As I sit here, trying to make something out of the mess on top of my head, I’d like to have a word with those of you, particularly women, with straight hair. Most of you covet my curly hair. You seem to think that curly hair would be just the most glorious thing. Well, I need to set the record straight.
At least with straight hair you know what you’re going to look like every day. When you have curly hair, every day is a new adventure. Having it look nice is a crapshoot. I try to go four days between hair washes. Partly for the condition of my hair and mostly due to the stress level it causes. On the fifth day when, I know I have to wash my hair, there’s always a feeling of dread. What the hell is my hair going to do today? It’s particularly scary when I have something important coming up and I have no idea what my hair is going to do. It probably shouldn’t matter, but it does.
I have wasted so much money and time on hair products it’s unbelievable. Straightening creams, flat irons, curling irons, straightening combs, blow dryers, diffusers, serums, gels, mousses, shampoos, conditioners! Nothing really works consistently.
Oh, and let’s talk about the wind, which is prevalent pretty much every day where I live, especially during summer. I’ll spend an hour trying to get my hair the way I want it to look and the minute I step outside it looks like I stuck my finger in a light socket. My hair blows and it just pretty much stays wherever it blows. So much for the curls that I managed to form.
I have finally decided to embrace my curly hair. However, at this point in life, I have a lot of gray hair joining the party. Of course the gray hair doesn’t really care about curling along with the others. Some of the hairs are straight, some of them stick straight up and most of them just decide to go their own way. I am all for independence but not where my hair is concerned. Curls look best when they work together.
So I’ve decided to accept my fate. I have a mop on my head that once in a while looks the way I want – maybe a couple of times a year. I’ve decided that my version of curly hair was put on my head to teach me several lessons. It’s taught me patience (still working on that one) and acceptance (working on that one too). It’s taught me to own who I am and let people judge if they choose. My hair is curly. There’s only so much I can do with it so I’m choosing to embrace it.
To those of you with straight hair, I encourage you to embrace what you have as well. The grass may look greener on the other side, but it’s really not any better. It’s actually just a different can of unruly curls🪱.
Judy Kaplan Art & Musings 