Maybe every curly goes through that stage where you refuse to let it be natural. You fight against it. You straighten it tirelessly, but it never stays quite right. This was definitely the case for me.
I was born with naturally curly hair:
Growing up, curly hair wasn't a thing to embrace; it was only to be fought against. It was the enemy. I straightened it every single day--from 7th to 10th grade.
The ends never stayed straight. Throughout the day, my hair would rebel and start to frizz out, puff up, and curl. One problem was that my mom didn't know how to deal with such curly hair. I never learned that curly hair didn't have to always be frizzy and a hot mess. It is about finding the perfect balance of product and heat (or air-drying works great for some).
Eventually, my naturally curly friend taught me how to let my hair curl--while keeping it cute. Her entire family has extremely curly hair, so she was a great teacher. Once I learned, I concluded that it would be easier to spend 15 doing my hair curly than the normal 2 hours trying to straighten the beast.
It wasn't until after I graduated with my undergrad that I finally embraced curly hair. Since then, I have no desire to straighten it. I don't feel like myself when it is straight. I find that it better matches my personality in its natural state--with a little help from anti-frizz creams, mousse, hairspray, and a diffuser. Not to mention, that it makes me different. I'm unique and my hair is unique. Embrace it!
"The Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger
14 years ago