Ever since I’ve learned how to use heated tools, my hair has been relentlessly fried.
At the young age of 11, I would blast a hairdryer on my dripping wet hair, leaving a poofy, yet straight mess. When I turned 13, I (unfortunately) discovered the hair straightener, which led to daily encounters between my hair and a 450-degree slab of metal.
Things took a turn for the worse in my freshman year when I acquired a Revlon blowout brush that dried and straightened my hair at the same time. The worst part? I never put on heat protectant when I put my hair through these years of heat torture.
As of today, I’m left with frail, thinning hair that stands up straight and stiff like hay. The ends of my hair show devastating evidence of the heat damage: split ends that run a mile long. Not the best hair to be going into 2025 with.
Luckily, I’ve crafted a New Year’s resolution that will prevent me from constantly frying my hair. For the past year, curly/wavy hair routines have surged in popularity on TikTok, garnering millions of views. Since I naturally have 2B (wavy) hair, I’ve decided to switch to these routines and wear my hair curly.
Curly hair routines usually involve three products: mousse, cream and gel, none of which require heat. Mousse adds volume, cream provides moisture and smoothness and gel delivers strong hold and definition to each curl. I bought these products from an affordable curly hair brand called Not Your Mother’s.
In the past two weeks, I’ve been meticulously applying these products instead of using heat after every hair wash, and they’ve worked wonders already. Although nowhere near healthy, my hair has slowly begun to feel somewhat moisturized and nourished.
Now two weeks into my curly hair journey, I can officially say my hair is starting to resemble my undamaged hair from before I was 11. Turns out, treating my hair with genuine care instead of attempting to torch it into submission makes it feel and look much better. Who knew? If I can keep this up, 2025 might just be the year my hair graduates from cautionary tale to mildly enviable. Fingers crossed.
