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Advice from a curly girl

MeganWegan has the best hair ever – curly and bobbed with lots of shine and moxy. But it’s been a rough road for her. Here’s the story of her hair and advice for curly girls everywhere…

megan

When I was about ten, a girl asked me if my hair was a wig. Looking back, I can see why she did that, my hair was this horrible, curly, coarse, mousey mullet. And that stuck with me. I hated my curls. I pined for the hair I had as a child, wavey, glossy, blond locks. I was cute!

So, from the age of 13, when I grew out the mullet (and no, there exists no photos of that period of my life) til the age of 30, I had the same hair. It was varying lengths, and a multitude of colours, but it was almost always the same shape, and always always could be tied into a ponytail. I rarely wore my hair out, because it was too annoying, and too frizzy.

And then. Then I found Erin. I had been to Erin, at Glory a few times already, so I knew I trusted her. I knew I liked her. Not only did she like my curls, she knew how to cut them. And then one day I was sick of my hair. Horribly sick of it. And she said the magic words: “How do you feel about a shaggy bob?” And I felt excellent about that.

Until, that is, I saw exactly how much length she was taking off. More than half my hair. I’d no longer have the security of a bad hair day ponytail. I’d have to do it every morning, instead of just chucking it up. I had a fringe.

But here’s the thing. It’s so easy. It takes maybe five minutes longer than putting it up. Because it is cut for my curls, not in spite of them. It’s not a picture I saw in a magazine, that I wanted, that is impossible. I grew it longer for my friend’s wedding recently, and hated it. And it made me lazy, because I just could put it up again.

I spent 20 years buying expensive product. I don’t have to any more. I love Paul Mitchell Round Trip, but when I run out, I use a supermarket mousse, and it is fine.

So, ladies, the key is a good hairdresser. One who you trust, who understands your hair, and who will make you take risks. This is good advice for anyone, but especially for those of us with curly hair, because lots of hairdressers don’t get it. It took 30 years, it could have gone horribly wrong, but I finally love my curls.

In the news: The curly hair gene

BackBlondeCurlyHairSmallApparently only 15% of Europeans have curly hair like me. Yet the chances of inheriting curly hair is 90%. I don’t quite get how that works.

But anyway, finally scientists have found the gene responsible for curls. Which means they can more accurately profile crims from DNA samples, AND create new treatments for straightening curly hair that don’t involve heat.

The article seems to assume nobody wants curly hair. That’s pretty mean. But I’m not really one to comment, as someone who has fought my curls all my life.

Read the article here (from the telegraph.co.uk).

PS I did a little google-ing and one of the scientists involved is a Kiwi girl. Still can’t make sense of the percentages though.