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.

Clean Freak

So, In case it's not obvious, I am completely in love with polyvore.  I have literally been known to spend entire days making polyvore sets.  It's like collaging, but better, because you have so much at your fingertips, instead of just being limited to whatever pictures you happen to be able to find in magazines.  
Another thing I happen to be obsessed with it skincare.  I don't know why that it.  I didn't really break out much throughout my high school years.  In fact I didn't really start breaking out at all until I was about nineteen.  That doesn't really bode well for me, since I'm twenty years old, and if genetics tell me anything, I'll be dealing with acne my entire adult life. 
ok.
Maybe I'm being a little dramatic.  
I have fairly good skin.  
I just have to not be lazy and actually wash it a few times a day.  
 I have a problem with just falling into bed at the end of the day and not washing my face or even putting on pajamas.   So, sometimes my skin gets its revenge.  

I bought my scrubber(what are these things called anyway?  The knock off clarisonics?) from CVS.  I'm pretty sure it does the exact same job as a clarisonic, but costs like 100-something dollars less.  The one in the set above is from kohl's, also a bargain, i.m.o.  It makes my face feel really clean. 
I posted earlier that I use cetaphil, it's gentle on my skin and doesn't make it burn like other face washes can.  I think it's because it has no salicylic acid in it.  My face is pretty much the opposite of oily.  Those oily absorbing sheets that we all kept in our lockers in middle school?  They never worked on me.  I'd press them on my forehead for like, five minutes, and they'd come off perfectly dry, and I just thought they weren't working.  Nope.  It's called dry skin.  
I know this is bad for you, but sometimes when I'm getting a break out, or my face just feels dirty (does anyone else's face feel dirty, or is that just mine?) I actually want to use a face wash that burns a little.  Not one that really stings, but one that makes the skin on my face feel a little tight and tingly.  Because it feels cleaner.  I know this is definitely not dermatologist recommended, but hey, I never claimed to be a saint!  So I like to keep a bar of neutrogena face soap around because 1: it's dirt cheap
and
2: It clears up your face pretty fast. 
I'm putting that Lush Ocean Salt face and body scrub on my wishlist, because I love anything that reminds me of the ocean.  On the other hand, maybe I could just forget about school for the next six months and take an extended beach vacation.
SPF had to be included in this set because I burn SO bad it's not even funny.  (#gingerproblems)
and I cover up with a really light foundation if it's absolutely necessary.  Otherwise I am morally opposed to foundation. I just like to let my skin breathe.  I wouldn't even wear SPF if it wasn't an absolute requirement. (#gingerproblemsagain).