Why The Curl Contempt?

[JulietCapulet]

I have been wondering for years why American society doesn't seem to like curly hair. If I am wrong I apologize but it has seemed to me that women are always encouraged to straighten their curls. Nicole Kidman and Kerri Russell are just two examples of women with gorgeous curls who ended up straightening. I have also read that there have been studied done showing that men are slightly more likely to prefer straight and wavy hair to curls. Would anyone care to share their opinions regarding this subject?

PS: I have naturally thick curly hair.

[YesitsReal]

I've always wondered that, too. I LOVE big, curly hair, and I've always wished I had it!

[misspriss]

It wasn't always that way. Women used to desire curly hair, thus the invention of the perm machines. I have seen some scary pictures. Check out the history of perms (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perm_(hairstyle))!

I wish I could tell you more, but all I know is that it didn't used to be that way! I had curls in high school (2c/3a), but they have loosened up as I got older (2b?a?) I wish I still had curlier hair!

[trillcat]

It depends on what is in fashion at the time. Curls, crimped, flat iron straight, kinky, two toned, bleached, henna, long, short, shaved, The list goes on and on.
Why do you single out Americans as being against curly hair?

ETA: Did ya see us in the 80's. LOL! :D

[HintOfMint]

It's just a fashion trend, probably some sort of backlash against the 80s where everyone was expected to have a perm. Heck, even Audrey Hepburn had a perm then. Each time period has a dominant trend.
Although I will say, our current era allows for the most diversity in prescribed looks than any other time period this past century. Think about it, very few things are truly "out of style." Right now, we're living in a time when individuality really does reign supreme, and more importantly, we can actually embrace what we are naturally given, and any enhancement is done within those boundaries. Check out the eyebrows on some 1950s starlets. THEY ARE NOT REAL. At least we can be expected to keep most of our eyebrows. :p

Also, this is just anecdotal evidence but, in my high school, for all 4 years, the "Best Hair" yearbook award would go to a girl with long curly hair. It was always a different girl every year, but the same hair. Always gorgeous.

[eyesofsummer]

I think part of it is because curls look less controlled and therefore less 'professional'.
I remember in early high school, when I was first learning how to properly care for my curls, I was having what I thought was a good hair day. I asked my dad if my hair looked ok from the back, and he said that it "looks like it needs to be brushed". Now, my dad probably didn't realize that brushing would create a big fuzzy frizz monster, and I can't really blame him for what he said...but I think that the idea that hair is supposed to be neat, under control, and perfectly in place is something that we as a society uphold. The fact is that curly hair defies this much of the time; it's wild, it ignores gravity (!), and it never looks exactly the same two days in a row.

It sure is fun, though!

[WinterInBloom]

If I had to guess it's because most people don't know how to care for it. I've read a lot on this board about how much the LHC cringes over the things people do to their hair and the various products they use. If we can assume that most people are doing what magazines and their hair stylist are telling them to do, which in most cases are things that damage the hair, then we can also assume that most curly hair out there isn't receiving the care it needs to be healthy and look good. Even I have thought that curly hair is undesirable because it's tangly, damaged, unmanageable, poofy-fried, and frizzy. Well of course it is if it's being handled the exact opposite way it should be. I even flat ironed my own hair because it seemed like my waves (no where near actual curls) made my hair poofy and tangly. Then I learned how to care for my hair and it turns out that waves can be just as silky as flat ironed hair. Actually my healthy waves are silkier than my flat ironed hair ever was. So because that miracle is possible then I'm sure the same is true for curly hair. I've seen some pictures on this forum of people with curly hair that looked so shiny and silky it was just glorious! If more curly girls learned how to take care of their hair the way the ladies in this community do then curly hair wouldn't have such a bad reputation.

I asked my husband what kind of hair he preferred and he said wavy. I don't know if that means much though, he tends to like whatever I have, which in this case is wavy.

[Angeletti]

I would say it's probably just another fad that's going on right now, although I don't really pay attention to trends and stuff like that so I'm probably not much help at asnwering your question. Either way curly hair is still beautiful. It's funny because I have naturally stick straight hair and some of my family members prefer me to curl it, so it's just everyone's opinion I guess. Also could it be that straight hair is easier to manage (in my own experience at least)? When I curl my hair I tend to get frizz and tangles more so I have to do special things to prevent that where as when it's straight I have no issues, but I could be wrong maybe those of you with naturally curly hair don't have those issues it could just be my hair.

[jasper]

I don't think American society has anything against curls. If straighter hair is more in style at the moment, that will change.
Women aren't "always" encouraged to straighten- I recall a decade of my life where curly perms were the thing. And as for preferences of men- I don't know. I met my husband during that curly decade of mine and he has said he misses the curls.

[JulietCapulet]

It depends on what is in fashion at the time. Curls, crimped, flat iron straight, kinky, two toned, bleached, henna, long, short, shaved, The list goes on and on.
Why do you single out Americans as being against curly hair?

ETA: Did ya see us in the 80's. LOL! :D

I single out Americans because it's the only country I know well enough to comment on and its the country I live in.

[Quixii]

Yeah, I don't know. Like others have said, I think it's more an "of the time" thing. Perms and beach waves were in many years ago. Now straight hair is in. I don't know about guys' preferences - I know my boyfriend loves my hair and always wanted to date someone with wavy/curly long hair. I don't think I've ever heard a guy say he prefers straight hair. :shrug:
All I know is I love my curls and other people's curls.

[Katze]

In the 1950s the opposite was true. My grandmother, who had stick straight fine Scandinavian hair, always wanted ringlets, so she tortured her girls' (my mom and aunt's) hair into curls, even giving them PERMS, if you can imagine it.

I think many people do not know how to properly care for curls, leading to frizz and unmanageability. It is difficult enough to learn how to care for wavy hair, since the information is just not out there (except LHC). It has often seemed to me that all hair care is aimed at medium texture, medium thickness, straight hair, and the 'rest' of us just have to either have bad hair or learn somewhere else (thanks LHC).

It was thanks to an African-American friend that I learned that you can take care of your hair 'differently', but not until coming to LHC that I learned that what had worked for her hair type will not work on mine (though some of her tips were really useful).

I also wanted to add that I think, in the USA at least, there is a race/ethnicity component to having straight hair. I am not awake enough to analyze this in depth but remember the aforementioned friend and society's expectations that she straighten/process her hair, and her mom's lament that she had 'bad' (not straight = good) hair...

[marimara]

I don't know but I loooove curls, always have. I have the straightest hair in the world. I even PERMED it (in middle school!) and it was kinky for 2 weeks. Then back to straight. I'm the only one in the family without even a wave. I'm so jealous.....sigh..

[FrannyG]

Well, you must be quite young. In the mid to late '70s and during all of the '80s curls were everywhere and the bigger the better. I can't tell you how many perms I had or how many different curling devices I used to get curly hair. From wet setting on curlers to hot rollers to curling irons, I did it; we all wanted curly hair back then. And at that time, men definitely liked the curls.

I think men are influenced by the trends and what the pop stars and movie stars look like more than you might think.

It's a fashion cycle. My guess is that within the next decade, everyone will be wanting curls again.

[chopandchange]

It's just the current fashion.

In Victorian times it was the reverse: little girls with curly hair blessed their luck because they didn't need to sleep in rag curls every night like the straighties did. Everyone "had" to have curly hair. Now it's the other way round. :rolleyes:

[kitschy]

I'm old enough to have gone through several cycles in curly/straight hair fashion. I've learned to be happy with who I am. I don't have to appeal to all men - just my man, and he like my hair.

[Dolly]

I LOOOOOOOVE curls and wish I had some naturally! But mine is some of the straightest hair in the world. I used to perm very regularly, until I had my son......after that, my body chemistry totally changed, and the few perms that I tried after his birth fell out. STICK STRAIGHT within a few weeks. So, I learned to deal with what I have. And, I can roll it if I want to for a change (and without damage, too).....

[Delila]

I do think there's a racist component to some of the social pressure that claims curls are unprofessional. It's probably a holdover from the bad old days when issues of ethnicity of whatever type were not discussed the way they are now.

In real life, most people don't pay much attention to the specifics of haircare for a particular type, and tend not to understand that what's normal for one type is not normative for everyone.

I do think it's perfectly fine if someone with ultra curly hair wants to make the choice to style their hair stick straight as a fashion choice, or when someone with straight hair wants curls galore, but I do find it kind of sad when people have a neurotic fixation on changing their hair to fit someone else's ideas of beauty.

[x0h_bother]

I'm not sure about the curlies (3s and 4s) and why that isn't mainstream at this time in fashion. I always felt discriminated against in HS in the 90s because I wasn't neither 3 nor 1, so I couldn't embrace the 'curl' being a 2 but I would never be a straight 1 unless of course I flat ironed. IMO there was no place for 2s back then. Now celebs are getting 2s extentions, and I think 80s hair and big hair is coming back and it has a place for 2s, 3s, and 4s.

[heidihug]

I do think there's a racist component to some of the social pressure that claims curls are unprofessional.
Wow, that's something I've never heard before. What do you make of the '70's and '80's, then? Big, beautiful afros and curls and waves were the rule then.

[bumblebums]

Curls will come back. They always do. In fact, they are already coming back. We start with big bun-style curls or Farah Fawcett flip wings, and eventually we end up with corkscrew perms everywhere. Just you wait.

[aenflex]

My hair can get very curly. I've spent like the last 15 years trying to train in straight. I don't like the upkeep and all the products and work it takes to maintain the curls. When I was about 16-17 I just started doing everything I could to undo them. And it's worked. My hair is all but straight these days.
I think curls are very pretty and very unique. But too much work.

[sophiamarie]

I also think it is just a fad. I love curls! But most of the young women in their twenties that I work with love stick straight hair, and they are always flat ironing. Something I don't understand with most of the young women I work with though, they love getting extensions, whether it is temporary clip-in or bonded to the hair. Sometims they come in with wavy, curly, clip-in kinds. Yet they want their natural hair straight and flat-ironed. Anyway, I still love curls!

[GRU]

I LOVE big, curly hair, and I've always wished I had it!


I LOOOOOOOVE curls and wish I had some naturally!

The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.... I would just about KILL for some "slight waves" or stick-straight hair!

At least now, after four decades, I'm finally coming to terms with my hair....

[growing2shine]

Where I live it's also very fashionable to have straight hair, so im lucky with my hair hair, now. But I don't live by trends and fashion I only let it inspire me, and I don't care what others think is right. I love that my hair is so straight and I love my natural hair colour, but I won't lie, I love any kind of curls and wavy hair. But my hair doesn't agree with that, It won't hold just a tiny wave. But there's nothing I can do about that. :)

[angelfell]

I like curly hair. But come to find out, after I got a perm, I didn't really like it on me :x. But thick, shiny curls are lovely. So are hot iron curls, the big and loose ones..

[MissManda]

I think all hair types are gorgeous and curls are no exception. :) One of my friends has beautiful 3b/3c/F/iii hair that I think is just amazing.

I grew up with the opposite, actually. My grandmother couldn't stand the sight of my hair, which appeared to be 1a/1b due to cones and improper care. I was always nagged to "do something" with my hair because she kept complaining about it having no "lift" or "body." She (my grandmother) grew up in the 50s, so it makes sense. I even caved and willingly got a perm once which was fun for a while but I have since grown it out and accepted my straight-ish hair type. :)

I'm sure the curl contempt is just a fad and curls will be in fashion again soon. Fashion seems to like doing the opposite of the previous trend.

It could be just me, but one other thing that I have noticed is that fashion seems to want us to do the opposite of what our hair does naturally. I've seen hair commercials that promote some kind of product to curl/straighten hair. They'll show a woman with curly hair and say how "frizzy, wild, and out-of-control" her hair is and they'll show a woman with straight hair and say that her hair is "flat, lifeless, and boring." Then they'll show their "magical" hair product and all of a sudden the woman who straightened her hair is now "sophisticated, neat, and sleek" and the woman whose hair was curled now has "voluminous, bouncy, and thick." I can't help but laugh when I think of this because it sounds so contradictory.

[cocolady]

My mother has curls and she's been straightening them her whole life.
I on the other hand, have wavy hair and have always wanted them to be really curly lol
so yeah, people always want what they don't have.

[trillcat]

Curls will come back. They always do. In fact, they are already coming back. We start with big bun-style curls or Farah Fawcett flip wings, and eventually we end up with corkscrew perms everywhere. Just you wait.

I SO rocked the Farah wings back in the 80's! I have pics, I dont have a scanner to show you all though! I also tried to get a spiral perm, it did not go well. I blame Daryl Hanna and that "Splash" hair. :p

[mariika]

If I had to guess it's because most people don't know how to care for it.
I know how to take care of it. I just WANT IT STRAIGHT. I am brainwashed like that.

All I know is I love my curls and other people's curls.
I often love curls on other people BUT I WANT MY HAIR STRAIGHT OR WAVY. IS THERE A REHAB FOR THIS???

I'm the only one in the family without even a wave. I'm so jealous.....sigh..
Oh, the irony of it... I want thick straight dark hair!!! Or maybe less thick but wavy

It's a fashion cycle. My guess is that within the next decade, everyone will be wanting curls again.
God, I really need that decade to come along FAST :D

[MsBubbles]

You must be too young to remember the 80s and early 90s!!

If and when big hair ever comes back in style I'm gonna be so screwed.

[BrightEyes7]

I think people just desire what they don't have.

I wish for straight and shiny hair....

My ex-SIL and co-worker who both have 1a hair want my waves/curls....

The grass is always greener on the other side!!

[GRU]

You must be too young to remember the 80s and early 90s!!

If and when big hair ever comes back in style I'm gonna be so screwed.

If and when big hair ever comes back in style, I'm gonna RULE THE WORLD! http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b23/ImaHockeyMom/boards/emoticons/th_mwaha.gif?t=1287519284






;)

[2peasinapod]

It could be just me, but one other thing that I have noticed is that fashion seems to want us to do the opposite of what our hair does naturally.
...
I can't help but laugh when I think of this because it sounds so contradictory.

Of course they do this! If they just touted one hair type, then people with that hair type wouldn't have to buy any of the products. This way, no matter what your hair looks like, it's wrong, and you need to spend lots of money to "fix" it. :rolleyes:

[trillcat]

If and when big hair ever comes back in style, I'm gonna RULE THE WORLD! http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b23/ImaHockeyMom/boards/emoticons/th_mwaha.gif?t=1287519284






;)

Muahhaahaahaaaa!!!
Damn, I threw away my crimping iron!

[DrkAngel]

I don't think it's the US at all. I shop in Spanish stores and for years the stores were filled with bottles promising smoother, straighter hair and hair irons. Now we see a lot more curl products. If anything, it's fashion. Trends come and go. I know people who've gotten perms in the past few years, just because it was "in".

Some food for thought:
Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months. - by Oscar Wilde.

[jenwexler]

Actually I love curly hair. most of my family on my Mom's side has curly hair....except me. My mom has beautiful black ringlets when she grows it long. Curls are beautiful...but probably just need a little more care than straight hair.

[MissManda]

Of course they do this! If they just touted one hair type, then people with that hair type wouldn't have to buy any of the products. This way, no matter what your hair looks like, it's wrong, and you need to spend lots of money to "fix" it. :rolleyes:

Ah, you bring up an excellent point! :agree:

[PrincessBob]

Interestingly, I believe this is the backlash from the perm-obsessed 80's. The curlier the better back in those days. Some people who weren't naturally curly decided it didn't look as good on them and, realizing how ridiculous they looked, started pushing straight hair on curly friends and relatives. Curls became a stigmatic reminder of the before times. Men began associating curls with the mouse laden mom's that brought their forgotten bag-lunches to the bus stop in their bathrobes-- it scarred them for life!

Or curls are more difficult to de-tangle, thus straight hair connotes neatness/ hygiene to the over-chemically-processed masses-- whichever reason you prefer.

[ddiana1979]

Seems to me nearly everyone wants what they don't have. The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.

I have very straight hair, which I've tried curling in various ways. . . curling iron, hot rollers, foam rollers, velcro rollers, tied rags, soda cans. . . you name it, I've tried it. The curl falls right out after about 30 minutes. In the 80's (elementary & middle school) and late 90's (college) I got perms. They alway looked like hell on me. The only one I ever liked was a "body wave" or something. I finally gave up & decided that I like straight hair on me. :)

My friends with curly hair always seem to want it straightened. ;)

Skin tone is the same way. Some of my Chinese friends told me that they bleach their skin with strong chemicals to get the pale porcelain skin look. Many of my caucasian friends lay out in the sun or sit in tanning beds to get darker skin. Craziness. Personally, I like my deathly pallor. ;)

[bytheocean]

My best friend when growing up has stick straight hair and I was green with envy even though she was green with envy over my curls. The funny thing is that as I've aged my hair has gotten straighter and now I want the curls back like they used to be, which was probably a 3b.

The only down side to having curly hair for me was going to get my hair done and having people fight over who would have to cut my hair. I left many a business because of that. Now I don't have that problem as I haven't been in one in over 3 years.

[Nienna]

I've recently noticed that straightening irons have hit here as the latest fad in techno toys - but few to no curling irons ;).
In this case, though, I would say it's probably more of an issue of familiarity providing comfort - Asian hair tends to not be curly without lots of help.
Also, the latest styles seem to favor asymmetrical/blunt/layered cuts - the ones that you can only do on super straight hair, as the smallest hint of wave ruins the look.
It's possible that things might change if curls get a huge comeback in the West - or not. I think Japan and Korea are setting the trends for this area of the world.

I, on the other hand, would love to have curlier hair. :heart:
For me, the grass is definitely greener. :D

[luthien_belewen]

One of my best friends has beautiful naturally curly hair, and she wears it straight most of the time :( I loved her wild untamed curly locks, it suits her personality much better!

I have straight hair, and I like it. I don't especially want curly hair, but I appreciate natural curls on others.

[HintOfMint]

One of my best friends has beautiful naturally curly hair, and she wears it straight most of the time :( I loved her wild untamed curly locks, it suits her personality much better!

I have straight hair, and I like it. I don't especially want curly hair, but I appreciate natural curls on others.

I wish more people had this attitude. So many women actually struggle with accepting and loving their natural state, and when they finally do, they do it at the expense of other kinds of beauty. You see it with weight (e.g. "Real Women Have Curves) but it's also there in hair. "I've grown to love my curls, flat hair is so boring..." etc.
Acceptance and appreciation can go hand in hand. I just wish it happened more often.

[FrannyG]

God, I really need that decade to come along FAST :D

Oh but mariika, you and your hair are sooooo beautiful. :blossom:

[bumblebums]

I SO rocked the Farah wings back in the 80's! I have pics, I dont have a scanner to show you all though! I also tried to get a spiral perm, it did not go well. I blame Daryl Hanna and that "Splash" hair. :p

Hah, that would be cool to see. We need a pictorial confessional thread of prior hair sins :)

The spiral perm thing reminded me of a girl in my high school. She had absolutely amazing dark spiral curls that looked so good I kept wondering where she got such a nice perm. Now I think back to it, they were probably completely natural. It just didn't occur to me that people can have hair that was naturally that curly and thick. Not common where I come from!

[GRU]

The spiral perm thing reminded me of a girl in my high school. She had absolutely amazing dark spiral curls that looked so good I kept wondering where she got such a nice perm. Now I think back to it, they were probably completely natural. It just didn't occur to me that people can have hair that was naturally that curly and thick. Not common where I come from!

At one time I was in a salon that had a HUGE picture on the wall of a model with beautiful long, 3a/3b curls spread out. The stylist said that people kept coming in asking for "the same perm as the girl in the picture" and they were all disappointed to learn that the curls were natural, and no perm in the world would be able to recreate it.

Hey, at least the stylist was honest about it -- she could have made a killing selling perms to people who thought they would end up looking like the model on the wall!

[bumblebums]

At one time I was in a salon that had a HUGE picture on the wall of a model with beautiful long, 3a/3b curls spread out. The stylist said that people kept coming in asking for "the same perm as the girl in the picture" and they were all disappointed to learn that the curls were natural, and no perm in the world would be able to recreate it.

Hey, at least the stylist was honest about it -- she could have made a killing selling perms to people who thought they would end up looking like the model on the wall!

Hehe, yeah, that reminds me of when a guy I knew said, "you know, I don't think all these girls in Pantene ads are getting that hair from the shampoo. They probably have naturally nice hair or something."

But yeah, about perms--I really should have known better. A classmate of mine got a perm on her 1a hair, and it looked like my braid waves do on day 2 or later. And it also fell out completely in about a month or so. No perm wizard can transform 1a into 3b.