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Curly Talk: Interview with Jessicurl Founder, Jessi

Curly red hair don’t care.

If it took years to accept your curls or you loved them from the start, we can all agree: it takes a village to find the right ‘Redhead Friendly’ approved curly haired products good enough to keep those locks flowing beautifully.

We love the JessiCurl line and excited to have talked with its redhead founder, Jessi McGuinty.

Bonus! If you’re an H2BAR Box subscriber, you received JessiCurl Spiralicious Styling Gel in your December box.

H2BAR: What was it like growing up with curly red hair? 

JM: In full disclosure, my hair was blonde and stick-straight as a kid. It turned strawberry blonde and got curly in high school. I’ve been dying it this shade of vibrant red for the past fifteen years. I HATED it when it went curly. The kids called me Mushroom head, Brillo Pad, Chia Pet. Anything they could think of to call even more attention to the fact that my hair was horizontal.

H2BAR: How did Jessicurl come about? 

JM: As I grew up, my hatred of my hair didn’t dissipate. Finally, in 2002 I figured there had to be a better way, and typed “curly hair” into Google to see what the internet had to offer.

The first thing that came up was www.naturallycurly.com. I was thrilled to find an entire community of curly haired people who shared the same struggles as I did. Who knew?

I immersed myself in their Curl Talk message board and quickly made many “cyber friends” with whom I traded hair tips and horror stories. Much of what they talked about, however, were products. I would go out and buy any product that someone raved about, most of which didn’t do anything to make me like my hair better. Many of them actually made the condition of my hair worse, drying it out with alcohols and stripping the natural oils with harsh detergents.

One day I came across a very basic recipe for a hair gel made out of flax seeds. I remember thinking, “Wow, how cool would it be if I could just make my OWN hair gel? I sure would save a lot of money!” I tried that very basic recipe, and the results were less than stellar. By this time I was inspired, however, so I tweaked the recipe, adding other natural ingredients that I had learned are good for curly hair. The results were nothing short of miraculous. I was shocked that FINALLY my hair looked like I wanted, and I had made the product on my stove!!

With much exuberance, I went back to the NaturallyCurly.com message boards and excitedly shared the recipe with my newfound friends. (The thought of going into business hadn’t crossed my mind.) After posting my recipe I was flooded with emails from curly headed members asking if they could just buy some of the magic potions from me, as they really didn’t feel like making it. The rest, as they say, is history! Rockin’ Ringlets Styling Potion was born.

H2BAR: What is one word to describe your red hair? 

JM: Feisty

H2BAR: What is your advice for a redhead reading this who is having a hard time accepting her curls and red hair? 

JM: There are many others out there who can relate to what you are going through, so do some Google searches to find out what their hair routines are and see if you can apply any of their tips and tricks to your curls.

H2BAR: What product do you recommend for a redhead who is just starting to rock her natural curls? 

JM: Our Spiralicious Styling Gel (spotted in the December H2BAR Box!) is amazing and reducing frizz while also creating definition and controlling humidity, so if you’re only going to use one of our products, that’s a great place to start.

H2BAR: Top tip for caring for your red locks: 

JM: If your hair is on the thicker, coarser end of the spectrum, you’ll want to make sure you keep it moisturized, especially in the colder months.

H2BAR: Favorite hairstyle to rock with your red locks:

JM: Personally, I just always wear my hair down and curly since my whole business is centered on curly hair. Good thing I love it that way!

H2BAR: Secret tip on caring for your red locks: 

JM: Since I admit to dying my hair this shade, it’s important to use gentle cleansers that don’t strip the color, so my Hair Cleansing Cream and Gentle Lather Shampoo are great for that as they don’t have harsh sulfate surfactants that strip the color and dry it out.

H2BAR: What is your top tip for fighting frizz?

JM: Healthy, moisturized hair is always going to be less frizzy, so I make sure to use my Deep Conditioning Treatment often to keep it from drying out and getting frizzy.

H2BAR: Favorite redhead character/actress: 

JM: Princess Merida from Brave, of course! She’s a redhead AND curly!

Receive 30% off your next Jessicurl.com order using code H2BRH. Expires 12/31

Watch a tutorial on how to use the JessiCurl Spiralicious Styling Gel below:

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