Like most women with curly hair, I spent my life at war with my curls. I coveted my best friend’s stick straight hair. As a result, I purchased a series of horrible $4 box straighteners at Walgreens. The outcome: My hair did indeed become straight…it also became the texture of straw.

While getting a haircut my freshman year of college, the stylist—in a moment of truth—commented on my over-processed locks: “Wow, you really fried your hair.” Two weeks later I returned to her and said, “Cut it all off.” I let her cut off everything but two inches. I needed a fresh start. (In the interest of total disclosure I should also add that my boyfriend at the time kept telling me I’d look good with super short hair. Well, he was wrong. I looked like the long lost twin of John F. Kennedy Jr.—RIP.)

While sporting my healthy but not-so-attractive new hair at the beach one day, my natural curl had the chance to emerge for the first time in well over a decade. My girlfriends couldn’t stop complimenting me on how gorgeous my curls were. When I got home and looked in the mirror, I realized they were right. My curls were beautiful—but the frizz that accompanied them was not. The frizz was so bad, in fact, it drove me right back to my old habits. A week later I had regressed to using paddle brushes, straightening irons and an arsenal of other weapons to achieve stick-straight hair once again.

Thankfully, after college I stumbled upon the website NaturallyCurly.com. There I read reviews from fellow curly-haired girls describing which hair products worked to tame frizz and separate and define curl. I followed their recommendations and bought some of the suggested products, and guess what? I now rarely go a day without a stranger stopping me to complement me on my gorgeous curly hair. All I was missing was a little knowledge about the right products for a total beauty transformation.

But here’s the catch…finding all-natural products for curly, frizz-prone hair can be a little trickier. Here are a few that I’ve found to actually work.

One product that tames frizz pretty well is Simply Organics Anti-Frizz Calming Cream.

Glossy Locks Hair Balm will also definitely tame your frizz, but I must warn you that a little goes a long way with this stuff. The ingredients are very potent and using too much of it makes hair look greasy right away. Yes, even frizzy, dry, curly hair will look instantly greasy if you put too much of this on.

Ingredients are: Avocado Butter, Shea Butter, Coconut Oil, Cocoa Butter, Vitamin E (a-tocopherol), Panthenol (Pro Vitamin B5), Rosehip Oil, Lavender Essential Oil

I’m also a fan of Intelligent Nutrients hair line. Today I have their Organic Leave-In Conditioner and their Certified Organic Styling Gel in my hair.

A little goes a long way with these products too. I will warn you that the aroma of the leave-in conditioner may be a little reminiscent of your local health food. But with ingredients such as Rice Bran Extract and Black Cumin Seed Oil, you can understand why.

All Intelligent Nutrients products are free of silicones, parabens, chemicals, phthalates and artificial fragrances.