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My Curly Date

Eating at a romantic cafe I am always looking at all the other couples. I should be intimately discussing the food, the wine, the atmosphere, our plans, anything. But I can't help myself. What I am really wondering: why is that couple fighting? Does that couple in the booth always where matching shoes? Does that picky couple send back their wine everywhere they go? Tonight its the curly couple that catches my eye.
Both have perfect dark curls; his coiled tightly above his head, hers in cascading ringlets down her back. I imagine all their shared hair products in the bathroom spilling out of the cabinets, filling up counter space, and even the products that never worked relegated to underneath the sink. Do they fix each others curls? Do they have a deep understanding of each others hair? Was it those curls that first attracted them together, some mutual loathing flat irons and frizz? I am trying to focus on my date, my food, my wine... Yes. Yes! YES!!! I decide they do fix each others hair, and they do understand each others curls and it was what attracted them for the first time.
I shake myself free of the detailed thoughts about the curly couple. I too am having a great night, a perfect date. As we are leaving it begins to mist outside. My date leans in, his kiss blurs with the white city lights. He suggests going for a walk. I look at him and say "you are talking to a woman with curly hair and suede boots on." He smiles and steps into the street to get a cab. He doesn't have curly hair but he knew walking was not an option. We may not share hair products or bond over bad hair days, but we do have great dates.

Sassy Noodle Hair

You know how sometimes you feel like you're saying the same thing over and over, and nothing is getting through to your child?
And then one day, something happens that makes you realize they've been listening all along.
I was folding laundry when my curly 7-year-old, Emma, came running into the room full of excitement. She told me to sit down because she had a story she wanted to read me out of her "Highlights" magazine. I couldn't imagine what it could be about. Horses? Cats? Candy?
She began to read "Sassy Noodle Hair. The story is about a little girl named Sass who was going to be in a wedding, and she asks her Aunt Ella to straighten her hair.
"Nobody wants curly hair these days," says Sass.
She idolizes Tina Marie, a little girl in her class with straight blonde hair - a girl who will also be in the wedding. Her aunt tells her she should appreciate her beautiful curls. But she finally gives in and straightens her hair. When the little girl arrives at the wedding, she looks for Tina Marie.
"I could see a girl with the same dress as mine," Sass says. "She was standing with her back toward me, and talking to a group of people. But that girl couldn't be Tina Marie. Because there, spilling out of her tiara, was curl after springing curl. I stood trying to make sense of it all."
Of course, it was Tina Marie.
"She learned to appreciate her curls," Emma told me. "You need to put this story up on your web site so kids will like their hair."

American Girl Goes Curly

Michelle Breyer, curl expert and founder of naturallycurly.com, discusses what really makes her daughter happy.

Sometimes you get the best curly tips in the strangest places. In this case, it was at the new American Girl store in Dallas - a two-story fantasyland for young girls.
In addition to looking for a new doll, my curly 7-year-old wanted to rejuvenate the look of her disheveled curly "Just Like Me" doll. And with an in-store beauty parlor for dolls, there was no better place to do it.
For those who know nothing about American Girl dolls, the vast majority of them have straight hair. So dealing with a curly doll - just like a curly human - requires special skills. The women - some who sported natural texture themselves - weren't intimidated at all. They spritzed her hair and twisted small sections of hair into ringlets. This was no easy task because this doll has a lot of hair.
Forty-five minutes later, Elizabeth looked like a brand-new doll. Her shiny ringlets bounced, and my daughter had a huge smile on her face.

Would you still love me if...

Suzanne Schroeder curly expert for naturallycurly.com muses about second day hair and first night romances.

Bedhead and men. Bedhead and curls. How much do you really want that man to know about you and your curls in the morning? Most curlies would answer as little as possible. Bedhead has a completely different definition when curls are involved. It is a constant damage control mission. I have tried embracing the idea that my hair couldn't look that bad in the morning. That he will smile with cute sleepy amusement at the state of my curls. Shouldn't he be able to embrace all of me even my frizzy smashed unruly curls in the morning? I like my curls and love this fantasy. I have even thought that my curls could have that sexy wild look. At some point reality comes crashing in. His look of sleepy shock is what I am really waking up to. Some men are better at hiding their expression of horror than others. The problem is that the man is usually as unpredictable as my curls. I can't do anything about the reaction to my curly bedhead, but I can try to get the curls back from the night before. Sneaking out of bed before he wakes up. Getting my little bottles of hair products out of my purse. Hopeful that I can get second day hair. I've brought a hat in case my curls are impossible beyond repair. Quietly back in bed I am thinking why all this crazy effort for the curls and the man? Maybe there is a special pillow that I don't know about that will keep the curls safe? How will I fit that in my purse?

To read more visit naturallycurly.com

False Idol: Jordin Sparks drops her curly locks

Jordin, how could you? Part of your charm on "American Idol" was your beautiful head of curls. And you rocked those curls with confidence as you advanced each week. Your voice was amazing, but so was your unique look. You stood out from the pack of Hillarys, Britneys and Mylies, with their stick-straight tresses. You were so confident with their natural beauty.
So what's with the new look? What happened to those shiny coils? I know they're lurking somewhere under that straight mane - a style that makes you look like every other teen queen. Did they make you do this?
On the American Idol web site, they have a slide show of the" Jordin Sparks' Transformation," as if it's a good thing. With each slide, we see your hair get progressively straighter. By the last frame, the curls have disappeared.
We beg you to toss that flat iron. Just say no to the Brazilian Keratin Treatment. Embrace that gorgeous texture that helped you stand apart from the rest.

There was a Little Girl

There was a little girl
Who had a little curl
Right in the middle of her forehead
When she was good
She was very good indeed
And when she was bad she was horrid
-- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Michelle Breyer, Curl expert and co-founder of NaturallyCurly.com, talks about her own biases when dealing with her daughter's curly locks.

My 7-year-old daughter, Emma, woke up the other morning and asks me if she looks any different. I don't know quite how to react to that, so I say no. She then asks if her hair looks messy. Since she was blessed with curls -- although not quite as curly as my own tight ringlets -- her hair does indeed look a little crazy. Then I notice that the front of her hair is a good six inches shorter than the rest of it. Yes, she says, she cut her own hair. A huge chunk.
I grew up with a straight-haired mother who had no idea what to do with her curly daughter's hair. She thought it looked cute an inch long, so I had a pixie until I was in 8th grade and old enough to say no. Even then, it took years to grow it long. So the thought that my daughter had voluntarily cut her beautiful, long, Giselle curls short was hard to fathom. Then she told me she wanted a short haircut. At first, I was horrified. Then, it hit me that it's her hair to do with just as she pleases. Just as I was angry that my mother subjected me to involuntary pixies, my daughter longed to have a short bob like her friends. She wanted to make a decision for herself.
So off we went to the hair salon, and she told the stylist how much we wanted cut off. It was painful to watch the long, golden ringlets fall to the ground. I would have died for long hair like that when I was her age, with my short helmet of curls. But Emma was thrilled with her new look. She bragged to her friends, "My hair is shorter than yours!"