I have always had curly hair. Actually, as a kid is was more thick and wavy, but once puberty and hormones hit, it turned into a crazy mess of frizzy, out-of-control Jew hair. I was mocked throughout all of junior high and some of high school because of my hair. I won't go into the names I was called, but coupled with my big-ass eyes (a genetic defect caused by sutures on my skull closing to soon when I was an infant) you can just imagine the fun I had growing up.
My eyes - well, I can't do anything to change them, I have learned to live with them. My hair, on the other hand, with the advent of super-duper straightening irons and miracle salves and balms and such, I've been able to tame my hair into waspy suburban submission. It generally takes me an hour or more to get it stick straight. I've been doing it less and less. Here's what I'm starting to think:
I started straightening my hair in an attempt to fit in and look like everyone else. Straight hair is seen as 'sexy', 'sleek', 'neat', 'polished'. Frizzy, curly, unruly hair is seen as 'too ethnic', 'messy', 'unattractive'. In my attempts to feel good within my skin, this has become an issue with me. So I'm trying to learn to love my hair, as is. I don't look like everyone else ,and I never will. That's not a bad thing. Would I change my looks if I could? No.
2 comments:
I hear yah! I have thick, wavy/curly hair too and up until about 6 months ago, I straightened mine all the time. I decided to get a haircut that works with my waves instead of against it. Now I just let it be big and wild. The funny thing is, I get more compliments with my wild hair than I ever did when it was straight.
I think I was afraid that I was too old, too professional, too whatever to wear my hair like I did as a twenty year old. I was so wrong. It's my hair and I can wear it how I want to. Yeah baby!!
Women unite! Liberate your hair!!
My hair is the natural humidity gauge, fer reals! I'm always mystified when women talk about the humidity making their hair flat. Really? What must that be like? Mine's easier to deal with now that it's (finally!) grown out some. Curly hair is not good short. But I'm embracing it's craziness, life is too short to worry about looking like the rest of the herd!
Post a Comment