My first Curly Hair haircut was a DEVAcut!

Curly hair is not a trend, is a way of life. Ask a curly girl about her hair and she’ll tell you about her life. She’ll tell you about her childhood, her family, her friends, she’ll tell you how she styles her hair, what products she uses, how much she loves her curls and the way she sees herself in the mirror.

I wanted to share with you guys my very first haircut experience. I am almost 5 years old and I never ever had a haircut in my life so my mommy and I were super nervous. My hair has always been soft and curly from the root, but after 4+ years it was almost past my waistline so it was getting difficult to manage.

As my hair grew, the weight of the hair relaxed most of the curls so they started accumulating towards the ends. I wanted to cut at least 4 inches off but i feared that if I did, I would lose all my curls, that’s part of the reason why it took longer to make the decision. I felt like Samson (from Samson and Delilah), who’s superhuman strength came from his long hair, and without it he was nothing 😖

Thankfully, after lots of research (really, kinda making time so we didn’t have to cut it so soon!) we found the perfect place for my darling curls, DEVACHAN salon in New York City. They’ve spent decades mastering curly hair techniques, and their stylists won't just give you amazing curls, they'll also teach you how to create them on your own. They help women believe in the very simple idea of loving their curls in their own way.

So I finally put my nerves aside and made an appointment to see Rick for THEE “DevaCut”: a revolutionary cutting technique designed for all natural textures, from wavy to super curly. Your hair is sculpted curl-by-curl, while dry, in its natural state followed by a styling and coaching session (it sounds quick and easy but in reality there are many steps involved to pamper you and your precious curls!). You also get a personalized “Deva prescription” to maintain your style at home.

Now its time for you to get comfy and grab something to drink because I am about to tell you the best kept secrets of styling curly hair step by step so you too, can do it at home and look fabulous!

It's about 6:15pm and I arrive to the salon for the ultimate curly hair experience trying to look cool, as if I am used to doing this all the time. I enter their Broome street location in SoHo, NYC, a sleek, modern space that combines hard wood floors, white walls and their vibrant green products displayed neatly that awaken all your senses immediately.

I check in and wait on their green lounge until Rick comes to greet me, and so my experience begins...

1. I take a seat at the magical chair where the transformation begins (drumroll please!!)

2. Here I get a personalized consultation with my stylist to explain exactly what I want and how much hair I am willing to let go 😢 (this is the part where I explain that I don’t want to lose my curls!! - and of course I repeat it like 7 times). He also suggests we do a bit of layering at the ends so the curls can shape up more throughout the entire head and not just sit at the ends. I absolutely love the idea.

3. Rick puts my white and green cape on (unfortunately you can’t fly away with it and avoid the haircut) and the click-click begins, very carefully strand by strand, curl by curl, with lots of love and passion my hair starts slowly falling on the floor (yup, I’m holding the tears back right at this moment)

4. After only a few minutes, the cape comes off (I start to breath again) and they walk me over to the wash station where I meet my wash & style professional Krystal Lee. But! this isn’t your regular wash station. First of all, you are lying down vertically on a comfy bed that feels more like a first class seat in a 787, pillow under my knees and another one behind my neck for added comfort (I can stay here all day!) ps: don’t you hate when they wash your hair sitting up and your head is tilted back so your neck starts to stiffen up after 2 minutes? Yeah, this is not it and I’m loving it.

5. Krystal Lee (she’s the best!) starts the washing process, can I get an Oh My God now? Wow, it feels like a therapeutic, delicious massage on your head that smells so yummy! She explains every product being used starting with the Deva No-Poo cleanser (yup, it’s not a shamPoo, it's a zero lather moisturizing cleanser). It’s formulated with peppermint and grapeseed oil, which stimulates and cleanses the scalp and hair without stripping away the natural oils your curls need. No-Poo leaves you with shiny, bouncy curls that are just plain gorgeous (so it’s time to ditch your shamPOO gurl!). Once she’s done cleansing the hair, she adds the “One Condition Original” conditioner (only on my ends), and of course it also smells amazing. One of the main ingredients of this rich conditioner is olive oil so it locks in moisture for healthy hair, leaving your curls softer than ever and especially frizz-free! Similar to the cutting technique, Krystal Lee washes strand by strand, curl by curl de-tangling my hair gliding through the ends using only her fingers and lots of conditioner, and twisting the strands into their natural shape (this is the point where you also ditch your comb or brush, yup, curly hair girls should NEVER use one, not even on wet hair). Throughout the entire process she lets me hold a mirror so I can see what she’s doing and learn how to do it at home. When she’s done, my curls had been carefully separated (while in the sink) and my hair is dripping wet (another VERY important tip here is to NEVER towel dry your curls, It's also important to have damp hair when you apply gel) so she places a towel over my shoulders and off the chair (bed I mean) I go.

6. Next step is, the scrunching: At the styling station I sit on a chair and my stylist strategically places a towel over my knees and another one over my feet. This is when the “scrunching” process begins, and pay attention because this a crucial part to get those bouncy, defined, beautiful curls you want. While sitting down, she makes me flip my head over very carefully so the curls fall in the right place and don’t get undone. Using her open hands, she pours a good amount of “Deva Light Defining Gel” (trust me, this is not your dad’s gel) she starts scrunching my hair from the ends up just a handful of times. She extolled the squishy sound my sopping-wet hair made when she squeezed it, citing it as a sign that my very thirsty hair was taking well to this new moisture routine. Remember, when you apply the product—only ever apply gel to SOAKING wet hair. I’m talking torrential downpour coming from your scalp. The floor where you apply your gel should not be dry. Then, using a DEVAtowel which is made of microfiber (best drying towel to avoid frizzy hair!), she scrunches a few more times.

7. Hair Clipping is next! You probably didn’t see this coming, yeah me either but is the coolest thing! They literally pin the root of every strand to your scalp before you get under the dryer so the hair doesn’t dry flat, but instead it adds volume to the roots.

8. Next stop, the Drying Station: yassss! they still use those gigantic drying stations that cover your entire head (which is really the best way to dry curls but I doubt my mom will let me have one in my bedroom). This is fun because I look like Buzz Lightyear from Toy Story about to take off to the moon. Now, the top of my head full of silver clips goes under the magical dryer for about 15 minutes while I sip a yummy cranberry iced tea since it was too early for me to drink champs 😝

9. When you think the drying process is done, it’s not! Now they bring a DEVAfuser and carefully dry my ends at a low speed so they don’t go flying away everywhere, you basically want to keep holding the curls down against the diffuser with one hand while you hold the diffuser with the other one. This ensures your curls remain shiny and together, never split. Now the drying process is done!

10. Rick comes back to see me, he asks me to flip my head over and shake shake shake my hair sliding his fingers thru my roots to give it the final touch. When I sit back up and look at myself in the mirror, my goodnesssss I’m done and I LOVE IT! my haircut is perfect and my curls are healthy, shinny, bouncy and they look more amazing that ever.

I am so happy with the outcome beyond believe and I would recommend this salon to anyone that cares for their curls as much as I do. If you think your curls can’t get any better, trust me you will change your mind. This is really not a regular salon, it is a curly-hair-heaven, a magical space where curl transformations begin. Also, their amazing products are Sulfate, Silicon, Paraben and Cruelty Free so they’re as good for you as they are for your little ones. Please feel free to DM or email me and I will answer all the questions you may have, I love reading all your comments!

Oh, I wanted to let you know, I checked to see if my superhuman powers are still there and they are feewww!)

It's curly, it's complicated, it's fun, and they do get it!

xoxo

Valentina Skye