Lindsey Curl Whisperer

 In today’s social media age we are bombarded with information on all aspects of our life. Invariably factual, well researched information is mixed with views and personal opinions – some well informed and some not !!     I see a lot of clients attend their appointment with hair in various conditions, after strictly following online advice. I wanted to write this piece, highlighting the issues of blindly following social media advice, trusting your beautiful curls to unknown and uninformed ‘advisors’. 

I get increasingly frustrated with the amount of information on social media, telling you only to co wash, or only use this product, or only use that technique etc. Many times this uninformed advice has been followed by my clients, resulting in them turning up for an appointment with curls in ‘challenging’ condition.

 I think that in the quest for great looking curly hair, many of us can overthink what we need to do. Natural curls are beautiful in their own right – products and techniques are there only to enhance and emphasize their beauty, not to completely change them. The only thing that matters is what you see when you look at yourself in the mirror. It isn’t too difficult and don’t be tempted to overthink things. We have soooo much to worry about in our everyday lives – complicating life further by building a complicated product regime is too much and just not necessary.

Don’t get me wrong finding any information to start with is really helpful and we have come such a long way from times when us curlies had to make do with the myths that were available to us. What I do advise my clients to do is to take all the available advice with a pinch of salt (who said all salt is bad!) and use their own judgement or feel as to what is right for them. Don’t just follow advice just because a certain site states it is the only thing to do or the latest amazing discovery – your hair is unique and what works for one person may not work for another. 

In my opinion the porosity of your hair is the hairdressers issue to advise you on, unless of course you want to delve that deeply into your curl condition !  I just believe we need to simplify everything as much as possible for this very stressful world we live in. You shouldn’t need a hundred products just to enhance an already beautiful thing. Apart from the amazing blessing of being born with naturally curly hair (just thank your mum and dad for your DNA!!), the secret to beautiful curls is simply water and a few dedicated curl products. The wetter the hair in my opinion the more defined the curls will look. It’s also about touching and handling your hair in the correct way . I’m certainly not saying that I have all the answers or that my clients should ignore other advice and listen to me. But, over the past few years, I have discovered what really works and that simplicity is usually the answer, not weird and wonderful care regimes and the fads that keep popping up.  

 Just remember, all curls are beautiful and there is nothing wrong with ‘fluffy curls’, they are at their most happiest and healthiest being free from products. Just keep it simple, use a few good quality products and learn to handle your curls correctly. I can advise you on these things during your appointment, but the main thing is to trust your own judgement. You need to love everything about your curls, even on the bad curl days.