My Hair Care Journey: The Importance of Loving Who You Are and Living As Your True Self

The Early Years

Growing up multi-ethnic ("mixed"), hair has always been a huge thing for me and my identity.

As a baby, I nearly had straight-transitional hair. If you're familiar with curly hair types I would consider my baby hair to be categorized under the 2B (wavy-hair and more "S" shaped toward the tips of my hair).

As months and years went by, my hair started getting thicker and curlier by the second. By the time I was 5 or 6 my hair was fully transitioned into 3B (some sections of my hair could be categorized as springy corkscrew locks and the rest loose spirals).

The Hair Struggle

Fast forward to my preteen years, I didn't go to school with a lot of black (or mixed) girls who had hair like mine. I spent nearly almost 2 straight years straightening my hair a few times a week just to feel as if I could 'fit in' with the conventional European beauty standards.

The constant and obsessive styling and straightening of my hair had gotten so bad that my natural hair was completely fried and my hairline actually started RECEDING at the young age of 13.

High School: Going Natural

As I went on to high school, I was surrounded by so many girls who reminded me of myself. There was a huge wave of going natural (embracing your natural hair).

I remember it like it was yesterday - I just turned 15 and second semester of freshman year, I decided that one random Wednesday I would wear my hair out naturally. Given that it had been nearly years since I wore it out naturally, it was absolutely dry and frizzy. I was SO nervous because it was probably the first time people at school had seen my natural hair. I almost felt as if I was walking into school completely naked.

To my surprise, I was showered with so many compliments and surprised looks. I kind of felt dumb for being embarrassed and insecure about my curls. I vividly remember being in freshman bio and as my teacher was passing out papers, she told me that my hair looked beautiful.

It sounds so weird for me to say now - but my natural hair was one of my biggest insecurities. So, for the first few weeks of being natural it was very much nerve-wrecking.

Now: Embracing Who I Am

To me, my identity is so rooted in my hair and how I style it. I rarely ever put heat on my hair. I honestly prefer my hair natural more than any other hairstyle.

I guess the reason, I'm telling my story is because I feel as my hair story can help others who are trying to find confidence in not only their hair, but their overall appearance, and identity. I think it is so essential for people, especially young girls, to embrace what truly makes them, them.