I wasn't born curly. It wasn't until puberty that my curls appeared, and I had no idea what to do with them. I just saw my hair as "unruly" and spent most of my teens trying to beat it into submission. I started to come to terms with it (even embrace it) in college, but like many curlies, it took me a long time to figure out how to care for it and make it look its best. I spent years searching for products and techniques that worked for me. I was okay with my hair, but never quite achieved what I really wanted.
Then in 2003, I read Curly Girl, by Lorraine Massey. Silly as it may sound, it changed my life. Finally, someone gave me real information about my hair and what it needed. I went CG and was amazed by the change. Once I stopped coating my hair with silicones and stripping it with sulfates, my true curl pattern emerged. And I discovered that my hair was far curlier than I realized. Hooray!
I fell off the CG wagon in 2006 when I developed an extremely mild case of seborrheic dermatitis. Washing with conditioner alone wasn't enough and caused flare ups. I started using a mild, sulfate-free shampoo about twice a week. Then, sometime between 2008 and 2011, I backslid into occasionally using silicones. It wasn't a decision, really - it just sort of happened.
In April of 2011, I went back on the CG program. It wasn't difficult, really; I cut out the few silicones I was using and ditched the terry cloth towels. While I still use shampoos with mild surfactants, it turns out that, according to the most recent edition of Lorraine Massey's book, I'm now CG.
My goal is to have shiny, bouncy, frizz-free curls. The tighter the better! According to the CG categories, I'm a Botticelli/Corkicelli (depending on the edition); I'm a 3a/3b in the Andre Walker classification system. I strive to be more 3b than 3a, so I don't like anything that loosens my curls. Oh, how I wish I was a 4.....
You can find me on NC.com and Ravelry as bluesheep.
