Maggie spent her younger years in the 2000s trying to destroy her natural curls because she wanted to fit into pop culture that dictated thin, pin-straight hair. Her arsenal included a relaxed curl perm, bleach, and straightening her hair five to six days a week without quality heat protectant. The “before” picture she posted on Reddit’s r/CurlyHair subreddit shows she did a really good job with her scorch and destroy mission.
But the “after” transformation picture is the one that has captured attention from Reddit users. They gave a resounding thumbs up to Maggie’s current beautiful, healthy tendrils with more than 20,000 likes and 792 comments. Applause from more than 20,000 fans landed her on the Reddit front page.
The acknowledgement is well deserved. Known as Reddit user Capslockramen, Maggie says she worked 10 years to find the routine that would transform the frizzled bottle blonde version of her hair to today’s gorgeously enviable curls.
First, she called a halt to the deliberate damage. When she started college, she let her bleach blonde and relaxed perm hair grow out. She cut off the dead, dry ends every three months and she stopped her frequent use of hot irons. She limited soft curling and any straightening to every few months.
And, she did her homework by researching the best products for curly hair and experimenting to find the best for her.
Here are the tips for beautiful, curly hair that have won Maggie a fan base many politicians would envy:
After she showers, Maggie squeezes water from her curls. She then flips her head upside down and runs Cantu’s leave-in conditioner through her hair. Next, she scrunches in Miss Jessie’s Multi-Cultural Curls cream and then uses a cotton T-shirt to scrunch again and remove more water.
She wraps her head in the T-shirt and lets her hair sit for 10 minutes. Using a diffuser, Maggie then blows her curls dry and follows up by scrunching again the handy T-shirt. After the hair is dried and scrunched, she sprays on a medium-hold hairspray, parts her hair and sprays her part.
If you have the thick hair that comes along with most curls, you know this is going to take a while. Give yourself a break and rest a while when your arms get tired.
Maggie says she didn’t pioneer these techniques, and notes women of color have been using them for decades. She credits her college roommates, who are black women, with guiding her transformation. She adds that she hopes her post will help people win hair acceptance in school and in the workplace.
Read more: Maggie also posted her helpful game plan for healthy curls. Read her 38-curl type routine here. And for more on her post, read here.
