly girls around (in fact about 65% of the world's population has either curly or wavy hair), but you'd never know it from the pictures of beautiful, successful, professional people we're always fed. Straight hair is associated with glamour, competence, 'togetherness', dependability etc etc. Curly hair, on the other hand, tends to be used as a marker of wildness, unkemptness, incompetence, immaturity (kids with curly hair are cute, but adults?!) and unreliability. It goes without saying that this constitutes prejudice, but a kind that seems so bland as to be not worth mentioning.
Unless you're a curly girl like me. This really matters, because it matters how you feel about yourself. So, I am now a fully fledged curly advocate. After years of wishing I had straight blond hair that would ruffle attractively in the breeze, I am now, finally, in my thirties, coming to accept and love what I have. This has meant a wholesale change in my approach, and one that I am talking about here because it fits perfectly with my broader interest in sustainability and minimising my impact, where possible.
So, this change has meant that I no longer use shampoo. Yep, you heard me right, I chucked out the countless bottles of harsh, sulfate-riddled chemicals that I kept buying in search of the perfect product. Along with that all the silicone-laced potions that are supposed, magically, to make your hair look healthy and shiny, when in fact they just coat it in a suffocating film that only sulfate-based shampoo can strip away, leading to a loss of natural oils and moisture, meaning more products are needed to make it look healthy...starting to see the vicious cycle? (Oh, and by the way you do know that that shampoo you use is basically the same as your washing up liquid/dish detergent and the manufacturers only add the suds to make you feel like you're getting your hair clean?).
The best description I read was in a book called 'Curly Girl' by Lorraine Massey - she points out that your hair is a delicate fibre, like wool or cashmere, and wouldn't dream of washing your cashmere in detergent, so why on earth would you do it for your hair?
My routine now is incredibly simple, I use a natural, botanical conditioner (plus friction) to 'wash' my hair, and a completely organic flaxseed and aloe vera gel (which I brew up myself on the stove, like a witch!). My hair has never looked or felt better, and I have cut back massively on the amount of packaging, chemicals and general ecological damage that I'm contributing. I feel hugely positive about this, and I have to credit www.naturallycurly.com for showing me the way and the light! Now, all I have to do is find a hairdresser within 100 miles who can actually cut curly hair!
Forgive this slightly indulgent post, but for someone who's been battling bad hair days her whole life, this is big! Hopefully some other curly might happen across this blog and find a new way of thinking about their hair too.
Anyway, enough about hair, it's Easter Sunday and I'm sure the Easter bunny will have hidden some chocolate for me somewhere...
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