Jo would often find a haircut she liked, usually something sleek and straight, and try to recreate it.
But it never quite worked.
“I’d spend my time straightening it to try to get it to look like someone else’s haircut… but it would never look the same.”
The more she tried to force it into that shape, the more obvious it became that her hair didn’t behave the same way.
Frizz was always part of the picture
Rain? Frizz.
Humidity? Frizz.
Stress, hormones, weather? More frizz.
“What was the most frustrating thing about your hair back then?”... “Everything!”
She tried everything she could find, smoothing products, anti-frizz formulas, and even curly hair products.
But nothing quite worked.
The curly products were too heavy. They created shape, but left her hair feeling sticky, clumpy, and weighed down, especially because her texture wasn’t consistent from root to end.
“I tried more curly hair products, but I think it’s curly underneath, and the top isn’t. So I found they were a bit heavier. They would give the curl, but my hair just felt heavy and sticky and clumpy. I just couldn’t manage it.”
Eventually, it became easier to stop trying.
“I’d just put it up. It was just easier.”
On holiday, where the weather made everything more obvious, it was the same story.
“I’d leave it to dry, and it would have something to it, but I thought it was just kinky.”