#my hair isn’t that curly but this is closest to the actual haircut i have

[lichtecht]

i was tagged by @michameinmicha in this picrew chain :)

(the picrew)

tagging @rosetintedgreyspaces @capitaen @cnka @is-this-taken-too-questionmark @sillygooseness and anyone else who wants to <3

[multibear]

cute nickname asks: **all of them**

angel - what’s one character trait you like about yourself?

uhhhh like physically or personality? bc there’s not anything i can think of lol.

doll - what’s your favourite outfit?

at the moment, i rlly like dark or red clothes. sometimes light colored clothes if i’m wearing something black with it and i can match another thing of the same color. i really like baggy/loungy clothing but rn when i’m feeling Particularly femme i like wearing my black skinny jeans with a pink turtleneck and black wedges, a kinda dark plum thin turtleneck sweater and black wedges, or a red turtleneck with red converse or black wedges. (can u tell i like turtlenecks). otherwise i like wearing oversized shirts i stole from my brother, the windbreaker i stole from my brother, jeans or joggers (that are my own), and converse (i like my boots but it’s too warm for them now). i also like wearing jewelry. i think i look better in gold than silver but i have a lot of silver jewelry i rlly like as well. the two things that i always wear are the gold mini hoop earrings i got when i was a babby and the silver heart ring u gave me freshman year.

pumpkin - what’s your favourite weather and why?

i like when it’s nice out bc i like going out on my deck and laying in the sun. i also like when it’s nice but not too nice bc that means there won’t be kids at the playground i like going to and i can go on the swings

baby - what makes you feel better when you’re down?

idk i don’t rlly do anything to make me feel better… i’d like to say listening to music, but all my playlists correspond to my mood, so if i’m sad i listen to one of my many sad playlists bc listening to happy music will just make me feel existential. i do have one “listen to this 2 make u happy” playlist but that’s rlly a small pick-me-up for something very minor.

sugarpie - what’s your favourite sweet treat?

i don’t have a favorite bc i don’t actually like sweets all that much. i do like those chocolate cookies with white chocolate chips. when it snows i like making that canadian maple syrup snow candy. i think the closest thing to a favorite “sweet treat” would be chocolate chip pain au lait.

kitten - are you a dog person or a cat person?

cat but i like dogs too

princess - if you could live in any other time period, which would it be?

relive the 2000s but as a teenager

peach - what’s your ideal aesthetic?

oversized black clothing (with tucking in ofc bc i always tuck everything in), chunky boots… comfy goth basically

darling -  what romantic gesture makes you feel the most loved?

this isn’t rlly a romantic gesture but i feel rlly loved when i have long and not necessarily deep conversations that just go on and on. i also feel particularly loved when i’m just remembered??? idk. once freshman year i took the bus home on a wednesday and a guy i was friends with (not into or anything) was like “????? why r u here u said u have speech and debate on wednesdays” and it was something i had mentioned weeks before and i was just so surprised and touched that he remembered something miniscule like that. wow none of these are romantic gestures. i think it’s that the things that make me feel loved aren’t rlly romantic gestures.

button - do you have a type? what is it like?

i recently realized that i miiiiiight have a thing for ppl that aren’t necessarily younger than me just younger/youngest in comparison to the people they’re around. i also thought that i can’t possible have a thing for tall people because that’s just evryone, but i notice that,,,, idk,,, i find it more with people who r like tall tall and not just taller than me or average height.

sweet pea - what’s your favourite flower?

i like hibiscus flowers bc they’re a perfect biological model for parts of a flower.

petal - what’s your favourite smell or perfume?

i currently use a perfume that according to the internet “has a variety of spicy and savory notes, almond, vanilla with raspberry,” however i rlly like jasmine and i kinda wanna try ylang ylang. but i think i rlly like savory scents like spices and candles more.

sunshine - what’s the nicest compliment you’ve ever gotten?

ghfhdgfdgj i LOVE when ppl compliment my hair when it’s curly i love it so much and when they compliment my haircut i’m like “!!!!!!!!! thanks i did it myself!!!!!!!!!” nd they’re like “!!!!!!wow!!!!”

baby girl - how do you like to be held?

okay first of all the nickname for this one rlly came for me like that hhf. nd uhhh i rlly like being held tightly around my waist and hips. whether it’s spooning nd there’s an arm around my waist, or sitting together and a hand around my waist and holding my hip…… i lIKE FEELING BIG HANDS ON MY WAIST OKAY hfjgd. nd i like when i’m “lower” like i’m laying against someone’s chest…. i just like feeling small nd tiny uwu….

lover - how do you show someone you like them?

i’m a shy bitch honestly the most i do is reciprocate when u show me u like me bc i hate making the first move.

buttercup - what does/would your online dating bio say?

“call me cold bitch cuz a bitch cold” idk something that makes people go “what the fuck” and message me because “what the fuck”

boo - what’s your dream date?

idk whatever u want

cupcake - if you’re treating yourself, what do you do?

i don’t like treating myself bc i always feel guilty abt it but the one thing that never directly makes me feel guilty is facemasks

wild thing - what’s something about you that surprises people?

i say Fuck. people think i’m too small and cute for that.

bubba - tell me a funny story from your childhood.

i gave my fourth grade teacher SUCH a hard time. not bc i was a bad kid or anything, i was just…. unique… and put him in a lot of tough situations. once, a kid in my class was pointing to a dictionary in our reading corner and telling me and another kid “owo this has a bad word in it” and we were like “?????? no?? it doesn’t?” and he kept insisting it does and we kept insisting it doesn’t and he underlined with his finger and said “look: d-i-c” and we were like “dic??? dick?? dick isn’t a bad word??” and he was like “HJGFJSDFJ omg stop saying it” and we kept insisting it’s not. so i called my teacher over bc he’s an adult and he knows everything and tells him “____ is saying dictionary has a bad word in it. he says that dick is a bad word,” and i still remember the pained look in his eye when he realized he had two options: reprimand the kid in front of us and also tell us Not to say that, indirectly teaching us a bad word, or lie to us and reprimand the kid in private, also indirectly teaching us a bad word. so, he lied. at the time, i mistook the utter agony in his tone as he said “dick is not a bad word” as disappointment for the kid telling us false information, and not because i gave him one of the hardest decisions of his teaching career and he had to tell two nine year olds “dick is not a bad word.” i remember how smug and prideful i felt that i was right, that dick is not a bad word, that ____ was getting punished for lying to other students about bad words.

honey - what’s your favourite hot drink?

chai

love bug - what song would you love to have sung to you?

i either want to be held close as serendipity is sung to me or someone to spit fire at me with p.a.c.e or better yet double not bc i think i need someone to tell say “yeezy” and “like mate, stop procrastinating” within twenty seconds to me

cutie - what’s your favourite fairytale?

wow um,,,, i was never really a fairy tale kid?? my mom just kinda handed me harry potter and went “figure out the big words urself.” the closest thing to fairytale that i like is how i go BUCKWILD whenever i encounter biblical allusions, especially to genesis. like if there’s imagery of apples AND snakes??? FUCK yea that’s tasty

dumpling - what’s your favourite movie right now?

i’ve never been able to choose a favorite. my top have always been 3 idiots, lion, english vinglish, the martian, and bird box

my love - what would your dream home be like?

idk,,,,, whatever u want as long as there’s plenty of natural light and plants. oh and i also want 2 grow local plants to reduce habitat fragmentation and in the space that isn’t used for that a functional kitchen garden.

dear - pick whatever question you’d most like to answer!

well i already answered ALL of them soo (i hate u)

[elizas-writing]

Last week just wasn’t my week for anything. Work suddenly piled up with deadlines fast approaching, traffic going home was always crap, the sun now sets at 5 fucking 30, and I can’t feel my own lungs because California is on fire again. To make matters even better, my hair fucking dried up too fast, and I overmoisturized in attempting to save it. I left it in a braid for about 3 days cause I just had it, officially.

Is some planet in retrograde which is throwing everything wack or is adulthood finally sinking in? Maybe a bit of both…

But nothing is better to end the week than pay day when you don’t feel too guilty about splurging a little money on materialistic stuff. And what seemed right to throw my hard-earned money at? Lush.

Ever since I began my curly hair journey, I was always curious about Lush’s hair products. I absolutely adore their bath bombs, bubble bars, and shower gels, and their facial cleansers and masks saved my darling skin on many occasions. But I was always hesitant to throw down so much money for their hair products.

I didn’t see a large variety of YouTube reviews from other curly haired folks, much less any which address that most of Lush’s hair products contain sulfates. Sulfates are usually a big no-no for curls as they’re too powerful to already naturally dry hair and scalps. However, they aren’t necessarily the worst thing for your hair. A little bit is okay once in a while if you have a super oily scalp or struggle with product build up. If you still use sulfates, you have to also balance it out with other more-natural products if you want to avoid stripping too much sebum (also if you dye your hair, sulfates are making your color fade faster). While your standard shampoo has liquid sulfates, Lush’s sulfates are powder-based which is less harsh. And because they pack in so many other fresh, natural ingredients into their products, it balances out the otherwise powerful chemicals.

It kinda sucks that even a great company like Lush isn’t exempt from the “check the ingredients” rule, but if you’re ever second guessing on anything, just ask the employees. I made multiple trips for bath bomb restocking and took some extra time to study the hair care and hopefully attract someone’s attention to talk more about the products. I talked to four different employees at the same store, and they all pretty much said the same thing regarding the ingredients (most of the last paragraph is verbatim), and I had no reason to not trust them. I never met a dishonest Lush employee in my life, and they definitely know their shit to make sure you get enough bang for your buck.

So today, along with my hair mask of the week, I’m showing an altered hair routine with some Lush hair products. I won’t do a fully altered routine because that would be far too expensive, and I still feel iffy about a few things, but we’ll get to that when we do.

Don’t let the smell fool you. It is DEFINITELY not toothpaste.

First up, is the Yuge Hot Oil Treatment. This is a pre-shower treatment using heated oils to stimulate blood flow to the scalp which also stimulates hair growth while delivering some much needed moisture. It contains agave syrup, sea salt, jojoba oil, olive oil, spearmint oil, peppermint powder, aaaaaand sodium lauryl sulfate. Yeah, it’s kinda weird that this would have sulfates since it works more like a conditioner, but that’s just how Lush hair products work for some reason.

Despite that, there were no suds whatsoever, and it was super refreshing on my scalp and hair. And it was absolutely fantastic at detangling and moisturizing the dry ends. However, I overestimated how much water I needed to melt the treatment, so the consistency was more water-y than creamy. Also I used hot water right out of a kettle, so it took like 30 minutes to cool down. It still worked wonderfully, but I definitely needed to pay better attention to the instructions.

After leaving in Yuge for 20 minutes, I rinsed it out and shampooed with the Jason and the Argan Oil shampoo bar. As the name suggests, all the ingredients of your typical shampoo are concentrated into a bar without any wasteful packaging, and it lasts anywhere from 60 to 80 washes. It contains argan oil, rose absolute, geranium oil, rose oil, lemon oil, and, you guess it, sodium lauryl sulfate.

Unlike Yuge, the sulfates are far more noticeable in the shampoo bars, and once I rinsed it out, my hair was definitely super squeaky. Thankfully, my hair wasn’t too dried out after air-drying, so again, it’s all a matter of balance and knowing how your hair reacts to certain products. And the smell is absolutely amaze-balls. Rose is one of Lush’s best scents in anything— I happily threw down for the biggest bottle of Rose Jam shower gel once it became a year-round thing—, so I just couldn’t pass up on this shampoo bar. I also have a sample of Godiva which is also supposed to be good for curly hair, so it’ll be fun to compare the results.

Since the hot oil treatment did a hell of a job in detangling, and I was worried about accidentally over-moisturizing again, I skipped my regular conditioner and went straight for the deep condition with a non-Lush product: Love Beauty and Planet’s Blooming Strength and Shine 2 Minute Magic Masque. Given that Lush is all about reducing waste and using the freshest and most natural ingredients, it felt appropriate to use a hair mask from another company with similar values (also I was already breaking the bank with my Lush run and couldn’t bring myself to buy their masks).

Doesn’t it look so damn CUTE?

Love Beauty and Planet is all about making consumers look good while doing good for the environment. All their bottles are 100% recyclable, and they’re committed to reducing their carbon footprint by using sustainable ingredients. They still have a way to go, particularly since their shampoos still contain sulfates, but it’s super cool to see a company commit to sustainability while delivering reasonably priced products in the cutest packaging.

In any case, this is the brand’s only mask which contains rose extract, coconut oil, murumuru butter and sunflower seed oil. I was worried with the small packaging that it wouldn’t be enough to coat my hair, but it was suprisingly just the perfect amount for a mask. I didn’t have too many tangles left after Yuge, so the mask just melted right through. The smell is a little perfume-y at first, but after a while, the rose scent is quite pleasant. And it has the rich, buttery consistency I love in a mask.

I accidentally left it in for almost an hour (cause that just happens when 3 people share one bathroom). There really is no reason to leave a mask in for more than 30 minutes since after a while, the product just sits on your head doing nothing. Thankfully, it didn’t weigh down my hair, and the mask was easy to rinse out once I finally stepped back into the shower.

So good, I threw down $50 for the larger size

For my leave-in conditioner, I used Lush’s R&B Hair Moisturizer. It contains oat milk, avocado butter, olive oil, jojoba oil, coconut oil, orange flower absolute, jasmine absolute, and cupuacu butter. I actually used this before as this is my sister’s favorite hair moisturizer, but it’s been a while since she got any since her haircut a couple years ago. Even though it’s expensive as hell, I don’t mind using it daily as it’s one of the few leave-ins I tried which doesn’t weigh down my hair.

Like most Lush products, a little goes a very long way, and R&B is incredibly thick. I only need maybe a quarter-sized amount on my fingertips to refresh my hair for the day. Jasmine is another one of Lush’s great scents I just can’t get enough of, and it’s wonderful to catch the scent when I turn my head. If you have the spare money to treat yourself on any moisturizer, let it be this one, regardless if you have curls. Your hair will thank you.

I forgot to take a before picture, but I guarantee I looked like a greaseball who needed fucking Moses himself to deliver my hair to salvation. But you can still see the after of my altered routine with a mix of Lush products!

I noticed most of Lush’s hair care are heavily focused in moisture, so it made my hair really soft. Thankfully, some Curls Blueberry Bliss gel was enough to hold the new curls in place. There’s definitely more frizz than usual since I skipped my regular conditioner, and it increased over the next couple days. But the R&B moisturizer is perfect on a daily use to refresh and bring my curls back to life without too much buildup.

Aside from R&B, I won’t use Lush products every wash day since it’s more sulfates than I’m used to, and it’s super expensive. Thankfully, these do last a while, so I don’t mind using them whenever my hair feels super oily. And despite the sulfates, they don’t make my hair feel as dried out as I expected. If you’re ever curious on Lush hair care and have the money to spare, I totally recommend hitting up the closest store and chatting with the employees to get an idea of what will work best for you. Just remember that a little goes a long way and pay extra attention to the instruction videos on their YouTube channel to achieve the best results, and it’ll definitely be worth the money.

Lush Hair Care Review: Worth the Hype? Last week just wasn't my week for anything. Work suddenly piled up with deadlines fast approaching, traffic going home was always crap, the sun now sets at 5 fucking 30, and I can't feel my own lungs because California is on fire again.

[tossertozier]

okay here is just my meta about what the losers look like as late teenagers specifically within the &tfat universe here we goes 

my height headcanons really don’t change throughout the universes. to an extent, neither do the faces really. only really richie changes drastically depending on the fic. so here are my headcanon loser HEIGHTS:

eddie : 5′ 6″ beverly : 5′ 7″ mike: 5′ 9″* stan: 5′ 9″ ben: 5′ 10″ & 1/2 bill: Actually 6′ but slouches like Nobody’s Business richard: 6′ 2″

*it’s mentioned in the book that mike is like 5′ 7″...jarringly short for what, i believe it’s in bill’s pov, was expecting. he’s thin and super tired and he says “i know how i look” i still think he’s a relatively short man as an adult, but i’m gonna take a leap and say that i think the prolonged stress hindered his growth in the canon timeline. 

okay so SunshineBoyTM Mike Hanlon i normally picture actual SunshineBoyTM John Boyega. he is too old by a few years- six or so, so i keep that in mind but...so Cute (This is really just about my crush on john) and i Love Them. i imagine mike to have the most physical muscle mass, as he is the only one of the group who does physical labor. followed by bill, because he sort of does some too. fun fact, john is also 5′ 9″

eddie i Know i’ve mentioned on this blog before but noah galvin. he smol and neat...and i love him. there are some differences. I imagine eddie as pretty damn thin, especially facially as an adult (which is a WorryTM for some of his friends) and eddie i imagine literally having the nose of a pixie...but the big eyes and haircut and happy smile is very eddie to me

for stan, i picture devin druid. this is the closest one to my exact mental image. in fact, it might just be my exact mental image. he’s the exact correct age, 19, and he literally looks...just like him, man. 

bennyBOI i love him i use emory cohen from netflix’s the OA. he’s thiccer, and has the square face that i imagine ben having. he might be a little lighter than i picture ben - emory’s weight seems to have fluctuated over the past few years. i  don’t really like the whole ben loses a ton of weight thing, i think he can be soft and still wonderful and ready to be loved. i really really fuck with adult!ben being james cordon, and i like this guy as a middle of the road mental image. his character on the oa is also just...gentle and soft, and shares a lot of mannerisms.

i would say i am Least confident in my choice for bill. i think it also has a lot to do with the character he plays on 13 reasons why. (which i really didnt enjoy but thats another post) but the character himself is both incredibly soft spoken and very bold, and it reminds me a lot of how i see bill denbrough. i imagine bill having neat, short hair, a sharp jaw line, and blue eyes, which this guy fits the bill on all three, but there’s still something off. i really don’t even know how describe it. 

okay, and we get down to richard... who i really only describe as a Muppet who is Trying His Best. i don’t always fuck with gangly!richie but i do in this fic, i think he’s very thin. honestly...i am always tempted to retreat back into the safe embrace of ben barnes - who is WAY too fucking old now, and too fucking old in the movie pictured, as well, he’s about 25 in the photos, but it is as close an image as i can get. i imagine rich with wavy hair, not curly, the length pictured below. and a big ol’ pair of glasses. again, not a huge fan of the contacts thing. i think i specifically mention richie in &tfat isn’t a big fan of them either, and only wears them at the faire. 

and you might have noticed bev has gone absent from this and that’s because the person i really picture as bev is a real life friend of mine whose picture im not gonna post all over the internet. i really cannot think of a famous woman who possesses the long red-haired yet insanely androgynous energy i really picture for bev. she does have very long hair in the fic, mentioned a few times, because of the princess thing. i don’t know if that will last. anyway, fortunately, bev is not an insecure character at this point in time in her life, and so, she doesn’t fuss with her appearance a lot. she hardly notices, and if we’re in her pov, how she looks is very rarely on her mind. and because of the rest of the losers are...well, boys, we don’t hear a lot about what she’s wearing.  

my descriptions of characters really comes from who’s point of view we’re in. you’ll hear about what richie looks like in eddie’s pov, and vice versa. the only time you’ll get a good description of bev is in ben, mayyyybe bill’s pov, but probably really only ben. 

for the most part, all of them, especially stan, have looked the same to each other for literally years, so there’s no reason for them to comment on it in their Internal Monologue, lol. what they wear isn’t particularly interesting, and it’s mentioned off-hand if at all, bill in plaid/baseball shirts, mike in tshirts and sweatshirts, ben has an affinity for knit sweaters out of work, stan in button ups, work or not, eddie the same, but with funn-er colors, bev’s style fluctuates all the time but they’re guys who don’t really notice, and richie’s outfits, if they’re interesting, i’ll normally jot down a short description. 

bev, for the record, wears a lot of baby-doll dresses and tights/leggings, mom jeans and highwaisted shorts, and cropped hoodies/sweatshirts. 

i don’t do a lot of character description because honestly it’s not how i organically consider my friends in my personal life & i think it makes stories feel more real. i’m not like “my best friend lou just walked in, wearing a green t-shirt with a gray henley under it” i’m more like “lou walked in and thank fucking god because the gossip i have to tell him is Killing me.” and also, like i said... it lets people imagine what they want to .

but tHanks anon for asking i had a lot of fun writing this long-ass post, and i hoped you enjoyed reading a little bit of it! 

[elizas-writing]

So I’ve been on a curly hair routine for a year now, and I couldn’t be happier with how much healthier my hair is. Not that I had a crap ton of damage to recover from, but I can’t imagine ever going back to how I used to take care of my hair. Some weeks are rougher than others with all the experimentation I do, but I finally nailed down on what works and what doesn’t for the best results.

Now anyone who begins a curly hair routine knows some of the basics: don’t wash your hair every freaking day, avoid sulfates and silicons, don’t brush your hair dry, et cetera, et cetera. Since going on a curly hair routine, I learned a few other things I wish I knew when I began. These are little topics I may see brought up time-to-time from social media influencers, but they’re not as widespread talking points. And of course, I had to make it into a list.

Here are 5 Things to Know Before Starting Your Curly Hair Journey!

1. Flaky scalp =/= Dandruff

One of the major suggestions for starting a curly hair routine is washing your hair less and less until you’re down to once a week or every other week, depending on your hair type. As such, this sparks a lot of worry about dandruff and flakes. Rest assured fellow concerned readers, I guarantee most of y’all do not actually have dandruff.

Curly haired scalps are naturally dry as is because sebum takes forever to distribute to the ends. Some flakes may also be from product-build up if you put too much on your scalp, and your roots definitely don’t need the conditioners, leave-ins and what-have-yous. But for the most part, flakes are just doing what dead skin is supposed to do: shed. If your skin isn’t shedding regularly, well, you might have some other weird shit going on, and you probably wanna consult a doctor on that.

On the other hand, dandruff flakes are much larger and oilier, and may be accompanied with scaly, itchy, red patches of skin. They may also be a sign of a fungal infection or skin conditions like seborrheic dermatitis, psoriasis or eczema.

Yeah, unless your scalp’s White Christmas is THIS bad, you’re fine

Regardless of what kind of flakes you produce, your best bet is to switch over to more curly hair friendly products immediately. Hell, regardless of hair type, if you’re a fool still using shit like Selsun Blue or Head & Shoulders, stop. That much sulfates and silicons aren’t doing you any favors, especially if you wash your hair every day or every other day. I had to give up Head & Shoulders years ago cause I kept getting zits on my scalp and in my hairline which are two of the worst places to get them. And if you do have dandruff or some other harsh skin condition, these kinds of products are making everything worse. There are dozens upon dozens of alternative brands and natural remedies which will actually get the job done and not further destroy your hair and skin.

It takes quite a bit of time to get used to not washing your hair that often, and it is pretty itchy and flaky at first since your scalp needs to get used to producing a different amount of sebum. But after a while, you don’t notice it, and your scalp will adjust accordingly to your new products and frequency of washing. And although the Curly Girl Method suggests doing away with shampoo altogether (even if it’s technically sulfate-free), I have yet to see anyone strictly follow this in the long term; most everyone I know agrees this rule is bullshit. If your dandruff, psoriasis or whatever is STILL bothersome after all that, then you might wanna consider going to a dermatologist so they can prescribe you a little something extra.

2. You might accidentally use non-curly-hair-friendly products

No one is a perfect consumer, and this is a situation where it’s okay to make some mistakes in figuring out what works for you. There are a crap ton of ingredients to stay on top of and avoid at all possible. It ain’t easy to memorize them all at once, especially when there are a bajillion variants where some are safe but others aren’t so much. I definitely made my fair share of mishaps in the past year with some of the products I bought (i.e. OGX, which has silicons out the wazoo), and I still occasionally use stuff which technically isn’t curly hair friendly.

For example, one ingredient which the Curly Girl Method advises against using is waxes, but beeswax shows up in quite a few Cantu products, which is a major safe and cheap go-to brand for curly hair. Rubbing alcohols are another no-no in the Curly Girl Method which often falls under the radar since there’s a huge variety of drying and moisturizing alcohols; the only items you can for sure cut in this regard are hair sprays and most dry shampoos. Hell, I still use my Lush shampoo bar at least once a month for my really greasy days cause the sulfates help get that extra clean I need, and it’s balanced out with a ton of other natural ingredients.

And figuring a whole new routine really comes down to balance between your products and what will garner the best results. At the bare minimum, it is best to transition to mainly sulfate and silicone-free products. Every head of hair reacts differently to certain ingredients, and if you use something that isn’t curly hair friendly, you may not even notice much of a difference. What matters most is that you make an effort to shift to better hair care habits, and you have all the time in the world to figure out what that means for your hair type.

3. More expensive or “salon” brand name doesn’t mean better quality

A curly hair routine is quite the investment to get all the basics, and depending on your hair, you may need a few more products than others to get good results. By no means does that mean you have to blow out your bank account to get there. Most safe, go-to brands like Maui Moisture or Shea Moisture are easy to find for fair prices at your closest drug store. And if you’re being a good noodle and not washing your hair too frequently, your products will last much longer than they used to.

And of course, there’s nothing wrong with splurging once in a while, but the idea that “you get what you paid for” doesn’t always ring true. I can only think of maybe 3 expensive brands off the top of my head which are safe for curly hair. Obviously, one of those is the renowned DevaCurl, but as I said before, every head of hair reacts differently to certain products and ingredients. There’s actually a fair share of YouTube videos dedicated to why folks swore off of DevaCurl; and it’s not just a casual dislike, no, they hate it. In any case, most expensive or “salon-quality” brands I find are kinda garbage. And that’s weird, cause you’d think they’d have more than enough money to put in good ingredients, but nope.

For example, let’s take a gander at Marc Anthony’s Strictly Curls hair mask.

Garbage™

Deep Hydrating? Defrizz and moisturize? Seems too good to be true, especially for $10, right? Let’s see what happens when you check the back (since apparently online listings REALLY don’t want you to know the ingredients before you buy).

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Let’s see here: cyclopentasiloxane, cyclohexasiloxane, isopropyl alcohol, amodimethicone, AND dimethicone. That is four silicons and a rubbing alcohol within the first 20 ingredients! Even though it has shea butter and avocado oil, they’re just buried under so much garbage ingredients that it really makes no difference. You can’t get any deep hydration if that much silicons are building up on your strands and preventing moisture from getting in along with a drying alcohol which will add to the inevitable frizz. This makes shit like Pantene look like the good guys by comparison.

So yeah, by no means do you have to feel pressured to buy big name brands which may not actually work for your hair’s needs. There are plenty of better and cheaper options at any drugstore. And once you know what your hair does and doesn’t like, the shopping trips will become much easier, whether resupplying on your favorites or testing out a new product. As a general rule of thumb, never go by the packaging in the front and make it a reflex to check the ingredients on the back.

4. Regular hair cuts are an absolute must

One of the major differences with my hair now versus before is that it grows way faster. If I straightened my hair, it’d definitely be down to my hips. Right now, I’m too attached to my long hair for a big chop, but every now and then, my ends become a little too scraggly, and they just gots to go.

Even with your best efforts of a healthy hair care routine, your ends will eventually split, even if only a little. If you leave them as is, they’ll keep splitting and splitting until your whole ass head of hair is damaged beyond repair, and you have no choice but to chop most of it off. And if your hair is already damaged to begin with, avoiding haircuts altogether adds fuel to the fire. A good chunk of curly hair influencers I follow at some point in their journeys went ahead with a big chop to get rid of the already damaged ends and allow room for growth of new, healthier hair. Having healthy hair is always a priority over long hair, and at the very least, you need to regularly trim your ends. And the longer you keep to a healthy hair care routine, the frequency of needed haircuts will decrease over time.

Penny Tovar (AKA Curly Penny) has a great video on DIY hair trimming, which I absolutely recommend if you’re looking for a quick fix without a big chop or throwing down money at a salon. As with any DIY haircut, cut off less than you think you need to and adjust accordingly. And for the fucking love of Jesus H. Tap-Dancing Christ, please, PLEASE use proper hair-cutting scissors.

5. The biggest keys are patience and persistence

Depending on how your hair is when you begin your curly hair journey, it can take anywhere from months to years to see significant results. You can’t immediately switch your whole routine overnight and expect perfect ringlets. You have to steadily incorporate the new products and healthy practices, and seriously pay attention how your hair reacts. Some steps may work; others, not so much. Right now, my biggest challenge is adjusting my routine for the summer since the heat constantly shifts. I began co-washing as needed cause my scalp gets way too grody with sweat since I walk and bus everywhere throughout the week. I don’t co-wash every single week; just on those days where I’m far too greasy than I should be.

The more effort and time you put into keeping these healthy habits, the better your hair will look and feel. Here’s how much my hair changed in over a year.

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Christ Almighty, my roots were SO FLAT.

Since I rarely heat-styled and never dyed, I saw noticeable changes rather quickly. It was definitely a lot of trial and error, and even now, my hair is never guaranteed to look the same on each wash day. But I’m excited to see what this next year holds for my hair by continuing these healthy habits and using the right products.

If you’re looking to get a proper start on your curly hair journey, then definitely add the above tips to your research. Best of luck to all y’all curly haired guys, gals and non-binary pals!

5 Things to Know Before Starting Your Curly Hair Journey So I've been on a curly hair routine for a year now, and I couldn't be happier with how much healthier my hair is.