Crack the Curl Code to Reach Your Coveted Target Market

If you think a pineapple is just a fruit, then you probably need a curly copywriter.

By Melissa Bellanca

There are fewer things more informed and nuanced than the curly-haired community and they can sniff out an imposter a mile away. Think they don’t notice when an ad for a curly product has a model whose curls come from a curling iron? 

You’ll have to forgive them for being suspicious. The most important thing to know about those with curly hair is that they’ve been burned. Badly. 

Hiring a copywriter that knows the curl world is a gamechanger for businesses looking to target the curly hair community. 

THE STRUGGLE

For every stylist who swears they know how to cut curly hair, there are countless women (and some men) who have left a salon in tears after having their precious curls butchered. No grown woman wants to look like Shirley Temple, but if one finds themselves in the hands of a stylist who doesn’t know just how much curls retract when hair dries, let’s just hope they can sing and dance too.

As a result, curly consumers have taken matters into their own hands and formed their own communities to share information and techniques. At first, it was websites where people helped each other find stylists who understood how to work with a variety of curl patterns. Consumers clung to product recommendations when trying to fight the frizz. 

Then came social media and the curl community exploded. With the rise of the curly influencer, so did the various techniques that no person with straight hair ever encountered: 

• Rake and shake

• Squish to condish

• Clumping

• Curly Girl Method

• Plopping

• Brush styling

• Finger Coiling

• Scrunch out the Crunch

• Praying Hands

And in case you’re not sure, a pineapple refers to the pile of curls that is secured to the top of one’s head before going to sleep. Sometimes it’s accompanied by a silk scarf that holds the curls together to further protect them. Other times, people use a silk or satin pillowcase to extend the life of their curls while they sleep.

Then comes the most important day of the week . . . the dreaded wash day. If they don’t get this one right, their week can be ruined. Sure, they can just rewash and start over, but it’s a major time commitment, especially when they need to diffuse on a low heat, around which they must arrange their schedule.

Of course, that’s only once they lock down their holy grail products. This is where it gets downright tribal. 

To silicone or not to silicone? 

Have a coconut sensitivity? 

Gel-mousse-gel or mousse-gel-mousse?

Overwhelmed yet? 

Take a breath and know that it doesn't have to be a struggle to speak organically to your target audience. 

UNTANGLING IT ALL

As a copywriter, I help you start the conversation and navigate the choppy waters of discussing curl types in a world seemingly meant for straight-laced looks.

What qualifies me to do so?

I’ve struggled with my own curls since adolescence and delved deep into the curly community to help me find my way. So deep, in fact, that I now speak CSL (Curly as a Second Language). 

I even survived a horrific cut that left me with a bi-level chop. Yes, bi-level. That was a whole other level of curl trauma that still makes me cringe. Especially as I had been assured by the stylist that she knew what she was doing. Talk about an expensive mistake!

This leads me to my next point. It can also cost substantially more for haircuts and products meant for curly hair. Women talk about the “pink tax,” but there’s also what I like to refer to as the “curl tax.” Thanks to a different type of biological quirk, some of us are forced to spend more money to have hair that makes us feel good and is more easily managed. 

Remember that bad haircut? Hair vitamins and collagen powder to speed up the growth process don’t come cheap.

When the curly community is about to invest in a product or service, I know the questions they are going to ask and how to respond. Just how well something detangles takes on a different meaning when your curls are knotted up bigger than a mass of Christmas lights that were shoved in a box last year.

As a copywriter for curly hair, I can also help my client understand what a sensitive issue having naturally curly hair can be for some. It goes beyond just learning how to work with it. There’s also how society views it in and out of the workplace. 

There’s the outdated belief that curly hair equates to a wild, messy, and unreliable personality that is anything but professional. The fact of the matter is that the amount of planning and methodology which goes into maintaining curly hair is quite the opposite. 

Helping to build confidence and acceptance is all part of growing a curl positivity movement. 

GROWING YOUR BUSINESS ONE CURL AT A TIME

There are many difficulties when speaking to a community that is so nuanced and yet so particular at the same time – but a copywriter who has immersed themselves in the curly world can make your life a whole lot easier. 

The more effort you put into having an organic understanding of the curly world, the more open the curl community will be to giving your brand a shot. 

Let me be your curl copywriter of choice and bring a depth of knowledge to the conversation between you and your target customers.