The curls to power | Aragón | Aragon News (CARTV)

After years of mistreating hair based on aggressive bleaches, tortuous blow-drying sessions, continuous ironing, supermarket shelf shampoos and existential crises of the type "I don't know what to do with my hair, make me some highlights or something" , a movement of naturalness makes its way on the back of the eventual return of the eighties trend.

It is about the 'curly method', a popular uprising in favor of recovering the naturally defined curl that is the son of social networks and the pandemic, and surely a brother-in-law of the atrocities that have been committed in the privacy of many bathrooms during confinement.

“People have been realizing that it is important to bet on more natural products that do not contain sulfates, silicones or drying alcohols in order to take better care of their hair”, says Flavia Nardi, in charge of her own cosmetics establishment , the gateway to Zaragoza, according to her account, for curly products from the Caribbean and her native Brazil, "places where there is a very strong cult of hair and body care," she explains.

Furor in the networks

Actually, the mother of the ''Curly Girl Method'' is Lorraine Massey, an American stylist who, back in 2011, developed a guide to caring for hair in a healthier way , which is now followed around the world by legions. To give just a few examples, on Facebook, the Curly Girl Method Spain page already has 153,400 enthusiasts (as of 11/12/21) and, on Instagram, the curlygirlspain.oficial account is followed by 50,600 profiles. Apart from hundreds and hundreds of 'influencers' who add up to thousands of followers acting as cicerones.

The method proposes a change of habits and products to return the hair to its original pattern through a process of hydration and sanitation. It focuses above all on issues such as the banishment of sulfates, silicones, waxes and alcohols, deep nutrition, wet styling (never dry) and untangling and shaping with the hands.

The initiation ritual, to be repeated each time we restart the process after a dye or an uncertain visit to the hairdresser, includes what is known as the “last wash” with products that contain sulfates but not silicones, such as some shampoos and gels bathroom (some even, oh dear, use dish soap).

Also, deep hydration with a mask, the STC technique, 'Squish To Condish', or apply and rinse conditioner with hair upside down to scrunch the hair with your hands. And finally, a little more conditioner, curl cream, foam or the gel (gel) that suits each type of curl.

Then two paths will open: those who opt for the 'cowash' or wash with conditioner (the typical mistake of many in the gym) and 'lowpoo' or wash with a suitable shampoo.

For great ills, great remedies

“At first it can be a lot of information,” Flavia acknowledges, “but it's very simple because there are four steps, although you can try many things,” she points out. That is one of the keys: this is not a recipe with closed ingredients. It is about trying what is best for each type of hair.

The Aragonese actress and journalist Eva Magaña entered this path some time ago. A health problem as serious as it was misdiagnosed caused her to lose "a lot" of hair, which was definitely ruined by an unfortunate visit to a hairdresser whose name she does not want to remember. "Cheer up with some highlights, they told me with weak hair, and since they took me longer than they should, they ended up burning it," he recalls.

Tragedy was followed by confinement, a period in which she had time to investigate a solution on the internet... and to cut her own hair “a la vacaburra”, an outburst that earned her the anger of her own daughter, Carlota Gurpegui (The Girls, HIT).

The advice from the 'curly' Facebook page, the trial-and-error process of finding the most suitable products, and putting herself in the hands of her hairdresser Patricia reduced the drama. Now, with curly hair and her natural color with some gray hair showing, she claims to have it "totally regenerated."

“At first I admit that I spent a little more money because I love to try things, but there are a lot of 'low cost' products and now I know, for example, that aloe vera makes me feel bad, but coconut, a lot heavier, works great for me. On the other hand, my friends are doing terrible, ”explains Magaña, who has become an “expert” guide for her friends in buying cosmetic jars and jars.

This prospecting should not be frightening, in the opinion of the experts. "At the beginning it requires some investment and time to adapt, but then in the long run it means savings," says Flavia. Something corroborated by Miguel Alcutén, manager of Bob Boutique, who obviously abhors supermarket shampoos: "The price is very relative because the best quality products have quite concentrated active ingredients and are much more widespread."

Dry cutting or wet cutting?

And it is that the followers of the 'curly' method “are quite informed, they are very demanding, they know what they want because they already have the point of what they want. they need and even manage their own vocabulary”, explains Patricia, head of Le Coiffeure, a salon that specializes in dry cutting, a modality that, according to her, adapts to each area of ​​hair and each type of curl. "The result is great because we are cutting as we see each curl, as if we were pruning a plant," she explains.

Her naturally curly-haired clientele has grown "in a flash." These are people who, according to her, "in many cases have never known how to cut her hair well or who did not go to any hairdresser and managed it herself." But that has now changed.

“Curlies understand many times more than we do. There is a lot of information on the internet and that is where they buy the products”, shares Goretti, from Oliver and Goretti, who in his case opts for the wet cut. "We do not understand the dry cut because after each wash the hair will curl in a different way," he says.

His establishment exploits the patent for Curlypop, a curling system from the United States that ensures deeper curls without damaging the hair. “With Curlypop we get a different curl, more current, fluffy and natural, actually more bearable”, details Goretti.

Beware of becoming obsessed

But such a popular and proselytizing movement led by charioteers of scrutiny of labels and in some cases, even by professional chemists can lead to a certain extremism.

“There are people who don't even let you dry their hair with a towel and they bring it from home or they don't allow you to use your combs if they don't have a special tooth because they say that there are certain materials that harm the curl and satin pillowcases are also purchased,” recalls Goretti.

“There are those who are very purists and even extremists with the composition of the products, but it doesn't seem very logical to me that they then mix a hodgepodge of products from different brands”, says Enrique Caraballo, Passion Hair Luxury's sales manager. His experience makes him wary of the naturist discourse: “I don't know, it's chemistry. Sometimes, no matter how much I find out about the products I sell, the brands themselves do not offer all the details and on many occasions, years after going on the market with certain percentages, you see that they change the formulation”.

Alcutén, from BOB Boutique, with 21 years of experience behind him, goes a little further on the issue of zeal for avoiding chemicals: “Synthetics don't bother me. I need other components because the natural ones are scarce when it comes to working, but there are super orthodox clients and much more lax people. The important thing is to try what improves the condition of the hair in the most sustainable way”.

Because at the end of it all, whether you have curly, wavy or unruly hair depending on the area, or simply straight, thicker or finer, what this movement proclaims to the general consensus of all those involved is to recover your own pattern of your hair

“That we each accept the hair we have, that we enhance our personality from our hair and our skin without trying to change them”, reflects Alcutén.

“Society has sold us straight hair as more serious, but now clients walk out with incredible confidence. They love their curly hair, they feel very empowered”, shares Patricia.

“Our grandmothers, surely due to ignorance, reflects Flavia Nardi, said that we had bad hair, but it is not like that and 'curly' is helping to empower many people who look in the mirror and say I am like that and I love my hair".