I Forgot to Love My Curls & Now I Regret It

I started fighting for my natural curly hair after it became damaged. I used to hate it! It’s almost a little cringing looking back through memories and photos of my adolescent years. How the voluminous and defined curls of my hair would make me feel ugly, and how I felt like I stood out and looked different from everyone else. *Major future-self eye roll*

Have you been there, in that same insecure feeling? Girl, I get it. We’ve all fallen into that trap at one point in our lives. But why? It’s simple…

It’s because of the people around us, a lack of knowledge, and how we perceive our own beauty.

When I was in my teen years, my wild curls would get ridiculed. I was told to straighten them instead. The girls around me had luxurious straight “tamed” hair, and sometimes I found myself wishing my hair had the same texture. It wasn’t until my twenties that I grew out of caring what people thought of me and my hair. Heck, I even thought my curly hair was sexy. But after years of heat damage and recent chemical damage, my curls finally called it quits. Excessive heat damage from straightening and blow drying ruined my curls along with improper hair care.

I had completely lost my curl pattern! 

When I started to see my naturally curly hair as a priority, a product I began to use a few times dried out my hair and left it curl-less.  I wanted straight hair for so long that when it came time to accept my natural texture, it was gone. Be careful for what you wish for, right?

 

If I’m honest, I knew very little about curly hair, it’s still a journey in learning. But if there wasn’t a lack of knowledge, my curl-lessness could have been avoided. If there were women in my life inspiring me to embrace my beautiful curls, heat damage could have been avoided. Now I’m struggling to get my curls back. I have been searching and spending money on products after products. It’s only been 5 months of trying to recover but sometimes a wave of hopelessness comes crashing down on me. But the motivation and discipline haven’t been lost. Constantly researching on ways to repair my curls and knowing the right and safe ingredients in products is key to my hair recovery. I urge you to do the same! One thing I did was cut my hair to get rid of damaged ends for healthier growth. The new products I’ve been using has helped too with getting my pattern back.

 

I’m not a beauty expert, obviously, so I can’t tell you exactly what to do or what to use for your hair. That’s not what this article is for. I wanted to Share my story to motivate you in loving and knowing your hair is the reason this article was written. Don’t be like most of us who fall in love with our natural hair after it’s been damaged. Love your crown (hair) now! I’m not saying don’t ever straighten your hair or whatever it is you do. Just know your facts and take care of your hair before it’s too late. Most importantly, know your heart. What are your intentions for styling your hair the way you do? Don’t make the same mistake in caring about what people think. Your intentions should be doing it for you and only you. Their opinions are not paying your hair maintenance bills, remember that. You can also apply that to life, queens.