CURL POWER!
ARE you a slave to your straighteners? Do you lavish money on chemical ‘relaxing’ hair treatments, or ruin your locks by running a hot iron over them to make them poker straight?
If you’re blessed with natural curls, they may have started to feel like more of a curse. ever since the eighties, anything other than smooth, sleek hair has been resolutely out of fashion.
That’s meant a daily battle against frizz for the roughly 15 per cent of women in the UK with natural corkscrews, as well as the 34 per cent with looser waves.
‘Natural curls are genetic,’ says consultant trichologist Iain Sallis. ‘The gene itself was isolated in 2009 and is called PrSS53. Variations in this gene create curls, which form when the hair follicle is oval-shaped rather than a circle, meaning hair grows in a spiral.’
But that hasn’t stopped women from trying to fight the power of nature. Actress Nicole Kidman recently said she has ‘tortured her curls to death’, straightening her hair so many times she’s lost her original ringlets entirely.
Now, however, it might be time to learn to love your curls — because they are finally fashionable again. Big, tumbling curls popped up everywhere on the Fashion Week catwalks in New York, Paris and London.
Here, Alice Smellie takes four naturally curly-haired women to see the senior stylists at Neville Hair & Beauty in Belgravia, one of the UK’s top salons. But will these straightening addicts embrace the natural look?
I’LL TRY CURLS FOR MY NEXT NIGHT OUT
Abi Foster, 40, is a personal trainer. she lives in London with business owner husband Daniel, 43, and daughters, Holly, three, and scarlett, ten months.
AS TINY children, my older sister and I were admired for our golden ringlets. But at school I was teased and called Fozzie — like the fuzzy-haired puppet from The Muppets — and grew to hate mine, even though they came from my lovely father. I wanted to be like all the other girls with tidy, straight hair.
Aged 18, I gave in. I saved up and bought expensive wigs with real, straight blonde tresses. While most girls were trying to achieve volume, I’d be squishing my curls into a wig cap. My friends thought it was hilarious — every time I met a boy I liked, I had to explain my little secret. But it’s no worse than wearing a padded bra!
Powerful GHD straighteners came out when I was 20. I bought some and used them every morning without fail. It revolutionised my look.
In the years that followed, I dedicated a great deal of my life to a labour-intensive routine. I’d blow dry it, then straighten it and then get out my tongs and curl it in soft curls. This is appallingly bad for hair as it’s applying a huge amount of heat, which dries it out.
Now I have two small children I’ve had to amend my look. I wash it once a week and then dry it using a diffuser. even this takes about an hour, and I use a whole armoury of products: Moroccan Oil conditioner, defrizzing cream, a curl-boost mousse, John Frieda serum and masses of hairspray.
My daughters both love my hair, and I want them to embrace their natural curls. So I’d love to find a way to wear my hair in something closer to its natural state without feeling frizzy and miserable.
When I saw what elle had done, I loved it. I’m not sure I’ll be able to replicate it at 5am when the baby wakes up, but I’ll give it a go when my husband and I next manage a night out.
STYLIST ELLE BONDOC SAYS: Abi has naturally very tight curls. I kept the shape strong and all one length, then trimmed the front to frame her face. Coloured curly hair is prone to dryness, so I used Oribe products, including a Curl Control Silkening Creme (£39, net-a-porter.
com) to hydrate, as well as a little Shu Uemura Art of Hair Ultimate remedy Serum (£25.20,
lookfantastic.com) on the ends. After rough drying, I twirled sections of hair vertically around a medium-sized barrel brush and then slowly pulled the brush out, twisting as I did so. This works with Abi’s natural curl to create a sleek and glamourous look.
I CAN SEE THE CURLS TAKE YEARS OFF
AMANDA HOLLAND, 46, is a depot manager married to Alan, 50. they have two daughters, Laura, 21 and Lucy, 18.
WORKING in a mostly male environment, I try to look professional. I feel straight hair looks mature