To cut or not to cut? To dye roots or not to dye? And in my case to wash or not to wash?

Before you gasp at my lack of hygiene, the “no ’poo” movement has been gathering momentum over the past few years, especially among those of us with curly hair. I usually wash my hair but one of the great things about curls is that they don’t tend to get greasy; perfect for lockdown you’d think. Curls do however drop (and thus look less curly), knot and frizz. In fact it is the mission of pretty much every curly girl I know to find that magic product or drying method that will create naturally bouncy, shiny and frizz-free curls, to make that Jew-fro glow.

As I have not been leaving the house other than for my daily exercise or food shop and not seeing anyone other than my children and husband, I decided to temporarily ditch my usual mousse and hairspray routine. Why waste the time or money? My hairspray habit has also given me moral pause over the years (that’s a lot of aerosol) so this has given me an opportunity to earn some extra-strong-hold brownie points for when real-life resumes. But this lack of product has also meant I’ve decided to wash my hair less. Freshly washed curly hair with no product is frizzy , soft, flyaway and, frankly, out of control. I’m like the little girl with the little curl that keeps falling right down my forehead.

I’m painting a lovely picture of my lockdown locks here (unwashed and untamed) but thanks to my permanent bun — which looks intentional (I hope) when paired with my lockdown athleisure uniform — I think I’m styling it out for now.

I did send my hairdresser a frenzied text just as lockdown was announced, however, and she messaged back with a list of product recommendations. Top of her list was Olaplex 6, a bond smoother which claims to eliminate frizz and speed up drying time. It’s pricey but a little goes a long way and also makes me feel like I’m nourishing my hair despite ignoring it for weeks. She also recommended Aussie shampoo, for the days when I do wash out the knots and frizz . Finally my go-to mousse right now is Pantene Pro-V Defined Curls, recommended on many a curly hair forum as strong but not sticky. And the pièce de résistance for my post-lockdown locks is Tresemme Freeze Hold hairspray. I’m looking forward to wielding my spray can again.