I have had a love/hate relationship with my hair for most of my adult life. (And yes, this is a hair post. Feel free to stop reading now.) I have naturally wavy hair, which didn't bother me through most of high school and college. I even remember LIKING my hair, which is a foreign concept to me now. And then I moved, had babies, etc. etc. etc. And my hair, spoiled in the CA (high school) and UT (college) dryness, possibly tampered with by several pregnancies, decided to become a monster when confronted by that thing called humidity. It was either frizzed curls (I would occasionally bring out my defuser to let it "go natural"), or easily frizzed and still slightly waved "straight". Ugh. The words "straight" and "sleek" were like a siren call on any product I bought. The results? Occasionally straight hair. But rarely, ok never, sleek. My hair just didn't do sleek, unless I had just came from a hair stylist, which happened maybe once a year or so. And then, if I did manage to get it somewhat straight, any drop of moisture in the air quickly destroyed it. So I either spent forever blowing/ironing my hair straight, or kept it in a messy ponytail so I didn't have to think about it. And even when I DID spend forever blowing/ironing my hair straight (usually only for Sundays or special occasions, unless I was really cold or needed a good excuse to read), then it was usually back in its messy ponytail the next day, frizz once more slightly waving it. I knew I could go the expensive-to-maintain-and-hugely-damaging-to-my-hair route of a Brazilian blowout, or something like that. Or maybe I could get an in-house stylist and have HER worry about my hair. But I'm generally a low maintenance kind of person and really, really wanted low-maintenance hair that looked better than a messy ponytail.
Then, six weeks ago, I saw the light. I've been reading several online articles about "Curly Girls" and their fight with their hair. My dear readers, there is a Curly Revolution going on right now! And so I decided to take the plunge and free my hair - to let it be curly, to finally learn how to reduce the frizz. The result? I think I like my hair. I know! I don't love it yet. But I like it. I've been Straight-Free for 7 weeks now.
Wait, is this blog post only about my hair? Yes. Yes it is.
You see, this is a huge deal to me. Monumental. It doesn't seem huge to most people, but I feel it's a declaration of sorts! I will no longer force my hair straight! I will learn to like my hair! I may even learn to LOVE my hair! At the beginning of this liberation I mentioned my new-found determination to a few very select people. One of my friends, not noticing the OBVIOUS curly state of my hair, said she hadn't noticed - I looked like me with straight hair and I looked like me with curly hair. Okay, so that was a bit of a letdown. And then I remembered I'm doing this for me! Yes, validation is a wonderful thing. But if I stopped slaving over my hair and NOBODY NOTICED, doesn't that just scream that it's ABOUT TIME I STOPPED SLAVING OVER MY HAIR?
Yes.
So, for the last 7 weeks I've had curly hair. My hair is not super curly, but definitely more curly than what you would consider "waves". And better yet? It's easy! It's really easy! For seven weeks I've had easily maintained curls. And I have two confessions - for seven weeks I have not used a brush on my hair. I know! Strange! So strange! But I really haven't! Combing through my hair with water on my hands is all I need to do - brushes just frizz it out. And second - no, I won't admit it. Never mind. My darling husband warned me to not to admit it to random people. (And, by the way, he LOVES the curls.) Okay, maybe I will. For seven weeks I have not used a speck of shampoo. I know, sorry! TMI! But it's so liberating! And I know it sounds icky! But it's not, I promise! My hair is clean! Shampoo just frizzed it out - I still clean it, for goodness sake. And I use a LOT of conditioner. No more brushes! Shampoo! Hairspray! Mouse! Serums! Flat Irons! Curling irons! Curlers! And now, sometimes, I even feel like I have magic hair - my hair is MAGIC!! It can be in a messy bun all day, and just by finger combing through some water it's ready to go. Which is awesome.
I'm sorry, I know I'm waxing a bit long on this. But it's a big deal for me. But now I have this awareness of how prevalent straight hair is in the media - where are all of the curly girls? We have a few representatives, but mostly it's that sleek, straight look that yes, I still covet a bit. But it's just NOT ME. And NEVER WILL BE ME and I can finally come to terms with it. Straight hair has even overrun animated cartoons! Thank goodness for the new Brave cartoon coming out. Yay for Curls! Seriously, if at the end of the movie she shows up in triumph with straight hair, I will scream.
So there it is. My hair is curly. And I've finally accepted it.
11 comments:
I have ALWAYS loved your hair curly! In fact, I've been jealous of the curl you can get, since my hair is neither straight or curly. I just have a huge wave in one section of the back.
Anyway, I am glad you are embracing the curl! I love it!
Your hair looks Beautiful! It fits you- you're a natural beauty, so you look best with natural looking hair!
I wish I could say that I could relate....and I guess in a way I can. I hated my hair for 95% of my life. My {gasp} sleek, straight hair which wouldn't hold a curl or any volume whatsoever because it's so fine (even though there is a ton of it) and heavy. Wearing it in a ponytail gave me daily headaches. A few years back I bit the bullet and chopped it and like you said: MAGIC. Any longer than 6 inches or so and it's like a limp noodle....which YES I realize is "the" style. But I agree with my hubby (who loves it short) : "that's not a style - that's a LACK of style."
So happy for you!!
(and I can't believe that you can really do no shampoo. I can't even skip a day or I've got-literally- enough grease to deep fry a chicken. Or have my hubby ask if I've just taken a shower because it looks that wet. How's that for TMI?)
It's so beautiful! I had no idea you had so much curl. It most definitely becomes you. As another commenter said, you ARE a natural beauty and it goes so well with you and your lovely personality.
I hadn't noticed the dearth of curly haired ladies... but now I do! Of course, that's not totally accurate, the crazy kooky characters can have it. :P But I HAD noticed the lack of short hair...specifically as I was trying to encourage my daughter to keep her hair short, but there just aren't any. And I've heard that many even have contracts stating they cannot cut it... blah! Why does everyone have to look exactly alike?
And please never EVER apologize for dedicating an entire blog post to hair. Not with this crowd.
Oh and one more thing...you READ while you dry your hair? How is this done? I'm fascinated!!!
Thanks all! What lovely friends you all are. :)
Heather - I can read anywhere. Long ago I mastered the sitting-on-the-bed-while-holding-a-book-open-with-my-feet way to blow dry my hair. And I know! Bellatrix? The Tangled witch? All curly girls. I haven't noticed the lack of short hair! How funny. Even books that start with short hair seem to transform into long hair for movies - Princess Diaries comes to mind. And what was her transformation in the movie? Curly Weirdo to Straight Beauty! Hmph.
I also had no idea your hair had that much curl although when I think about it, I do remember seeing it curly sometimes :) I too am impressed you can read while blowing your hair. I am planning a kindle for my next major round of nursing because my wrists are getting to weak in my old age :)
Um, I apologize if I was that friend that didn't ooh and aah over your different hair. You're just always so glam!
If I could trade hair with you for a day we could both realize that it's not all sunbeams and marble halls on the other side.
Long ago I gave up on the try-to-make-pathetically-straight-hair-curly quest. I've been happy to have a low maintenance "do" but I want your secret to no shampooing. That may lead to no maintenance total hygiene (a fervent prayer of mine). hehe
And you write so eloquently. But amazingly, I can picture you sitting next to me and having the words just flow from your mouth. (I have edited this comment five times)
We must play!
Of course you were the friend! (I thought you would get a kick out of being mentioned.) And of course you don't need to apologize! It led to a serious epiphany that NO ONE NOTICES! Seriously! No one cares how I do my hair, so I might as well do it the easiest way.
My no-shampoo method - use conditioner instead. Put a small amount of conditioner on your fingertips, rub into your wet scalp, then rinse/rub in hot water. Then condition the bejeezus out of the rest of the hair. Voila! Cleaned scalp without the shampoo, and slightly less frizzed everything else. My straight haired hubby is unable to get by on just conditioner alone, though he did try out of solidarity for me. What a cutie.
Edited? Pshaw! But you're so fun unedited. ;)
You are beautiful. And brave. And smart. (I only have enough hair to blow dry for 5 minutes, or I may try your "read while you blow dry" thing!)
kind of looks like you're occupying wall street.
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