Growing up I had no idea how to care or style my natural curls. Being that my mom is Hispanic & Chinese with straight hair, she had difficulty knowing how to manage my curly hair. Growing up, I resorted to using the flat iron to straighten my hair because at the time it was the only way I knew how to manage my hair and straight hair was what I considered beautiful at the time because every little girl looks up to their mom and wants to be like them.
I eventually got fed up with all the damage I was causing to my hair and decided to give up the heat styling and learn how to care for my curls. It was through this learning process that I began to fall in love with the beauty that is natural hair and decided to continue the cycle and teach other women and mothers with biracial, curly kids how to care and style their hair so that they too could fall in love with what they were naturally born with!
When I became a mother I made it a point to make sure that my little one always saw me rocking my curls proudly so that she could grow up to do the same. Although she’s only four years old, her confidence level is through the roof and she embraces and wears her curls with so much pride! Her obsession with her curly hair definitely stems from her watching me style my hair and do tutorials for my social media platforms which she’ll occasionally have a cameo in.
Having her be a part of the videos has created such a special bond between us that she really enjoys making content and can teach you a thing or two herself about curly hair like knowing that moisture is a vital part of a healthy hair regimen along with protective styling! Ensuring that your hair stays moisturized and creating low manipulation styles will help prevent breakage which in turn will help you retain length! Moisturize your hair as needed by using a little bit of water or a water based product like Thirsty Curls Leave In Curl Revitalizer Spray then you can follow up with a cream based product like Supercurl to layer and moisturize even further! Deep conditioning is also a great moisturizing process to add to your regimen so you can use the Heal & Renew Intensive Hair Masque once a week to help keep your curls hydrated.
Just listen to your hair, if it feels dry, moisturize it and pair it with low manipulation styles like twist or braids. Brushing and combing your hair daily can cause a lot of stress to your strands which can lead to damaging the cuticle and breakage so protective and low manipulation styles will not only help reduce those stresses but they will also save my mommas a headache from having a grueling detangling process with your little one because we all know kids like to run around and having their curls loose while doing that can cause a lot of tangles!
I always get amazed at the versatility of natural hair and all the different shapes and textures it comes in and how it can take a different form just by brushing it one way or another. Creating and experimenting with different styles will help keep your hair journey exciting and allowing your little curly kid to help pick the styles or even assist with the styling will not only teach them how to care for their curls but it will also help them fall in love with their natural beauty!
xoxo
Michelle Chea @NaturallyChea
