I. verb
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
curling tongs
smoke curls
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Smoke curled from cooking fires next to a group of tents.
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADVERB
around
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Thick, dark hair curled around his face and his rolled-up sleeves revealed strong, well-muscled arms.
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A musk smell lingered on Groves' sleeve, from where the female snake had curled around his arm.
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A narrow stairway of stone curled around a pillar near the door and disappeared through the beams of the roof.
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He studies the little dark face and massages a limp hand until the fingers curl around his own.
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He could feel the tendrils curling around his legs.
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There are single ropes to curl around and seats on single ropes.
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A worm curled around the globe.
back
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Her lips curl back from her teeth with pleasure.
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As he drew closer he counted four sleeping on the water; necks curled back , heads nestling under wings.
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Her black eyes were bright, her lips curled back in a fearsome snarl that dribbled saliva and left her tongue hanging.
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A male bighorn sheep curls back his upper lip in an attempt to determine the reproductive state of a female close by.
over
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A self-satisfied smile curled over her lips.
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She was straining against her chain with her lips curled over her teeth and her ears pinned back.
round
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In the midst of the morning rush-hour his laughter drifted after her, curling round her senses and inflaming her still further.
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The chain was in the process of curling round as if to join and form a circle.
up
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Now she curled up in a ball, hunched, defeated.
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One strand of her sound curled up to the pitch.
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Aim to curl up with your head and shoulders lifting clear of the mat.
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Her last thought before she fell asleep was of her tiny girls, curled up on the bed beside her.
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She curled up in a tight ball as though to stop herself from breaking apart.
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She was now sleeping with Richard at night, curled up into a ball on the pillow by his head.
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She was curled up in the flexed position.
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By now the sounds of his waking hours were familiar to the boy curled up in an army greatcoat in the room below.
■ NOUN
ball
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The keeper comes out and Page curls the ball past him into the net.
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Officers found him curled in a ball on the passenger side.
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Now she curled up in a ball , hunched, defeated.
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In the morning, when I woke, I was curled into a little ball around it.
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He groaned, and curled himself into a ball .
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She was now sleeping with Richard at night, curled up into a ball on the pillow by his head.
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I wanted to curl into a tiny ball and be forgotten about by everyone.
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Connors said the guy must have curled up into a ball and hidden in a waste-basket.
bed
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He had curled up on to his bed at the first opportunity and fallen fast asleep.
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Her last thought before she fell asleep was of her tiny girls, curled up on the bed beside her.
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Nina was curled up under a bed upstairs.
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He took off his clothes, and Isobel curled up on the bed watching him, like a little cat.
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Maybe if she could just curl up on her bed and sleep for a while she'd feel better.
edge
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But the ancient pages were beginning to curl , the edges beginning to smoulder.
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These leaves, too, were curled around the edges , and their undersides were covered with a downy tan fuzz.
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If the doorsteps could have curled at the edges , they would have done so.
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He watched the lower leaves blanch and curl downward at the edges .
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The mature leaves are deeply lobed, often curling at the edges .
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Concentration curls Sit on the edge of the bench with your knees apart.
finger
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He studies the little dark face and massages a limp hand until the fingers curl around his own.
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It is pale and lumpy; the tips of the fingers are curled slightly backward.
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One arm disentangled itself from the covers, her fingers curling indolently into the fine cotton of the quilt.
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Ashley's fingers curled tighter around the steering-wheel.
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The fingers of one hand curled around her neck, his thumb angled beneath her jaw to tip back her head.
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She wanted to give in, weaken, her eyes closing and her fingers curling on his hard shoulders.
hair
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Thick, dark hair curled around his face and his rolled-up sleeves revealed strong, well-muscled arms.
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You could fill a book with such hair-curling true stories of blighted lives and justice traduced.
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She was sitting up in bed, her glasses already adorning her gaunt face and her hair curled up tightly on rollers.
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A lot of black hair that curled down her back.
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These gallants, with hair long and curled , and jerkins dripping pearls, proved to be raucous and strident.
hand
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She saw his hands curl into white-knuckled fists and knew he was fighting to keep them at his sides.
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He falls asleep sometimes, slumped in the chair, a hand curled bri the broadloom rug.
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He studies the little dark face and massages a limp hand until the fingers curl around his own.
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He would probably touch, rise on an elbow and touch her on the hip with his hand curled soft.
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Her left hand was curled down under the hem of her skirt, which she'd pulled up on that side.
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Her hands curled slowly into fists, the nails scoring the soft palms until she winced, and let them relax again.
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The fingers of one hand curled around her neck, his thumb angled beneath her jaw to tip back her head.
lip
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It was fantastic, my lip would curl up and my knee would go wobbly and I'd sing Blue Suede Shoes.
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Her lip was ready to curl if he said anything.
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His face was sallow, his lips curled down in a perpetual sulk.
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Her lips curl back from her teeth with pleasure.
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She was straining against her chain with her lips curled over her teeth and her ears pinned back.
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Her black eyes were bright, her lips curled back in a fearsome snarl that dribbled saliva and left her tongue hanging.
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I felt my lip curl , and the inside of my mouth dry out and tighten as if I had been sucking lemons.
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Michael looked her up and down, his lips curling with contempt.
mouth
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He slipped a peppermint into his mouth and curled up, gazing at the legs.
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Its mouth curled upwards for the first time.
side
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He saw Kimberley and Killion curling in from either side , and wondered that they were both intact.
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Her legs were curled to the side , slender with dainty ankles curving to small, arched feet.
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A white cat and the marmalade and white lay curled up side by side in an armchair.
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The spotlight cast shadows that curled on the sculpted sides of the motor launches.
smile
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A self-satisfied smile curled over her lips.
smoke
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When they opened their mouths to speak the smoke curled out, like shadows of words.
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She lit a cigarette and the smoke curled in tendrils around her face.
toe
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One Lapp shows me his reindeer skin boots, and shrugs when I ask him why the toes curl up.
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His toes curled in his shoes.
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She felt her toes curl , but couldn't help giving him a sharp glance.
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Check to see if your toes are curled .
■ VERB
lie
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Jinju lay curled atop a pile of grass and weeds, neither crying nor complaining, a grin frozen on her face.
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He crept by the couch where she lay curled , snoring with her mouth open.
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The spot where the scientist had lain curled , busily taking photographs and taking notes, is preempted by the pilot.
want
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I wanted to curl into a tiny ball and be forgotten about by everyone.
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He wanted to curl lip in the doorway, for the night.
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I had wanted to curl up in my sleeping-bag on the ground.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
crop of dark hair/blonde curls etc
make sb's hair curl
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The moisture had made his hair curl even more, and had brought out the hardiness of his complexion.
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The things he could tell you about her would make your hair curl.
make sb's toes curl
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The mere sight of him was enough to make McAllister's toes curl.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
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I didn't have a chance to curl my hair this morning.
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I threw the letter into the fire. It curled, darkened, and then burst into flames.
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Penelope's fingers curled and uncurled nervously in her lap.
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The document was yellow and its edges had curled inward.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
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Booze was soporific, the brain was programmed to zero, it curled up and slept.
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I curled up in a fetal position after the Elimination Ritual and waited for sleep to come.
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One of her feet curled over the top of the other one, and rubbed it affectionately.
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She curled up in a tight ball as though to stop herself from breaking apart.
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Thick, dark hair curled around his face and his rolled-up sleeves revealed strong, well-muscled arms.
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Touch it again, and it will curl up again, and then stretch out once more.
II. noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADJECTIVE
black
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Her large grin and knotted black curls were, strangely enough, more memorable.
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He put on a wig of black curls .
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Rain broke on the points of the spears, crawled glistening in the tribesmen's cropped black curls .
blonde
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Léonie did not want to watch Thérèse clamber on his knee, twist her blonde curls with one finger, ogle him.
dark
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All had the dark eyes and dark curls of their father.
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Papi emerged from the bathroom combing his dark wet curls flat.
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And some weeks later, there were some new, darker red curls , which pleased Anne very much.
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Of the dark curls which showed in the neck of his shirt.
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She had the oddest desire to touch the dark curls that danced on his head.
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He had startlingly blue eyes and dark tumbling curls over his forehead; a narrow face; a skinny body.
golden
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Three or four years old, a mere toddler, a boy with golden curls gathering blue flowers.
long
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I lift the long curls from my head and brush some life back into my flattened hair.
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Afterwards she combed out long gray curls which turned into ringlets in the sun.
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She pushed back a long fair curl with one hand.
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I hated her because she wore long red banana curls and a big bow in her hair.
red
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Her hair grew in dry red curls , dark red like rust or winter bracken.
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I hated her because she wore long red banana curls and a big bow in her hair.
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One little girl had familiar red curls .
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And some weeks later, there were some new, darker red curls , which pleased Anne very much.
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His red curls dropped under the blunt scissors.
soft
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Wella High Hair Bolumising Mousse was applied to create soft curls .
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Mike with soft brown curls , wire-rim glasses, easy smile, and slender frame.
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Her fingers trailed slowly over his chest, tangling absently in the soft curls .
tight
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The hair on them had been flattened by the sheets, making the tight curls into hieroglyphs on his skin.
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He had the face of an angel, surrounded by a halo of tight blond curls .
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A A body perm is one that creates volume and body rather than tight curls .
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Curlers in all different shapes and sizes are available in Boots - just remember the smaller the roller the tighter the curl .
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Once the heaviness dropped away her black hair formed into tight curls , and for the first time she looked almost pretty.
■ NOUN
hair
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The sound was strident and made the hair curl on the back of his neck.
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Pretty technical stuff this, with enough contentious issues to make every boar farmer's hair curl .
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The moisture had made his hair curl even more, and had brought out the hardiness of his complexion.
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The things he could tell you about her would make your hair curl .
■ VERB
make
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Even hair which is naturally curly can be transformed because rollers can help to make the existing curls more crisp and structured.
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You can easily make the curls by twisting gold gift tie and sticking it into the cake.
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The moisture had made his hair curl even more, and had brought out the hardiness of his complexion.
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I heard the machine that he rubs across the floor start up with that horrendous howl that makes my teeth curl .
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The things he could tell you about her would make your hair curl .
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The mere sight of him was enough to make McAllister's toes curl .
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The hair on them had been flattened by the sheets, making the tight curls into hieroglyphs on his skin.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
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A curl of smoke rose from her cigarette.
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Chocolate curls make an elegant decoration for cakes and desserts.
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Do two sets each of bicep and tricep curls.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
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Afterwards she combed out long gray curls which turned into ringlets in the sun.
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Apply Sorbie Curl Forme on to hair to revitalise curls and add body and shine.
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He had startlingly blue eyes and dark tumbling curls over his forehead; a narrow face; a skinny body.
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My hair is flat, it has lost its curl .
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Sleep had flattened one side of her Afro and a curl had broken free above her forehead.
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These keep the curls tight and the cuticle sealed.