Things Only Southern Girls With Curly Hair Know

Having curly hair can sometimes be like dealing with a naughty three-year-old. Try as you might, they're impossible to contain. They're wild, energetic, and almost always leave you feeling exasperated. But, just like that unruly three-nager you once thought would never outgrow her wild antics, one good day makes it all worth it. Suddenly your frizzy, fluffy, and all-around hard-to-manage locks become bouncy, shiny, and angelic tendrils of pure gold. Of course, these dreamy days are sometimes few and far between—particularly when living through a humid Southern summer—but we wouldn't trade our signature spirals for anything. Here are five things every Southern girl with curly hair knows.

Brushes are the enemy.

Don't even think of coming at us with that brush. If you do, you're likely to hear some very sassy words. Curls need to be taken care of with kid gloves (read: never brushed out or pulled straight). Like trying to talk to a strong-willed Southern lady after she's made her mind up, curls will rebel if you try to straighten them out. It's best to not even try.

You're always at the forefront of hair styling trends.

You've been co-washing, air-drying, and plopping for years, but you're happy to welcome all your straight-haired sisters to the party—no matter how fashionably late they may be.

You're the only one of your girlfriends who loves cruising with the windows down.

Your passengers will beg you to roll up the windows to save their fresh blowouts. They can pick the tunes, but when it comes to messing with the windows, that's off limit, ladies.

You look forward to beach trips solely for the amazing hair day that will result.

Salt water is the secret to your best hair day—as long as there's leave-in condition in the beach bag, of course. A little ocean (or Gulf) water is the ultimate styling product for a tousled, summer look and it's free for the taking along any sandy shore.

Southern summers bring heat and humidity but that won't put a damper on a well-dressed curl.

In fact, humidity will make a healthy curl spring up more. As long as there's moisture in a curl, the moisture in the hot summer air won't be a bother. That means, when everyone else is dreading what the impending heat wave will do to their ‘dos for that outdoor wedding (in the middle of July?), all you need to worry about is what color to polish your toes because you've got the hair situation covered.

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So, next time you think of chopping off your hair and starting over, just give your curls a day to regroup. We're sure they'll give you countless bouncy reasons to be thankful you did.