Calling all curly girls

SLOUGH, ENGLAND:

Hajra Yamin, Sania Saeed, Angeline Malik, and Abida Parveen. What do all these ladies have in common, besides having made a name for themselves in the entertainment industry? They are the proud, unabashed owners of some of the most beautiful curls in showbiz, flaunting their tightly coiled mass of hair for all the world to admire.

Curly and stigmatised

Is there anything more beautiful than a gorgeously maintained mane of corkscrew curls? To brazenly brandish hair like black milk bubbling out of a pan? YouTube ads, pandering to the global obsession with friction-free dead straight hair, may try their utmost to assure you that actually, almost anything in the world is preferable to having curly hair, including, perhaps, weaving a pigeon's nest onto your head. Or dead grass. Your judgemental salon lady (once she has finished making snide observations about your wild eyebrows and persistent blackheads) may also try her hardest to iron away your curls as if they are a series of embarrassing warts.

Film producers, too, operate on a similar bandwidth. "I feel like our beauty standards have really deteriorated," mused comfortable-with-curls Hajra in an interview last year. "In film and TV, people had concerns about my curly hair and said I should straighten it out."

Anyone who has enjoyed Hajra's performance in Noor Jahan – or indeed followed her tips for curly hair online – will be aware that here is an actor who is fiercely protective of her natural hair. The lesson here is that unwanted ads and judgmental salon ladies exist to be ignored. Curls, on the other hand, are there to be cherished and embraced with tender loving care.

If you have been bestowed with tight curls that leave you at your wits' end, fret no more. Just like silky straight hair needs a laborious set of tips and tricks to keep it looking lusciously flawless, so does curly hair – albeit a completely different skill set. Because curly hair doesn't grow straight or evenly from the root, it requires a little extra TLC. With a little patience, you, too can flaunt your curls with the confidence of a showbiz star. Here's how.

Avoiding breakage

Curly hair and hairbrushes are not a match made in heaven. Only brush your hair with a hairbrush if you want a permanent blob-like halo of fuzz around your head. Find yourself a wide-toothed comb to detangle your tresses. Not only is a wide-toothed comb gentle on the scalp, it also detangles your hair without messing with your curl pattern.

Before you start, you can pave an even smoother path for your hair by gently running your fingers through it first, which will minimise any incoming stress caused by the comb. For best results, comb when you have conditioner in your hair. Wet hair lathered in conditioner puts up less resistance and will be easier to comb. To avoid any roadblocks in your hair, so to speak, it is always sensible to split your hair into sections, start from the bottom, and work your way up. To avoid frizz, give your hair a quick wash with cold water (if you cannot bear a cold shower in this weather), which will keep those irritating flyaway hairs tamped down.

Keep your hair hydrated

Unlike its straighter counterpart, curly hair is more prone to drying out. Ergo, it is best to retain moisture by always oiling before washing with a sulphate-free shampoo and a silicon-free conditioner. Massage your scalp well as you wash, as this releases natural oils that in turn keep your hair healthy.

When in search of hair oil, argan oil, coconut oil and/or olive oil are prime moisturising oil options for you to consider before your shampoo (or a 'pre-poo' treatment, as it is known in curly hair circles). Oiling and detangling before a wash will help you go a long way – because the one thing all experts agree on is that dry detangling is a big no-no. When in doubt, think sombrely back to Mia Thermopolis' broken hairbrush in The Princess Diaries.

Defining your curls

Of course, Mia from The Princess Diaries was forced to bid a sad farewell to her curls in order to morph into a passable beauty. You need not tread in Mia's footsteps. After you have washed and conditioned your hair, define your curls by flipping your dripping wet hair over your head so it is dangling over your face. Using your hands, start scrunching your curls, squeezing out the water as you go along. At this stage, you can add a leave-in conditioner of your choice. With your curls now nice and springy, gently squeeze out the water with a cloth or microfibre towel (curly girl experts recommend you avoid a regular towel, as the rough fibres can catch on your newly-defined curls and give birth to the dreaded frizz.) Apply as little friction as possible. Gently shake the hair from the roots to give your hair more volume.

Rope in a professional

Finally, it is worth remembering that just like not all men are Harvey Weinstein, not all salon ladies are straight-hair-snobs. Not all beauticians will try to whip the life out of your curls and tame them into helpless submission. Find a hair professional who respects the beauty of ringlets. Using the right products and the correct technique tailored to your unique hair, she (or he – let us not discriminate on the basis of gender here) will transform your curls from a featureless ball of fuzz to an explosion of tightly coiled shiny gorgeousness. Seek out this gem of a beautician and brandish your beautiful curls with style and confidence.