Why I Started Just So Curly: Cassandra's Story
Cassandra shares the real reason she founded Just So Curly, from growing up without anyone knowing how to do her curls to helping her own mixed kids love theirs.
I was 21 years old when I learned I could wear my hair naturally. 21. That's why this matters.
I know. That feels wild to say out loud. But it's true, and honestly it's the whole reason Just So Curly exists. So pull up a chair, because I want to tell you the real story behind this brand. Not the polished version. The actual one.
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Growing Up, Nobody Knew What to Do With My Hair
I'm 35 now. And when I was a kid, nobody had the answers. Not my mom's side, not my dad's side. Nobody.
I'm mixed, black and white. My mom is white, my dad is Black, and curly hair care in the 80s and 90s was not what it is today. When I went to my dad's, I got braids. I loved those. My mom's side? She did everything she could, and I love her for it. But that included a lot of Vaseline. She's going to read this and sigh at me, and that's fair. She did what she could! It just left me feeling like Jim Carrey climbing out of the rhino in Ace Ventura. If you know, you know. If you don't, I'll just cancel myself right now.
The thing is, I just wanted to look like my mom. She had straight, beautiful hair. It looked easy. It looked simple. And because nobody knew how to handle curls the way we do now, my hair was tangled and everywhere, and kids noticed. I have core memories of people asking "what's wrong with your hair?" and not knowing what to say back. Because nothing was wrong. It was just my hair.
That hit my confidence hard. For years.
How a Flaxseed Experiment Turned Into Something Bigger
Fast forward to me as an adult, still frustrated, still hunting for something that actually worked for my curls. The three-to-four product routine never felt right. Shampoo, then this, then on top of that you put this, then a detangler, and it still never felt right. I spent so much money on products that just sat in a drawer. If you've got a product graveyard under your bathroom sink, hi, I see you.
So I started experimenting on my own. I got really into flaxseed. Like, really into it. I started adding my own ingredients to make it more protective, give it some shine, make it work for my specific hair. Over time I made it mine.
Then I had my mother-in-law try it. She has 4C, really tight curls, which is a completely different texture than mine. I figured if it worked for her too, I might actually be onto something. She loved it. She came back and told me I needed to sell it.
So that's where the business idea started. But honestly? The real reason I kept going had nothing to do with selling a product.
"Just So Curly exists so mixed kids can love themselves. Starting with their hair."
The Moment My Daughter Said She Wanted Hair Like Her Mom's
I'm a stepmom to four beautiful mixed kids. Their dad is Black, their biological mom is white, so they've got those gorgeous mixed curls. And my daughter, she's seven now. I've been in her life since she was two.
It took until this year for her to feel truly comfortable with her hair. This year. And that stings, because I've been here, working on it with her, knowing exactly how she felt. Because she said it to me directly. She told me she wanted her hair to look like her mom's. And I had to take a breath, because I have been there. I said, baby, I've been there.
I didn't want her to wait until she was 21 to figure out she could love her curls. That was the whole point. I wanted an easy product, a simple routine, something that didn't make hair time this dreaded hour-long ordeal where everyone's patience runs out by minute four. Not anymore, by the way. We've figured it out. But it took work to get here.What It Looks Like Now
Here's what gets me emotional, and I mean actually teary eyed. My kids work on the product with me now. They do the videos. They say "I love my curls" and they mean it.
Do you know how huge that is? They want their curls. They ask for their curls. And it is so beautiful I can barely talk about it without getting choked up. Because they didn't always feel that way. Confidence in your hair, confidence in who you are, you have to build that. It doesn't just show up. You build it up, slowly, with the right tools and a whole lot of consistency and love.
That's what Just So Curly is for. Every product, every blog post, every video we make together is for that purpose. And yes, this is a little bit for the kid I used to be. The one who didn't know she could love her curls. The one who got her hair slathered in Vaseline and made fun of at school and didn't know there was another way. I wish I had this when I was growing up. The products, the information, the community, the guidance. I'm building the thing I needed.
If you're a parent trying to figure out your mixed or curly kid's hair routine, you are in the right place. You don't have to figure it out alone the way I did. Drop a comment and tell me where you are in your curly hair story. I'd love to know, because every single one of those stories matters to me.
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"We've had such a hard time finding something that would work for my grandkids' hair. We finally have! Thank you."
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