Meet Paula from the beautiful Mediterranean island. Paula shares her curl journey with us from when she was a teen up to now. And we've just got to say that we're so proud of you, Paula!

The Journey

What inspired you to return natural?

My name is Paula, I'm 24 years old and I was born in a small mediterranean seaside town where humidity is always present (always). When I was younger I loved to cut my straight hair very short until one day it started to grow curly. I had no idea of how much I would hate myself in the future for being a curly girl. At first, when I was a preteen I used to wet my hair to manage and brush it EVERY morning at 7am to go to school.

I didn't even know the existence of diffuser so I had to go in the middle of winter with my hair soaked to school. I was so cold. Even if I tried my best (with my knowledge) high school kids always told me I looked like Krusty the Clown from The Simpsons. I felt so bad and I decided to start straightening my hair every day. Also, I was the only one in my class with curly hair and when you are a teenager, you just want to be like everyone and go unnoticed.

I'd spend hours and hours every day trying to fight my nature and canceling plans because of my hair until I grew up and I started to go to university. I started to have more confidence in myself and I decided to try to and be myself. Even though I still hated my curls. I didn't know how to brush them or what products to use, but I tried to be myself without feeling ashamed of my hair.

I discovered the Curly Method and I felt embraced from thousands of people who was in the same situation as me. Thanks to the internet I found a lot of information about how to start to take care of my hair. It's taken two years to understand what my hair needs and how to manage it. I have not reached my goal yet, but now I feel happy and proud of my beautiful (but complicated) hair.

What were the challenges (if any) along the way of your healthy hair journey?

The most difficult part of this journey to me is to accept that my hair doesn't always go the way I would like (that includes all the detox period we must go through where you feel that your efforts are not worth it). It's also hard to spend a lot of money on products that don't fit our type hair. But finally every journey in life looks like the hair journey, we must try and try until we find what we are looking for.

What is your number 1 curl tip?

My number 1 curl tip is to not give up and keep trying every day. All hair types and people are different, and it is hard to find the correct routines and products that fit us. However the only way to discover it is to try it again, keep the hope up and keep loving ourselves above our hair.

Discovering Flora & Curl

What made you buy Flora & Curl products? How did you hear about us?

In one of my desperate attempts to understand what was going wrong with my hair I went to a hairdressing salon (Campos Curly) that specialized in curly hair to ask what I could do with my dyed and dried hair. Whilst I was there, a beautiful curly girl told me that they were working with Flora & Curl and maybe it could help my curls, so I tried it.

How did you see your hair change after using Flora & Curl products?

Some of my friends ask me if Flora & Curl pays me for advertising! But their products changed my hair to this much better version. I feel so much more confident.

Which Flora & Curl product is your favourite and why?

My favorite Flora & Curl product is the Rose Water Detangling Lotion. My hair can sometimes be a mess and with this product I can untangle it without problems in one minute.

What is your current Flora & Curl haircare routine?

My Flora & Curl routine is to use the Rose Water Detangling Lotion as a conditioner and 50% leave in. I get out from the shower and I apply the Sweet Hibiscus Curl Activating Lotion with the help of a hair comb. After that I use the Sweet Hibiscus Curl Defining Gel.

What sets Flora & Curl apart from other brands/products on the market? 

The difference I feel the most about Flora & Curl products from other brands is that they never saturate the hair and leave a clean and smooth look every time I use them. Something very hard to find.

Thank you for sharing your journey with us, Paula! Your curls look stunning!

If you're one of our loyal curly customer's why not share your curl journey with us? We'd love to hear your story! And if you're a newbie here, welcome! Get inspired even more by giving our Customer Curl Journey page a browse!