Blush logo

Embracing My Natural Hair Was the First Step to Self-Love

Crazy. Wild. Hard to manage. Yes, that’s me.

By Eshal RosePublished 2 years ago 3 min read
Like
Embracing My Natural Hair Was the First Step to Self-Love
Photo by George Gvasalia on Unsplash

Straight, silky, shiny hair. It’s that bright star we all aim for growing up and also for most of our adult lives. And why not? From childhood, we have learned that straight is beautiful.

Straight is appealing. Smooth and shiny is what we should be aiming for. That is the pinnacle of beauty. From fairytales to movies to advertisements, we have been conditioned to believe that even a slight wave or curl has to be straightened out in order to make ourselves beautiful. Because that’s all we want to be. To be beautiful.

But, it is a little hard to think of yourself as beautiful when you grow up having to deal with deadly tangles, broken brushes, and having pencils stuck into your hair by your classmates.

You cant leave your hair open because it is too big. A little bit of humidity can immediately turn you into Simba. You cant rock those trendy hairstyles because well, you can’t do much with yours other than hide it.

And then began the era of straightening, smoothening, and keratin treatments. The list is endless. Anything to make it look good, you think. When in reality, it’s not the hair that matters. Looking good is only a cover. What you truly desire is to feel accepted.

Soon you realize that chemical treatments can only help you to an extent. All the damage plus not being your authentic self finally catches up. And like any other change in life, that’s where the transformation begins. From pain.

Going natural is not simple. Like the actress in the movie Nappily ever after, you don’t just do a big chop and suddenly fall in love with yourself.

It is a commitment that takes years of trying new products and methods. It is hours spent watching Youtube tutorials and learning how to read ingredient labels. It is spending your money on buying new products hoping this will be the one that changes the game. It is giving up in frustration and starting over again.

But most importantly, it is a commitment to being You.

Acceptance is key.

When you finally accept the part of you that you believed had to be tamed, for what it is, that’s when the magic happens.

Being Uniquely You, without apology.

This acceptance gives you the power to wear your hair the way it was always meant to be. Big, bold, and beautiful.

It teaches you patience and gives you the courage to wear it natural.

You have to be really confident to wear it natural because it gets a lot of attention.

Suddenly we realize that there’s nothing wrong with us. In fact, there never was. You don’t want to blend in or shrink yourself to the background anymore.

People commenting on it doesn’t faze you either. Their opinions don’t matter anymore, and it never did but you were too focused on being accepted to see it.

A simple decision to embrace yourself is all it takes to begin a life-long journey of rediscovering your true self.

That's what happened to me. I fell in love with my curls.

Over the years, the natural hair movement has gained a lot of traction. There are now thousands of products, manufactured targeting the natural hair community. More women are choosing to wear their hair natural. Children are being taught how to love their hair the way it is.

Curly hair has suddenly become ‘beautiful’. But it already was all along. We just didn’t see it.

‘Why can’t we wear our hair as big and natural as we want?’

We can. Only by accepting it.

Let that fro GROW!

hair
Like

About the Creator

Eshal Rose

Writer of thoughts.

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.