Remember Genghis Khan from history class? You know, the 12th century Mongolian warlord who burned and pillaged his way through Eurasia? He wanted to conquer all the tribes and build an empire where he ruled so he could control them.

So how does this relate to hair, you ask? Well, let’s take a look at what we’ve been doing (and what some continue to do) to our curls over the years. Starting at the current time and going backward in history, we have flat irons, blow dryers, and chemical straighteners to “control” our curls.

In the late nineties and early 2000s, no one wanted curly hair and they’d do just about anything to straighten it. Since flat irons were not common yet, that required lots of blow drying and brushing and smoothing—and even then, it didn’t look great.

Going back a couple decades, there were perms. Those weren’t just for straight-haired people who wanted curls…they were for kinky-haired people who wanted looser ones (think Jheri Curl) or even “straightening perms” that would gently loosen tighter curls. Again, it was all about taming the natural curl.

Then there was also the whole “cut it short to control the curl” mentality. Translation: “I don’t know what to do with your curls, so I’m going to chop them off!” That may be fine, if that’s what you want. If it’s not, you go home from the salon sobbing.

And even worse, before that, some people used to iron their hair to straighten it—with a clothes iron! (Speaking of “burning…”) Doesn’t that make you wonder how many people stood up from the ironing board to find a chunk of hair still lying on it?

Then there were the ever-present rollers. Sure, while some actually wanted to add curl, many used the large rollers to loosen their natural ones or “control” them as well. And that often required baking under the dryer weekly.

We’ve come a long way since the days of Genghis Khan; burning and pillaging are generally regarded as bad. All your hair wants is to be its natural, curly self (just like the poor people in those tribes, just trying to exist), and it’s been subjected to many years of torture in the name of “controlling the curl!” It’s time we let our curls be who they want to be and stop trying to beat them into submission with chemicals or heat.

That’s exactly why Controlled Chaos exists—to help control the curls in their natural form. No heat or harsh chemicals required. Just some gentle products that add moisture, shine, and volume to what you’ve already got. No force needed!