As a wavy—curly pics to come!
I have been wearing my hair natural for almost a year now and it has been quite an adventure. I straighten my hair approximately once every three weeks just to mix things up a bit, but otherwise I am a full-on curly girl… or at least a very wavy one!
For a few days in a row it was extremely humid here in Austin, which isn’t exactly uncommon, but not so common in the cool months here (both of them”>. When I say humid, I’m talking about the kind of humid where the moment you step out the door, you are drenched in sweat and your first instinct is to jump back in the shower. It was completely disgusting. I, being the genius that I am, decided to straighten my hair one night right before the humidity hit, but blew off checking the weather beforehand, which I will never, repeat never do again (did I mention I will never do that again?”> If you are thinking “Wait, don’t you work at NaturallyCurly? Don’t you know about the Frizz Forecast?” The answer is yes to both. Why I did not use actually make use of this tool is beyond me. Learning from my mistakes!
The morning after straightening my hair, I woke up, did a quick touch up, and stepped outside. “What happened?” you ask. Shazam! Mother Nature put me in a hair time-out. Instant frizz and wave! I rolled my eyes, thwacked my forehead, trudged up the stairs to my cache of hair accoutrements, sighed, and threw my hair into a ponytail. Since I don’t wash my hair every day, and the humidity still permeated the Austin air, this same thing happened on Tuesday morning. My second thought was “Well, that was a waste of a straightening!” I won’t tell you what my first thought was!
Alas, Wednesday morning my glory moment came in the form of a nice shampooing. After I got out of the shower and completed my morning routine, I looked in the mirror, smiled to myself and said, “Much better.” I often think my hair looks fine in the morning but that was literally the first time I realized how much I loved my hair in its natural state. I have enjoyed trying all kinds of products, finding out what routine works best for me, and spending less time doing my hair, but never had it occurred to me that I feel like I belong to my curly hair —and vice versa.
That lightbulb moment was a huge inspiration to me. I hope all curly girls have that lightbulb moment like I did. So often we feel like we need to conform to what the world tells us is beautiful—be it straight hair or shimmying into a size 2, but this lightbulb moment made me thankful that I have curly hair and am a size 6 (even if that sounds cheesy”>.
It also made me extremely grateful that I have taken the time to find out what products and techniques work, because my hair has developed bona fide ringlets. When I first started this journey, my waves didn’t start until about 3-4 inches down my head and it annoyed me. Now my curls start right at my scalp, proving to me that my hair is as happy with me as I am with it.
Writing this blog has made me realize that I am in love with my curls and I am thankful that I have reached this point, even if it did take me a year. If you are still waiting for your lightbulb moment, have patience! The journey can be a very difficult one, but once it happens you will be just as excited as I am. If you have had the pleasure of experiencing your lightbulb moment, take a second to tell us about your moment down in the comment section. Encouragement from other curlies is so helpful!
