Learning how to love your luscious locks

Growing up in my household meant being repeatedly reminded to dress up. My mother had my older sister a whole nine nine years before I came along, and she was desperately hoping for another shot at having a girly girl. My sister was the tomboy rocking the Tims and polos, and the only time my mom won out was when she forced her to wear a dress once a week … in middle school. After that, it was a lost cause. Of course, nowadays it’s a completely different story. The newly christened 29-year-old rocks Louis and high heels anytime she isn’t rocking her court officer uniform.

Compared to my sis, I was more of the girly girl my mom wanted, but it still wasn’t enough. I was in middle school I opted for jeans. All the time. I also got into the habit of not wearing my earrings, which annoyed my mom to no end, but what really irked her was my hair. I could dress like a “bum” all I wanted and if I must, not wear any earrings, but if my hair wasn’t looking right, I wouldn’t hear the end of it. According to her, hair is everything.

When I was born, my dad rushed over to the hospital after taking the New York Police Officer exam, and when he saw me in the nursery, he swore I was a boy. Had I not been wrapped up in pink sheets, I would have surely been named after him. I was bald. But not for long. For three years afterwards, give or take, I had the nice straight hair every girl with difficult hair wants. After that, my hair took a turn for the curly.

The best thing about my hair is that it curls naturally and looks really good after I wash it, only for that first day though. After that the frizz starts popping out and whenever I’m in any weather above 60 degrees it becomes more of a fro than anything. Like everyone else who usually wants what they don’t have, I’ve always wanted nice straight hair that behaves. The problem with getting my hair straightened is that it won’t stay straight for long. Trust me, I have tried almost all the hair products under the sun, and my quest to find what product works best for me is still in the works. The spread on my dresser is a testament to that, although Aussie is pretty darn good.

When it comes to the younger generation of women in my family, the only one that has been blessed with the straight hair is my oldest niece, Ahava. That doesn’t mean she’s happy, though; she always complains and says she wants curly hair like mine, because hers refuses to be anything but straight. On the other hand my youngest niece, Alejandra, has been touched with the curly curse. Luckily for her, her hair resembles more of my sister’s when she was younger which is closer to the waterfall curl end of the spectrum, though she has some tight curls here and there.

So regardless of where exactly your hair ends up on the straight-to-curly spectrum, learn love it and make sure to work it any and everywhere you go!