From unnaturally straight to naturally curly

Summer is approaching, and I work at 4:30 a.m. daily. Both of these things means

1) It's going to be too hot and too time consuming to heat style my hair.

2) It will be very hard for me to maintain a straight style every day, since naturally curly hair and high humidity = frizzy -- not sleek -- straight/wavy hair.

So this means for much of the summer, my hair will be airdried only. I love to look good, but unlike women with regular schedules or stylists, I'll be doing my 'do natural.

Fortunately, my girlfriend's relative very recently taught me how to get a handle on my curls -- something I've been struggling with forever.

For years, my hair would look like Jordin Sparks' curls, only much poofier, frizzier, and way more out of control. This is what prompted me to reach for a plethora of high heat tools: flat irons, blowdriers, hot combs, hot rollers, curling irons -- all the things that broke my hair off and thinned it out, leaving it lifeless. Trust me, it's not normal to put 400 degrees farenheit on your hair more than once or twice a week, whether it's coarse, curly, straight or whatever.

So now I'm happy to report that a solution came to me. Here's the story: I was standing in a bathroom, combing my wet hair with no product. I was stretching the curls out, in hopes of keeping them from frizzing. My friend's aunt stopped me; I was doing it all wrong, she said.

• After you wash your hair, a vitamin-rich leave-in conditioner is needed. I'm using Rusk Deepshine Sea Kelp deep conditioner. If you hit up somewhere like Marshalls, Ross or T.J. Maxx, you can get a bottle of it that's bigger than your head for $10. Because it's normally $20+ a bottle. I also use the Rusk Deepshine Sea Kelp shampoo.

• Be sure to use a big, wide-toothed comb for your wet hair, or just detangle it with your fingers. Never brush! My hair looks like Frizz City when I brush it while it's curly.

• Then, I apply Biosilk and a bit of gel, like the clear X-treme hold from LA Looks (believe it or not, this cheapie gel works and doesn't leave my hair too crunchy). If I am a bit low on cash (times are hard, and Biosilk can get expensive!), then I use Sally Beauty Supply's Generic Value Product's "Like Biosilk" product. It's $8, and works just as well.

• And be sure scrunch your curls. You do this by taking a section of hair, twirl it around your hand and hold it up to the top of your head for a few seconds, then let it fall. You repeat this process all over. It keeps the curls from frizzing and helps them to retain shape. If I didn't explain this clear enough (don't worry, I'm working on the video tutorials), go to YouTube and type in "how to scrunch curls."

So, this is my low-maintenance method for summer. If it kept my hair looking fab in the extremely humid Miami, then it can look hot anywhere, lol. Now I'm just on the hunt for a lightweight oil I can use on my hair daily. I'm thinking of getting safflower oil from the health food store. I'll keep ya'll posted.