The Ten Commandments of Curly Hair

My hair is curly.  Not just curly.  Super, super, super tightly curly.  I have thick, insanely tight red curls.    You know the weird little sections in drugstores for "ethnic" hair.  That's my hair.  What's my ethnicity supposed to be?  Ginger?
Anyway, I maintain that hair this insanely curly makes any girl an expert hairstylist by age 20.  
The other thing I've noticed is that in magazines, advice for styling curly hair never seems to address really curly hair. So what are girls with REAL curls supposed to do? Like, side note, girls in magazines.  Real curly  hair doesn't behave well!  Can't we have some sort of pro-curl love out there?  Can't we have good hair advice?
Without Further Ado, I present to you:

The Ten Commandments of Curly Hair

1: Stay away from heating tools:  Just say no to that hair straightener

2: This might seem gross, but if you can, skip the shower.  Showering every day dries out hair.  Showering every other day is great.  Showering every three days?  Not everyone can do that.  You have to sacrifice two days of slicked back buns for one day of the greatest hair ever

3: Speaking of slick, there is no such thing as too much hair product.  Seriously.  The curlier your hair, the more you can load it with.  

4: If   you want  slightly looser curls, sleep with your hair in braids

5: aerosole hair sprays tend to make curly crunchy.  Ad a general rule, stick to clear, light hairsprays ( I like Dove an FrizzEase.  The more liquid they feel in your hand, the better.

6: brush your hair and apply product immediately after your shower

7: The ocean is literally the world's greatest styling tool. I'm not talking beach waves or salt spray, I'm talking actual, sea drenched curls drying in the sun.  I have no idea why, but they always end up looking AWESOME!  (This is your cue to ditch life for awhile and go on a beach vacation. All sorts of crazy things become suddenly socially acceptable if you do them for a good profile picture on facebook.

8: Curly girls are the only people on the planet past 1980 who can pull off a side ponytail.  The trick is to keep it loose and messy and not too, too high.  A low side ponytail is also super cool.

9: Bad hair days happen.  When all else fails, drench it in some deep moisturizing treatment and twist it in a ballet bun or a topknot.  This is a style.  It is called Model Off Duty and you will rock it with your chin up.  If you're headed somewhere fancy, add red lipstick and and an all black outfit and you will be all anyone talks about for weeks.

10: CONFIDENCE!!!!
I know this is hard, believe me.  I used to hate my hair and I find it really hard to be confident somedays (that's when I refer to tip #9).  If you have really, really curly or super kinky hair you might have been picked on a lot in grade school or had a mom or a grandma fuss over your "unmanageable" hair.  It's important to remember that everyone has flaws or things they don't like about themselves and curly hair is really unique and gorgeous.