My Curly Guy: A Makeover Story

I love my husband very much. So when I ask him questions like, “Sweetie, are you heading out to that casting call for Hobbit extras now?” or “Sweetie, were you really bummed when Sean Astin beat you for the role of Samwise Gamgee in Lord of the Rings?,” it comes from a place of pure love.

And when I recently slipped a copy of Curly Girl into his bag, with the “Guys ‘n’ Curls” chapter carefully tape-flagged so he wouldn’t miss it, that came from a place of love, too.

My husband has a head of thick golden-brown curls—lovely hair, but hair that will frizz up to three times its size in even the most arid of climates. He’s always managed to tame it with various products—usually whatever’s easy to grab at the drugstore—but within a few hours it’s back to puff-ball status, and thus subject to more ridicule from me (loving ridicule, mind you). Every few months he gets frustrated and chops it all off, which also seems like a shame—it just takes away his hair’s personality.

When I saw that Curly Girl, the book by curl guru Lorraine Massey of Devachan Salon, had a chapter just for men, I knew I had to pass it on. And being the good sport that he is, Kevin agreed to try some tips from the book, along with the DevaCare Low-Poo Cleanser. And HOT DANG, if his locks haven’t become totally gorgeous and manageable!

Curly Guys, there is hope. You don’t have to buzz your curls off or spend hours primping to get them just right. Just a few small changes in your wash/dry process can help. Try these tips:

1. Wet: Step under the showerhead and let the water run through your curls. Resist the urge to start scrubbing your head; this disrupts your curls’ basic shape. If you’ve got long hair, cup it in your hands so the water flow doesn’t distort your curls’ intrinsic pattern. Wet your hair thoroughly.

2. Cleanse: Apply either a sulfate-free cleanser or a botanical conditioner along your fingertips the way you’d apply toothpaste to a toothbrush, and evenly distribute it to your other fingertips. Then place your fingertips directly on the scalp, and using firm circular motions, massage the product into the scalp to stimulate blood flow, remove dirt particles, and keep your scalp healthy and hydrated. If your hair is long, apply an extra dollop of conditioner to the hair near the nape of the neck, which tends to get knotted. Gently remove any knots with your fingers.

3. Rinse: If your hair tends to get frizzy, leave most of the cleanser or conditioner in by standing away from the shower flow and splashing just a few handfuls of water on your hair. This prevents all the cleanser/conditioner from being rinsed out and allows the hair to stay hydrated. (After a few days of rinsing your hair this way, you’ll get a sense of how much rinse water your hair requires in order for you to be pleased with the outcome.)

4. Scrunch: Turn off the shower, lean forward, and scrunch your hair gently upward to remove some of the water and cleanser or conditioner.

5. Dry: Many men dry their hair by holding one end of a towel in each hand and rubbing it harshly over their head. But the rough fibers of the towel combined with this kind of friction causes hair to frizz. Instead, shake your head once or twice or use an old cotton T-shirt to scrunch the hair a bit so it’s not dripping wet.

6. Style: Apply gel to your hands and scrunch it into your hair. How much gel you use depends on the length of your hair and how much hold you want (use more gel for more hold). Then let your curls air-dry so you don’t cause frizz. Once your hair is totally dry, either leave it as is for a wet, contained look, or scrunch your hair gently to break the gel cast that has formed while the hair was drying.

As Lorraine Massey says, “A frizz is just a curl waiting to come out.” And it doesn’t take much coaxing to make it happen! If my husband can go from Hobbit to Hottie by following these simple steps, any guy can.

And for the Curly Girls: How can going curly save you time and money? Read the hard facts here.