My relationship with my natural hair texture has been a turbulent one. Growing up, I always believed my hair was simply frizzy as, even though my parents had curly and afro hair, my habit of brushing my strands at every opportunity left me believing I was not so blessed. So, I started reaching for hair straighteners as soon as the tool went mainstream in the 90’s, heating my hair to within an inch of its life with my trusty Babyliss Convertible Styler (you may remember it, it had removable plates so you could switch between crimping and straightening as your heart desired). Then, at around age 14 I decided I wanted curls at any cost, but rather than embarking on a journey to discover my natural texture, I instead decided I needed a perm. I’m sure you can imagine how that turned out.
Fast forward 15 years and I’m now much less naïve when it comes to my hair type. Post washing, my shorter, newer strands are definitely on the wavy/curly spectrum however years of heat and chemical damage have undoubtedly taken their toll on my hair as a whole leaving my curl pattern looking far from its best. And so, I’ve made it my mission to attempt to revive it armed with products that embrace my natural texture, not work against it, and hopefully achieve the natural healthy-looking hair of my dreams.
