Curl of View: Are We Obsessed with Curls and Natural Hair?

I saw this natural hair post written by Damn Salon on BGLHOnline and thought it was profound:

"Curls don't come in a jar."

Damn. They said THAT!

You wouldn't know it, though, based on the uber number of curl creams, puddings and gels that are coming on the market. Have you seen the curl aisle at Tarjay lately? It overfloweth with products promising curls. There are so many curl products that even I have a hard time keeping up. Every time I look up, there's another new  product.

Not that it's anyting wrong with that. Companies create products out of demand. We're a few years post- Miss Jessie's, and I can't knock the hustle. There's going to be a shake out of curl products and I'm sure that not everyone will come out on top  -- that's the nature of the hair beast.

But what are our expectations? No product, no matter what it promises or how much it costs, can create what's not already there. Those kinks, coils and naps? Our hair has a natural curl pattern of its own and some of us have textures that are more kinkier, coarser and fluffier than others that may or may not be more likely to curl.

My Curly Story
I've tried my fair share of hair curling products -- too many gels to count, Kinky Curly, Miss Jessie's, etc., all in the quest for the "perfect" curl that would stretch my tightly curled hair. That ain't never gonna happen, because water and my hair = shrinkage.

Haven't seen a curls product -- besides Trader Joe's Nourish & Spa conditoner, which eliminates a good bit of shrinkage in my hair with protective styling -- that could do the trick. And no, I can't use conditioner for wash and go curls. #epicfail.

A Curling Battle?
Maybe there's a product that will give my curls less shrinkage, but I haven't found it yet. And frankly, don't bother to spend the money to find out. But as more girls go natural, I worry that, like me, they'll be searching for that perfect curl product.

No product alone will do it. Puddings, creams, gels, etc. work with the curl you've already got. If your hair is curly, products will accentuate that. No product that I'm aware of can coax a curl that's not there. There was a young lady on YouTube who went through this hour-long ritual of using gel and a comb to get curls (couldn't find the vid). She smoothed, shingled and patted curls for a LOOOONg time in every freakin' section of her hair.

Chile, please! I was tired after watching that. I don't have the time or the patience to even think about doing any of that. Curly hair, for me, is slapping gel in and out the door in 5 minutes and hoping I get most of my hair with gel; no need for long, complicated routines.

Or, if like me, you've seen those "Before" and "After" pics on Miss Jessie's site and wished for the "After" hair. Maybe it happened for you and maybe it didn't, but we've got to love our hair regardless of whether we've got loose ringlets, shrunken curls or no curls at all!

Loving Our Hair
My hair curls easily. But it curls too tight, IMO, because I don't like 90% shrinkage. Now if had nary a curl? I'd probably want curls. It's always like that: One person's challenge is another person's wish. I once had a person who struggled with their wash and gos tell me that they couldn't understand why I liked twist outs so much, because my hair was "naturally curly" and I could do wash and gos with no problem.

Huh?

We all want what we can't have, including when it comes to hair. Some want loose ringlets; other wan't tighter curls. They are all OK!

Does that mean I love my hair any less? Like anything, it's about self acceptance and embrancing what we have. I know what my hair will do and won't do. I know that wearing my hair out in 80 degree, humid temps in GA is asking for frizz. That's my hair, and asking it to do otherwise is like putting a round peg into a square hole; ain't gonna happen. Hell, my hair frizzes in winter here in Georgia!

Unfortunately, I had to Put. Down. The. Gel.  Now, if texture is the look you are going for, there are plenty of options like twist outs, braid outs and bantu knotswhich, quite frankly, suit kinkier, fluffier hair better than finer hair IMO. Kinky, fluffy hair can hold a twistout like nobody's business -- much longer than our finer-haired sisters. The point: Curls aren't our only options.

We can wish, fight, plead and pray. At some point, though, the hair will do what it do; it always wins!

What do you think about the explosion of curl products? Do you think that there are unrealistic expectations about what hair can and cannot achieve?