Road to Beauty: Month 1

So I have at least 2 years to iron out what I want to do with my appearance on our wedding day. I've made a schedule where each month I do some research on various beauty aspects. I figured I'd start at the top and work my way down.


Month 1: Hair

My hair didn't start curling until I turned 1, but ever since then learning to care for it has been quite a roller coaster ride. When I was younger I absolutely hated my hair. It was always frizzy so my go-to styles ended up being buns and ponytails, tightly pulled back against my skull. It also didn't help that everyone wanted to play with it but I was cursed with a tender head. My parents couldn't really help me, since I was the only one in the family who ended up with curls. So I spent much of my youth trying to ignore the mess growing out of my scalp.

But things got easier after I went to college and I decided to cut it short and opted for a low-maintenance hairstyle. Now I've truly come to appreciate my hair and I revel in the fact that all I have to do is apply a bit of gel to it after washing and let it air dry. Five minutes and I don't have to mess with it!

However, I still saw room for improvement. So I looked online and looked for things I could do to minimize the frizz and up the shine. In general it seems that increasing circulation to the scalp can help with hair health. So things like regular exercise and scalp massages not only improve your overall health and stress levels, they're also good for your hair. And, of course, getting the proper nutrition helps as well. After looking at what I eat on a regular basis I've discovered that I don't get enough of the B vitamins, so I've started supplementing. It was a bit difficult finding a vitamin that didn't provide way more than I'd ever need, but eventually I settled on Vitamelts by Nature Made. Not only are they a bit closer to the actual amount of vitamins I'm not getting from food I also don't have to swallow them, something I have trouble with.

In order to avoid damage to my hair I have a washing regimen where I only shampoo my hair once every four days and condition it every other day. I also eschew using heat to style my hair.

Then I found a website dedicated to all things curly: www.naturallycurly.com. It is packed with forum discussions on many aspects of curly hair, has articles, and even an online store selling products you may not be able to find in your local beauty supply store. I managed to find quite a wealth of information as well as a deep conditioner that has made my hair feel so soft! And, since I ordered it from their online store, I received some free samples as well.

So far I have noted that my hair is softer and the curls are a tad more defined. Once my current regular conditioner runs out I'll be trying a new one and hopefully I'll see even more improvement.