If Cosmo Kramer had hair that grazed his shoulders it may look something like mine when dried naturally without “guidance.” When no product, curling iron, or controlled environment is implemented my hair takes on a halo of Einstein frizz. For the first five years that I worked at Vogue, beginning in 2011, I wrote about parties, galas, and weddings for the website and the magazine and went out three to five nights a week, often in black tie. I would change clothes and do my makeup under the fluorescent lights of the bathrooms at the old Conde Nast headquarters at 4 Times Square and would either slick back my hair with water and pomade or run to the midtown Dry Bar and get a $40 blowout. Never, in 15 years of party reporting and gala attendance has it occurred to me to wear my hair curly. The risk was just too high. Plus, where would I even begin? How would I make it presentable and look dressed up rather than like I’d just been electrocuted in a cartoon?
I like my hair curly, it feels most me, and with two young kids and a lot of job, I never feel like I have time to get my hair blown out or salon-styled into an updo anymore. So what to do? I’ve started wearing my hair curly with the guidance and advice of certified curl guru, Lorraine Massey.
It was only this past spring in anticipation of the Garden of Time-themed Met Gala that, upon the suggestion of our intrepid Beauty and Wellness editor, Margaux Anbouba, that I considered wearing my hair curly for what is arguably the most high-stakes red carpet of the year. The dress code suggested earthy, organic leanings, and my emerald satin H&M dress was embroidered with jeweled bugs. Natural hair seemed only fitting for the occasion.
Nestled between Balloon Saloon and the Odeon, I almost missed Massey’s sleek, pale-wood paneled Salon XYZ in Tribeca due to its discreet signage. Inside, after serving me her signature watermelon ginger iced tea and sudsing my hair on lie-flat hair washing beds, the Leicestershire-born Massey shared some of the curly hair wisdom that has made her a preeminent name in coils as both the founder of DevaChan salons and Curly World products.