There are some very annoying things about getting married. Don’t get me wrong, there are some very wonderful things too, like dedicating yourself to another person, cake, blah blah blah. But there are also some extremely annoying things, and one of them is the fact that your willingness to take risks aesthetically drops down to zero as the wedding day approaches. That new tattoo? Better wait. That bone through your nose? Yeah, a hold on that. And any haircut that might somehow put your wedding bouffant into question becomes completely impossible.

I wanted my hair very long for the wedding. To accomplish this, I spent the past year letting my hair grow as long as possible, and growing out my precious “keep hair out of my face because it drives me crazy” bangs. And at first it was very nice – my tresses grew and grew; my hair had not reached such lengths since right before I put it into dreadlocks in college (O yeah). For my wedding day, my hair was long and luxurious, just like I dreamed it would be. And about five minutes after the wedding, I was sick and tired of my hang-dog, bedraggled head of hair, and was ready to take it off with a bottle of scotch and a rusty knife.

I am very, very picky about my hair and who I allow near it. Being curly haired, finding someone who understands how my hair works and how it should or should not be cut has always been a bit of a nightmare. There was this one time my mom took me to the Hair Cuttery when I was about 12 years old, and I left with what can only be accurately described as a football where my hair had previously been. This is just one of numerous hair nightmares I have had to endure at the hands of unprepared hair stylists. I have been so traumatized by these hair-mishaps that there was a period of about 5 years when I simply did not have my hair professionally cut at all.

Finally, my sister had had enough, and dragged me kicking and screaming to a salon. She introduced me to JJ, a wonderful stylist in South Jersey that knew what she was doing, and I have been going to her for several years now with faithful conviction. However, as she does not work weekends, and is now located almost 2 hours from me, my trips to her salon have been fraught with difficulty ever since I moved up north. Many a day Mr. Kaboom has broken all sorts of speed limits on the turnpike to try to get me to my coveted appointment on time.

So with my new lease on post-wedding aesthetic freedom, and a hankering for something completely new and different, I decided to try to find a new stylist a bit closer to home, in my beloved NYC. My searching immediately brought me to Devachan, a Soho-based salon and spa that specializes in curly hair. I expected a sharp cut, and maybe a bit more curl. What I got was a head of curls I never knew existed up there. These guys knew so much more about my hair than I did, it was almost a little embarrassing. I found the Holy Grail of curly hair. It was like they were the fairy godmother, and my head was Cinderella.

My stylist dry-cut my hair, something I have never before experienced, and explained that this process allowed for each curl to be cut just right. Throughout the cut, I was given a thorough education on what I should and should not do to maintain my curls; tips and tricks to allow my curls to live in their big, curly glory. A large part of their process revolves around their specialized hair products: Devachan advocates that curly hair should never be shampooed (too damaging), and instead advocates a product called “No-Poo” – a cleanser that leaves your hair clean and natural, without the chemicals and dryness of standard shampoo.

I can’t tell you how amazing my hair has been since I got this cut and started using the products. My hair feels softer and more natural than it has ever felt, and the curls look simply luscious. See for yourself…

For my non-New York pals, I am happy to report that Devachan products are available online. These are the three products that have changed my life:

- Deva Curl No-Poo Hair Cleanser
- Deva Curl One Conditioner
- Devachan Arc AnGEL

Call me a converted Deva.

To learn more about Devachan and their products, visit Devachansalon.com.