By: Sarah Patriarca
Having curly hair is a long time struggle that I’ve had for years. Whether it be from maintaining it or being generally okay and comfortable showing it off. For a long time, I wasn’t comfortable leaving it down or knowing how to treat it properly. But eventually as I grew older, it became easier for me to deal with. However, I still went through a lot to get to where I am with it.
Both my parents have really curly hair so I was bound to have it as well–there was no stopping genetics! From what my dad tells me, I had one small curl at the back of head and then all of a sudden the curls just multiplied and the rest is history! I don’t remember much from how my mom managed my hair from when I was small, but looking at pictures I’m not sure how she did it! My hair was bigger than my body, and had so much volume. Looking back at these pictures, it was cute that my hair was bigger than me, it looked cute but my opinion of it changed as I got older and went to Elementary school. My hair had a mind of its own and just kept growing! As the years went on I started to feel more self-conscious about my hair and started to listen to people’s opinions about it. While most grown-ups loved my hair and would praise it, my school friends were not too keen on it. Often times, they would just comment on how big it was and how it looked horrible. So up until Grade 10, I wore my hair in a low ponytail with my geeky glasses.
For years, I had wished that I had straight hair like everyone else. None of the other girls had to deal with huge knots in their hair or being more cautious about getting their hair wet in the pool because it would take hours to detangle it from the chlorine. People would even go further in throwing pencils in my hair to see if they could fine it or if it would stick, which only caused more knots. And one time, I even got a bee stuck in my hair which made everyone at school laugh. The only people that were really supportive were my family, specifically my mom, who was the one who helped me detangle my hair and researched more about it! So much so, that one time she took me to a place called the Curly Hair Institute, where they “Tunnel” cut my hair. Basically they cut the bulkiest part of my hair, and cut it from the root. One problem that we didn’t see coming is that the moment it grew back; the little curls would get knotted within the other curls. It wasn’t even harder to maintain after and was probably one of the worst decisions I’ve ever made for my hair!
It wasn’t until I got to Grade 10, that I started to where my hair down. I still wasn’t 100% okay with the way that my hair was, but after realizing that I was hiding behind a scrunchy, I decided it was time to just accept the fact that my hair is what it is. I started using this coconut mousse, that tamed my hair for the most part throughout my high school years. I still felt like an outcast however, majority of my friends had straight hair and I always felt left out. No one had to worry about the heat, their hair becoming frizzy, or even afraid for lice season. Lice season was the best, my mom would have to put tea tree oil around my scalp, so I smelt like salad everywhere I went. Always in fear that if I did get lice, the Lice Squad would have to come to my house. Not only that, but any time I talked to people, they would ask me questions like: Are you mixed? Is that a perm or real? You sure?… Yes, I’m sure.
In university, however, it was a completely different ball game. Most of my friends that I’ve met have curly hair. After bouncing ideas off of them, I realized that there are actually different kinds of curly hair based on a scale and there is a certain way you have to do certain things, when coming to how you treat your hair and dry it. This is what I learned about myself: my hair is a 3c/4a on the curly hair scale, I should never dry my hair with a towel but let it air dry, and moose (what I’ve been using) is the worst thing for my hair and that creams are actually better!
Today, I finally feel comfortable with my hair, I finally feel like I can manage my hair. And I’m not going to lie, there are days when I wish that I didn’t have curly hair and it was simpler! It’s funny though, I went through most of my teenage years wishing I didn’t have my curly hair, only to realize later on, that my hair is who I am. If you feel like you are struggling with your hair, or any other feature for that matter, just remember this! You are you, you are beautiful and let no one ever tell you different!