Writing Curly Haired Characters | Writing Diversely
Transcript:
I’ve made a couple videos on writing diversely, giving you guys tips on things you may not have experienced.
Some of these were serious or sad, like writing about poverty, but today I’m here to talk about hair!
Curly hair to be specific.
Obviously, writing curly hair wrong won’t hurt anybody, but I can promise you any curly haired person will immediately be able to tell when you haven’t done your research.
So, to start: Great curls mean hard work.
I’ve met a lot of straight haired people who were jealous of my curls and vice versa. The grass is always greener on the other side. I can’t tell you how many times I wished I’d been born with straight hair. Curls can be incredibly beautiful, but they're very high maintenance. Just like how straight hair curled with a curling iron will fade in a day or so or at exposure to water, so will curly hair that’s been straightened with a flat iron.
However, it takes a lot more time to flatten curls than it does to add waves to straight hair.
The last time I straightened my hair was about three or four years ago. If I can find one, I’ll insert a picture. I have lots of little ringlet curls that are very thick, so it takes me a minimum of four hours to straighten all of my hair with heat. I do not have time to do it every day.
Someone with less intense curls than mine or light waves might be able to get away with straightening their hair in 15 minutes to a half an hour, but I would argue most curly haired people would face the same timeframe I do.
Keep that in mind when you’re writing.
A really common theme in makeover movies is transforming a curly haired nerd into a straight haired bombshell.
I mean, there are a lot of questionable things about that trope, but I know I was always a bit confused as to how Mia from the Princess Diaries kept up her silky smooth hair after starting the movie with frizzy curls like mine.
In those cases, i.e. long term straight hair on a curly person, the person or character has probably used a relaxer on their hair.
Not only are flat irons time consuming, but heat can really damage hair, so you don’t want to repeatedly iron your hair if you want it to stay healthy.
A relaxer is sort of self explanatory, it’s a treatment you can try that will “relax” your curls so you can have straight hair. However, a relaxer can also damage your hair.
When you treat your hair with chemicals of any kind, even hair dye, you risk damage.
I have never dyed my hair or had a relaxer, so I am not the best person to ask the specifics of those things, but it’s definitely worth researching.
Okay, now let’s talk about taking care of curls without straightening.
First off, it’s important to figure out the type of curls your character has.
If your character has light waves or very loose curls, they can probably get away with using generic shampoo and conditioner. If they have curls similar to mine or even more intense kinks or ringlets, generic products will not be enough. To maintain cute curls that don’t frizz or dry up requires regular, as in weekly if not daily, hair maintenance products and routines.
I spend $20 a month on specialized shampoo and conditioner designed for my type of hair and another $10 to $15 on treatments I put in my hair AFTER I shower.
Good haircare is expensive.
If your characters can’t afford good hair products, or they live in a place or time period where they don’t have access to them, your character will either have a mess of frizz and tangles or they’ll keep their hair cut short to avoid them. Keep this in mind when writing apocalyptic, war/adventure, or period fiction.
A way around this is to research the natural oils and plants that are often used in hair products and seeing which ones you might be able to use within your story. Women managed for thousands of years before retail products just fine, you just have to find a realistic compromise.
Another way to manage curly and especially ethnic hair in an environment unfriendly to it is a protective or self-sustaining hairstyle like braids or dreadlocks.
When I was younger my mom would braid my hair in a style similar to cornrows to keep them manageable on our budget and my hectic childhood schedule. I’ve never had them, but dreads can be very hygienic and sustainable with a smart routine of tending to them and retwisting.
A quick comment to say, that while untended and frizzy hair can look similar to an afro, afros are their own hairstyle and have their own maintenance rules and routines.
They’re not the same thing and they aren't interchangeable.
While most of this video is lighthearted, it is important to remember that hairstyles like cornrows, dreads, or afros stem from and have important cultural ties to people of African heritage.
Using them on a character who is not connected to that heritage can be seen as cultural appropriation.
That doesn’t mean you don’t have options!
A good braid or even a hair bun are excellent and simple protective hairstyles. I actually spend 90% of my time in a protective twist up bun anyways. It’s easier. If you have the time or resources to take care of hair, there are lots of great ways to nurture curls into those romantic, gorgeous bombshell curls that look everybody loves.
This is what you want if you’re writing a lush fantasy or modern celebrity story, or just anything where you want to really emphasize how pretty curls can be.
No curly haired person naturally wakes up with gorgeous hair everyday, but that doesn’t mean that they can’t sometimes, or even regularly, if they prepare and plan for it.
To get presentable curls like the ones I typically have in my videos, I have to prep my hair at least a day ahead of schedule. I shower and wash my hair, let it partially dry, then coat it in a hair treatment cream before twisting it into a protective bun to sleep on.
This helps give my hair time to suck up all the product I’ve put into it and lets time and natural body heat sort of cook my curls into perfect little ringlets.
Curly hair tends to dry out quickly which means that you need to baby it a bit to prevent it from becoming brittle or breaking apart.
My hair is always thirsty. I tend to use products that prioritize moisture retention, shine, and follicle strength. Despite all that, I have never taken a shower and not lost some hair. Curly hair is prone to tangles and knots, but also tends to be thicker than straight hair, so curly girls can lose a lot of hair before it’s as noticeable as hair loss in straight hair.
It’s not a sign of illness to accidentally shed a few strands in the shower if your hair is curly, in fact I’d probably be concerned if I didn’t lose any hair!
In addition to a protective hairstyle to sleep in, I know lots of girls, or at least most girls of colors I know, will sleep with a wrap of some sort to protect their hair from pillows.
Curly or ethnic hair can be so fragile that it can pull, frizz, or break due to rubbing against cotton pillows. A silk pillowcase or head wrap can be the difference between pretty second day curls or a mountain of frizz.
I’m not going to list out specific hairstyles that would work for specific genres, because otherwise we could be here forever!
Don’t stress too much about hair, it’s usually not the most important aspect of any novel, but I thought it wouldn’t hurt to share some tips anyways.
Do you have any tips I forgot to mention? Let us know in the comments.
Do you have any hilariously awful representations of hair in books? I definitely want to know. Please let me know any other video ideas you might have for me and don’t forget to subscribe to see more videos.
Thank you so much for watching. I’ll see you soon. Bye.
