Hello , Mes Amies! Happy hump day! Today's post is going to be kind of all encompassing. It's going to be a bit story time, a bit reflection and then in an upcoming post some tips and recommendations. Yes, its based on my naturally curly hair. However, you do not need to have curly hair for this to be pertinent to you. Here goes....
On June 14, 2019 I decided to wash my hair. No big deal right? Well, I decided to wash my hair to wash my last blowout away. Again this might not seem significant. The thing is though I had blown my hair out straight every 3rd day for the past 21 years. Throughout my teen years, I embraced my curls (for the most part)
Sandy, the dog & me. I was 17 , this is my natural hair, texture and color
Somewhere in the early 00's though, I figured that I HAD to start straightening my hair. Flat ironed to oblivion hair was the style. I don't know why, but it became as if I HAD to straighten it.
Then, around 2009, I tried to go back my my curls.
However, the owners of the company that I had worked at made it a point to articulate their dislike for my natural curls. It was "Too Irish" . (Yes, I know how cringe that is. It was an all around awful, caustic environment. However, this was during a massive recession. I had to put up with a lot, jobs were few and far between.)
So, for the next decade I was back in the trap. Blow it out every 3rd day, touch up with the scalding flat iron in between. Year in, year out I did this. All the while wondering "Why won't my hair grow?". Hint, it was growing, but it was breaking off faster than the new growth could come out of my head.
Then, last year, I just said "I'm done". Just like that, I stopped the blowouts, the straightening , the flat irons. It has been liberating.
Don't get me wrong, it wasn't all fun and easy. I had destroyed my hair and its curl pattern. I lived through some of the worst hair days of my life. I had no idea as to how to care for curly hair. Plus, my hair was damaged. Twice, I made the decision to cut it shorter than I was comfortable with. I wanted to remove as much of the damage as I could and just start fresh.
Now, just over a year in, things have started to change , all for the better. All of my hair that had been damaged after 21 years, has been cut off. Because I'm no longer abusing my hair, its growing like a weed. Also, I've relearned how to care for my curls.
It has been a long road, but its been worth it. I'm at the point where I'm starting to get a lot of compliments on my curls. No, that's not what matters, but it is a nice reminder that my curls are so worth keeping. My curls are a part of me. I'm not suppressing them any longer. I'm learning to love all the parts of me
That's all for today. Coming in the next week or so, I'll have some tips and product recommendations for my fellow curly girls.
XO,
SheShe
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