A CurveBall: The Secret Was Not in the Juice!

photo credit from www.wn.com

Many people feel that the Jheri Curl "juice" was the secret to longer, fuller hair.  They felt that the moisture was the key.  Now, let's throw a curveball into that thought process:

Access to Air

1) As mentioned in my previous blog article, "access to air" promotes hair growth.  The "jheri curl" allowed plenty of access to air because the haircut was the style.  Ponytails were not necessary.  The "jheri curl" was "wash and go" styling.  Of course, curl activator and other leave-in moisturizers were necessary, but there were never any bad hair days.  Some may argue that the whole "Jheri curl" movement was a "bad era." Regardless, outside of the fact that some people started sleeping in plastic caps which denied air to the scalp, the "Jheri curl" was  hair freedom.

Less Tension/ Less Manipulation

2) Again, most "jheri curl" wearers did not put a lot of tension on the hair.  It had a wet finish.  So the shine and the style was built in without ponytail holders.

More Hydration

3) The daily moisturizing of the "Jheri curl" helped to prevent breakage from the double processing that the chemical service entails.  Remember the natural curl of the hair had to be "thio-relaxed" first then a looser curl had to be formed and neutralized into place.  The curl activators and moisturizers kept the damaged hair conditioned and masked.

Less Heat

4) No hot tools were necessary with the "Jheri curl."  Damaged or porous hair dries faster than healthier hair.  So the curl activators sealed the hydration in the hair.

As I searched on the Internet for extra long "Jheri curl" hair, I found mostly wigs, weaves, etc.  I also found a good amount of men with length on their "Jheri curl."  However, I could not find that many women who had exceptionally long, beautiful, and real "Jheri curls."  

Was it just our imagination that the soft curls and "Jheri curls" were helping our hair gain length?

I missed the "Jheri Curl" trend.  My mom did not like the "loc" styling nor the "Jheri curl" styling.  Oh well, I am grateful that my mom was consistent in her styling restrictions.

I only know of one person who got a beautiful s-wave pattern from the Wave Nouveau process.  Her hair grew extremely long and beautiful with the  Wave Nouveau.  She wears her natural hair now, and it is gorgeous without any chemicals.

So the secret was not in the "Jheri Juice" - it was probably in the "lower maintenance" care of the hair as well as the airflow to the scalp.