You know those curly hair commercials that preach to us about "embracing" our natural, kinky hair? The ones that make it look so easy to get those soft, shiny (never frizzy!), bouncy curls? As someone who has styled a head full of kinky-curly hair my entire life, I see those commercials and think the same thing: yeaaaah, right.

If you have wavy or curly hair, you know the truth: a lot of work goes in to keeping our curly hair in check. "High maintenance" doesn't even begin to describe the work that goes into curly styles -- it takes deep conditioning, setting, and diffusing, not to mention hydrating, moisturizing, and curl defining. And that's on a good day. When it's rainy or humid? Look out. I guarantee you, the phrase "bad hair day" was coined by a woman with curly hair on a hot, humid day.

Whether your hair has just a little frizzle or you have a full-blown explosion of kinks and spirals, we've gathered up the essential tools and products you need to help you in your tireless pursuit of curly hair perfection.