Here Baby, There Mama, Every Where Daddy, Daddy

This may surprise you, but when I was little, I had straight hair.  It was just as thick, but it was indeed straight.  As I got older, it got curlier, well most of it did anyway.  The front is really wavy, the underneath is really curly and the very back is pretty much straight.  It gets super fizzy and bushy. If I don't get it cut regularly, it grows into a triangle and I look like 1970's SNL character, Rosanna Roseannadanna.  In fact, my mom would call me Joanna Joannadanna from time to time.

My hair got me teased a lot.  In fact, I cannot remember a time in school when I was not made fun of because of my hair.  I once off the bus with a half eaten Blow Pop stuck in it.  And people always seemed to have hair advice ready for me.  What bothered me the most was not that it was unsolicited advice, but all this advice came from people with straight hair!

I took a poetry writing class in college.  We had an assignment to write a poem that used a lot of emotion.  I wrote about my hair:

Why do those with straight hair always think
they know what is right for those with curly hair?

"Wear it long!"
"Wash it less!"

"Cut it short!"
"Condition it more!"

I want to say,
"Shut up!"
"You don't know what it's like!"

But, my mother's words echo,
"There is never an excuse to be rude."

So, I smile and say,
"Thanks, I'll try that."

It was about this time that products for curly hair started to appear on the market.  I became a mad scientist trying different products to make my curls work.  I realize that I could have straightened every day, I know quite a few girls who did that.  But, waking up super early to spend an hour on my hair isn't my style. 

After trying several products one at a time, I decided to start mixing them.  I didn't see anything on the packaging saying I couldn't mix them so I once again became a mad scientist.  I finally found my "hair cocktail."

I use shampoo and conditioner for curly hair and a leave-in conditioner.  Next, comes a anti-frizz curl cream, then a scrunching gel for curly hair, then mousse.  Before I finish with hair spray, I use a fiber putty to set the curl.

It's a lot of steps, but it works for me and my curls.  I have bad hair days now and then, but thankfully, being a grown up, I don't get teased anymore!