HBO/Everett
As such, the techniques that are now being used in curly salons are in diametric opposition to what many would consider the golden rules of hair care. Massey, who refers to herself as the “evangelicurl,” abhors shampoo, and cuts curly hair dry. After a shower, rather than towel-drying hair, which leads to frizz, she suggests using an old T-shirt or paper towels to scrunch out water. And curly hair should never be brushed: to remove knots, she recommends a wide-tooth comb in the shower after conditioning.
Torch, meanwhile, employs what he calls a “tunnelling cut,” which reduces excess bulk by trimming a series of tiny, hidden sections of hair to the quick. The products he developed for his Curly Hair Solutions line are water-based, promising to calm frizz without the sticky buildup or crunchy feel of other serums and gels. “For curly hair,” he says, “there’s a whole world that’s just being discovered.”
And it’s not just happening in salons. The struggle to find products and techniques that work is so trying, says Norah Kot Shaughnessy, a gregarious 27-year-old with long, golden ringlets, that, “It’s not weird for a curly-haired person to go up and talk to another curly-haired person they don’t even know.” (When Shaughnessy met Jodi Picoult, an American author with thick auburn spirals, at a book signing in L.A. last year, the pair talked hair.) Much of what Torch teaches his clients, he says, comes from emails and online discussions. “We are constantly learning tricks,” says Torch, who now receives so many emails that he employs someone full-time to sort through them.
Propelling the movement forward, it appears, is the difference that having a good hair day makes. For women who spend hours flattening their hair, only to have it recoil at the first sign of moisture, the freedom to go curly “affects their day-to-day life,” says Torch. Suddenly, women who avoided beaches, pools, and sweaty dance floors are able to embark on these activities with ease. “There’s a lot of tears of joy and hugs of appreciation,” says Torch.
The confidence boost, says Di Salvo, is instant: “When a customer leaves us, they’re ecstatic. They’re comfortable in their skin.” (Significantly, both Governor General Michaëlle Jean and U.S. President Barack Obama’s eldest daughter Malia have recently taken a stance and gone au naturel.)
Because of the time and effort it takes to masquerade as straight-haired, when a curly-haired woman decides to free her tresses, says Massey, an elemental transformation takes place: “You can’t go back,” she says.
But there are still some for whom the choice is not so cut and dried. At the Curl Ambassadors, a woman with long, brown waves leans back over the sink to have her hair washed, and asks, “Can we style it straight? Is that allowed?” After an awkward pause, the stylist replies, “Yeah. I guess I have no problem with that.”
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