Happy Curl. Happy Girl.
“I love my hair because it’s a reflection of my soul. It’s dense, it’s kinky, it’s soft, it’s textured, it’s difficult, it’s easy and it’s fun. That’s why I love my hair.” -Tracee Ellis Ross
Black beauty is important and something us melanin women should take in. Sometimes it's hard to accept who we are with the society today. One thing that we have decided to overcome recently is how to embrace our natural hair, regardless of what may be said about it. Over the past decades, relaxers were always our go-to. Relaxers took our curly-kinky hair and broke down the texture to become straight. Many of us have thrown the 'creamy crack' out and picked up a pick.
With the help of YouTube, blogs, and Instagram, it has opened a platform for naturalists to showcase their hair. With this, it has opened people to explore on their own hair. Whether it is doing the big chop, transitioning from relaxer to natural, transitioning from heat damage to natural or even just finally growing the confidence to wear their natural hair. I personally transitioned from relaxed to natural. It took 3 years for my hair to get back to its natural curl pattern, but it was worth the while.
Products are the key to keeping your curls looking good. There are many mainstream products that you can find basically anywhere now. Companies who dedicated their products to relaxed hair are now moving over to the natural hair community also. Around this natural hair community, there have been many talks on which products are best, but honestly, it depends on your hair type and texture. My favorite products on the market would be Shea Moisture, Aunt Jackie's, Carol's Daughter, Curls, Miss Jessie's and plenty of others.
There also comes a time that naturalists must wear protective styles. These are styles that protect the ends of your hair or your entire head of hair. Styles to protect the ends of your hair could be a simple bun, twist, cornrows or something that doesn't have your ends free. The styles to protect your entire head can consist of box braids, weaves, wigs and more. Protectives styles are ensuring that there is very little daily upkeep and help strands stay moisturized, which promotes hair growth. Protective styles that I often go for are braids, faux locks, weaves, and most importantly a puff or slick back bun.
Being a curly girl is honestly one of the hardest things. It takes dedication. There are steps you have to take to maintain your hair. It could be deep conditioning every week, using a certain shampoo, or finding what oil your hair loves the most. No matter what, it's one of the best decisions I made, and I know other curly girls have too. As the curly world says Happy Curl Happy Girl!
