Living the good life + Fighting the good fight

Curly Girl Tries 5 Hairdos From the Internet

I have had curly hair since day one. It has given me (and my mom) struggles since 1992. There were times when I hated my hair, whether that was because I was bullied because of my hair or because my hair didn’t look like everyone else’s hair.

But, here we are in 2020 and your girl has grown to love her hair. I know which products work and I know my hair well. I know what my hair likes and I know what I like about my hair. It also helps that my husband likes when my hair is big, as he calls it.

That being said, I get stuck in style ruts and wear my hair in a top knot for a week straight. My hair doesn’t like that and I don’t like it that much either. I don’t try new styles or dos on the regular, so why not try new styles in quarantine!?

Lucky for you, you get to see me try out five hairdos AND you get to see me do not so good with some of them. I am going to grade my work on a normal grading scale (A+ – F) and tell you a bit about my triumphs and struggles.


Some things you should know about me and my relationship with my hair before you read any further:

  1. I never ever part my hair down the middle.
  2. I am insecure about the front of my hair being flat.
  3. I am insecure about my hair being poofy.
  4. I don’t use hair ties. My hair is so thick that hair ties hurt my head. I usually use the contraptions that look like phone cords or scrunchies, of course. I also don’t mind the little baby rubber bands for braids.
  5. I like a bit of messy look. I think it fits with my style and I like feeling more natural. (Check-out my blog post, A Short Guide to Living Cruelty Free, to see which products I swear by.)

And with that, here we go! Here is me, an average human with curly, wavy, poofy hair, trying hairdos on myself. Wish me luck.


*Names brought to you by the listed fellow bloggers and websites.

Hairdo #1: “Low Messy Space Buns”

Source (pictured on the left): Pinterest — Luxy Hair

My first hairdo happened to be my favorite! I think I love a space bun.

I decided to try this one because I see cool people all over the world try this in different variations when they go to festivals and take trendy Instagram pics. This was also the inspiration for this post! But, I’m not stupid, I knew I needed to try a messy version.

The instructions were easy to follow, but I improvised with the front. Obviously, I used more bobby pins than a beauty queen, but this look didn’t turn out half bad. Definitely going to do this one again!

Grade: A

Hairdo #2: “The Curly Twist”

Source (Pictured on the left): Pinterest — Hair Romance

I chose this hairdo because I thought it looked elegant, but bohemian. Perfect for a summer day where you want to look cute, but don’t want to wear your hair down, which is me for most (all) of the summer months.

The instructions were easy to follow, but it looks like the model has more layers in her hair than me, so her pony tails were shorter. I also am lazy and used a green rubber band that you can vividly see in the middle of my dome. It broke after these photos were taken, so there’s that.

I think I could have put my pony tails higher on my head, as they are situated very low in my first attempt. And I could have done something more creative with the front, but a headband served me well. I think I’d give this one another go.

Grade: B-

Hairdo #3: “Dimensional Topsy Tail Messy Bun”

Instagram (Pictured on the left, sorry about the play button): @milabu.co (Milana Burykin) – Video

I had this video saved on my Instagram because the creator does a lot of cool hairstyles on her grid. You should foll

I had to follow the video for instructions and re-watch the clip until I got it, so that probably affected the outcome. I made the ponytails too low down on my head, like the last one, and the creator had short hair, which affected the size of her bun obviously.

I added the twist in the front because, as I said earlier, I am insecure about the front of my hair being flat. Probably should work on that in therapy.

Not sure if I would try this one again, but I love the creator and I think this look would work a lot better on my babes with shorter hair.

Grade: C-

Hairdo #4: “Braided Upstyle”

Source (Pictured on the left): Pinterest — Desiree Hartsock

I like any hairdo that includes braids, so this one seemed like a perfect fit.

The instructions were just images, so I missed that it was a french braid in the front and I wasn’t able to replicate her “pulled a part” braid style. So, I just wrapped the braids around each other to create something similar.

I am indifferent about this hairdo, but am very keen on learning how to make my braids look thicker. Am I the only one?!

Grade: B-

Hairdo #5: “The Side Twist Bun”

Source (Pictured on the left, sorry about the frown on the right): Pinterest — Buzzfeed — Hair Romance

Last, but certainly not least, I tried this look meant for wet hair on my dry hair and ended up keeping it in all day! I think this was a successful look because it is not too far from what I would do normally. Also, please tell me how cute my Warby Parker pink glasses look with this tie-dye sweatshirt?!

This is also just photo instructions, so at first I couldn’t tell if the twist was a braid or just two pieces of hair twisted together. It was two pieces of hair sort of french braided together, if that makes sense. I think that detail added texture and flair to a normal low bun.

I tried it out as a ponytail as well, but I was hot and bothered, so it went into a bun. I will definitely do this one again!

Grade: A-


I would leave the house in any of these hairdos, but my favorites and the ones I thought I did the best at were the first and the last. How do you think I did?

Let me know what hairstyles I should try next and if you ever look to the internet for hair inspo!

4 Comments

  1. Suzanne

    I loved reading this! You are soooooo clever! I can’t wait until I have long enough hair to do something with!

  2. WANITA SUPER GLOW

    aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaw

  3. Susie

    Colleen! I LOVE LOVE LOVE your shorter hair and the cool things you’ve done with it! My hair is your length but straight. You’ve given me some good ideas! Thank u! Susie Lentile😍😍💜🌈

    • Colleen Large

      Thanks so much, Susie! I’m sure these styles would look great on you.

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