¿Por qué pasarse a lo natural salvará tus cabellos rizados?
«No, Madame, we don’t treat this type of hair here.» If you have curly, frizzy, or kinky hair, you may have already heard this kind of remark at a hair salon.
20% of women in France have BFC hair, but the market offer for this type of hair is poor. Professionals in the industry are not trained to care for curls. Worse, there are no state-recognized diplomas to treat and style BFC hair.
The lack of knowledge about curly hair in France is very real.
And this phenomenon has repercussions on women.
Like Laureen before, the founder of La Belle Boucle, who had the pleasure of answering my questions, many women resort to using a straightener to try to make their curls disappear. Thinking that this is a solution to be well-coiffed and conform to standards.
Unfortunately, this kind of gesture can harm the curls. Suffocated, damaged, or even burnt, the hair can truly be damaged. Your mane looks more like a bundle of straw than a vibrant head of hair.
And what if the natural approach was the best way to save your curly hair? Letting them express themselves and restoring all their power?
That’s what we’re going to try to clarify in this article.
With a conclusion to remember right now: using natural methods and products for your curly hair will bring you much more than just a stylish effect.
Why is curly hair misunderstood?
When talking to Laureen, I quickly understood that the main issue for women with curly hair is not the appearance, but rather the relationship they have with their hair.
Many of them do not know what type of hair they have. And it is precisely because they do not understand their hair that they apply the wrong actions.
The typical example is the profile of a woman who finds that her hair is neither straight, nor wavy, nor curly. And who, out of a desire for conformity, straightens her hair to achieve a more polished result.
The lack of knowledge about the potential of one’s hair is therefore the crux of the problem.
However, BFC hair is not more difficult to treat than any other type of hair. It has long been labeled as «rebellious» hair. In the collective unconscious, curly hair has never been kind to its owner. But it has never been more difficult to style than any other type of hair.
On the other hand, what makes the difference between beautiful curls like Carrie Bradshaw’s and a frizzy mess can be explained in two points.
First, it is the understanding of one’s hair situation. For that, it is important to diagnose your own hair by asking yourself:
- The texture: wavy, curly, kinky?
- The condition of the hair: dry, normal, oily?
- The nature of the hair: fine, normal, thick?
- The hair porosity: low, medium, high? This refers to the hair’s ability to absorb and retain moisture. A low porosity hair will have difficulty absorbing treatments because the cuticles are too closed. Conversely, a high porosity hair has overly open cuticles, so the hair will not be well protected.
Secondly, it’s about the right actions. When you know little or nothing about your hair, it is common to adopt bad habits. You end up styling curls instead of helping them naturally form, using chemical products that are not suitable for your scalp, or straightening your hair, thinking that is the best solution to tame your curls and look well-groomed.
Unfortunately, these seemingly harmless actions are the same ones that will harm your hair in the long run, preventing it from being in good health.
Save your curly hair: what if the natural approach was the remedy?
Why would the natural approach be more beneficial than a traditional approach to enhance your curls? Why couldn’t you just shampoo and dry your hair to make your curls as beautiful as they are shiny?
The «classic» hair care products that are easily found in supermarkets have something that hair (curly or not) does not like: chemical ingredients.
Among the most controversial ones, there is sulfate. You will find it in most shampoos in supermarkets. It is very effective at cleaning the scalp because it «strips» well, but it is particularly aggressive. In the long term, it creates an imbalance, as Laureen asserts, resulting in an excess of sebum production. The hair becomes more easily oily, which prompts us to clean it more often. It’s a vicious circle.
Silicone is also responsible for hair damage. In the short term, it allows for easy detangling and softening of the lengths and ends. But in the long term, it weighs down the hair, preventing it from breathing.
Shampoos and hair care products offer the advantage of providing immediate results. But their composition chemically alters the hair, resulting in hair damage in the long term.
To have beautiful curly hair, the traditional approach is not the solution. It is the cause.
In contrast, the natural approach respects the hair. In the long run, this is what will allow your hair fiber to be in good health. And hair full of vitality is hair that appears strong, well-hydrated, and shiny.
The natural approach is also closely linked to the idea of accumulative effect: small intelligent choices that, when applied frequently, will result in massive changes.
This is one of the keys to having beautiful, vibrant curls.
A moisturizing mask every Sunday evening may not have a spectacular effect after a month. But after 2 years? Applying a targeted natural shampoo will give you a feeling of cleanliness in the moment, but after 6 months, it will have contributed to the growth of your hair.
This is the accumulative effect, the repetition of small actions (consistent with your goal) that, over time, produce unsuspected effects.
What you decide to implement through your actions today (however small they may be, but targeted) will impact your future. Taking care of your curls by repeating regular gestures to wash, care for, and maintain them will pay off in the long run.
The recipe is not miraculous, it lies in the details of everyday life.
And who knows where that will lead you? You may become passionate about curly hair like Laureen. «The more we take care of our hair, the more we notice that it works, and it invites us to continue. It becomes a passion.»
Caring for your curls naturally: tips and beauty routine
Now comes the question of how.
How do you go about achieving a result that enhances and showcases your curls?
It is first a question of establishing a routine, as Laureen explains to me. If you are going through a natural hair transition to give power back to your curls, it will be very useful. And it consists of 3 steps:
- Step 1: Washing. The goal here is to take care of the scalp. And it is essential because an unhealthy scalp means unhealthy curls. Therefore, you choose your shampoo based on your scalp, not based on your curl type.
- Step 2: Conditioning. Conditioning is always done on the lengths and ends. You can use either a mask (more nourishing) or a conditioner for this. Its mission is to hydrate, nourish, and treat the hair.
- Step 3: Styling. This is the least known step, but perhaps the most important for having beautiful curls. It consists of defining the curl and restoring its natural shape (without frizz). To do this, you use leave-in products like cream or jelly that you apply to the lengths of your hair.
The benefits of this type of routine will depend on the hair base you start with. If you have been accustomed to chemical treatments or straightening, it may take a few weeks. However, if your hair is relatively healthy, you will see the benefits immediately.
In addition to this, you can add some natural tips to apply.
Massaging your scalp with natural oils before shampooing will boost the roots and promote faster hair growth.
Using ingredients from your kitchen will serve as the basis for creating many hair recipes. Laureen also explains to me that the kitchen is a goldmine for naturally taking care of your hair. «There are many ingredients in the kitchen that can be used to create small recipes. When I started, it was something I did every Sunday.»
For example, honey softens and adds shine to the hair. By mixing it with a little water, you can use it as a mask. As for oatmeal flakes, boil them with water until you get a creamy texture. This treatment will serve as a leave-in conditioner to moisturize your curly hair.
The powers of natural ingredients are therefore unsuspected.
And in a hair transition to have beautiful curly hair, they will clearly be your allies, both in substance and in form. Because if the natural approach is applied with products and actions, it is still based on understanding. It is experienced and lived.
From self-complex to self-acceptance: is there only one step?
The complex of curly hair: an epiphenomenon or a fundamental issue?
Where we might think that the complex is limited to how we perceive our weight or our chest, Laureen proves us wrong, even asserting that hair has a certain impact on self-acceptance.
«It’s not just about hair. It allows you to regain self-confidence, to accept yourself naturally. It’s the starting point for naturally taking care of oneself. It starts with hair, then goes on to skin, body, health, etc.»
The question of curly hair leads us to understand two important things:
The first is that taking care of your curls is like a first step towards what we call natural beauty. Many women start by taking care of their hair before continuing to take care of their skin, body, and even their home with natural cleaning products that they make themselves. The approach becomes widespread and becomes, for some, a real way of life. By becoming aware of the beauty of their true nature, they finally accept themselves as they are and apply this process to other areas of their lives.
💡To take care of your face naturally, discover Face Yoga, a little-known discipline with many benefits.
The second is that caring for your curly hair goes much further than just an exercise in style. It is a fundamental issue that deeply affects women. For some, it is even a sensitive issue that touches on years of insecurities and strategies to try to hide what mockery or society conveyed. Laureen tells me that «people at the salon cry because they feel self-conscious, but they also cry with joy because they are happy to discover themselves naturally.» For many, allowing their natural hair to express itself is a way to rediscover themselves fully. To leave the past behind and finally allow themselves to accept their true nature.
And that makes a big difference in how they perceive themselves and their level of self-confidence.
Going natural is not only beneficial for the health of curly hair, it is also a way to give power back to curly hair. It is an authentic way to understand oneself and to allow oneself to accept oneself as one is.
Save your curly hair: final thoughts
Healthy hair, shiny, silky, and beautifully defined curls, self-confidence, well-being ritual… The benefits of the natural approach to having beautiful curly hair go well beyond a simple aesthetic effort.
To save your curly hair, going natural is definitely a good idea. And to top it all off 🍒, it will bring you much more than you can hope for.
➡️ You can follow La Belle Boucle on their Instagram account.
Featured image: © Pexels/Tim Mossholder
