Here at Oswego, I have met so many people that embrace their natural hair. So on my road to curly hair recovery, I have decided to go on a mission to find out more about my peer's experiences with having curly hair. When I began my research the first obstacle I faced can only be compared to trying to find your bra size for the first time, I'm talking about trying to find your hair type. I had no idea there were labels for types of curls. Going from straight hair 1(A-C) to the avoided curly 4(A-C). In order to learn more, I needed to enlist some people to find out about their hair types, routines, stories, and struggles dealing with curly hair.

Theresa’s Story: 2B Hair

When I asked Theresa if she had any stories having to do with her curly hair, she talked about her friends, who are women of color, and said they would, “tend to put me down because I wear my hair straight constantly. They assume they know why I do it but have never taken the time to ask me the reason. It is really frustrating especially being light skin and Afro-Latina where there are already issues surrounding that.” When I inquired about how she prefers to leave her hair she answered, “Straightening, because I love long hair and my hair is longer when it is straight.” Lastly, I asked if she felt like there were a lot of examples of embracing natural hair in the past as well as in the present, she replied that she doesn’t think there are because, “curly/natural hair has always been looked down upon and associated negatively. Nowadays more people are learning to embrace/accept natural hair so it is becoming more of a topic and ways to deal with that are more prevalent but still in particular atmospheres, not talked about enough.”

Her Hair Routine:

1. Brush it out

2. Put in grease/hair lotion

3. Brush it through again

4. Put in a ponytail

5. Bobby pin down the edges

Products:

• Olive Oil
• Argan Oil
• Shea Butter
• Cantu Products

Niki's Story: 3A Hair

Next, I went to my roommate in search of her story. When I asked her how she preferred to leave her hair she explained, “I do prefer leaving it curly the majority of the time but I do like it straight occasionally because it is easier to maintain.” When questioned about if she thought there were examples of embracing natural hair her answer was, “In the past, I felt it was not embraced as much because of discrimination, so people would accommodate to what was “normal” for the people not of color. But in today’s society, a lot more people embrace their natural hair because we are breaking out of the norm of thinking that it is not beautiful. We have many examples now of how to treat different kinds of hair. We also have many YouTubers that share their knowledge on different products they use and they also give advice on hairstyles we can do.”

Her Hair Routine:

1. leave in conditioner

2. heat protectant

3. mousse

4. blow dry using a diffuser

Products:

• Granier leave in conditioner
• Tresemme Heat Protectant/ Mousse

Rafaela’s Story: 4A Hair

I decided to enlist the help of my teammates next and was surprised at how much they had to say. When I asked my teammate if she had any stories to share she talked about how much maintenance it took to keep her hair straight, “I had a relaxer in my hair for as long as I can remember until my freshman year of college when I decided to crop my hair short. I got tired of going to the salon every two weeks to have my hair yanked and be told that I had bad hair. I’ve been growing my hair back and it's healthier.” When questioned if she preferred her hair natural she agreed, saying, “Definitely natural, I've worked so hard to get it natural and I think it suits me better. And my confidence is a lot better too.” After asking her thoughts on whether we have good examples of people embracing natural hair past to present she stated, “I don’t think I ever saw any examples of how to take care or embrace natural hair when I was growing up. It’s pretty different now, what with all these natural hair gurus on Youtube and the growing natural hair movement. We’ve been told for so long that straight long hair is beautiful that we grew to hate our own textured hair. Even amongst ourselves, the people with the looser curl patterns are said to have better hair. Some people don’t want to go natural if it means they’ll have “nappy” hair.”

Her Hair Routine:

1. Detangle with conditioner and twist hair in section.

2. Shampoo half my hair and then put conditioner/deep conditioner (repeat on the other side).

3. Detangle again and then rinse and twist hair while under running water.

4. Style with leave-in, gel, and a sealant.

Products:

• Shea Moisture conditioner/leave-in
• Trader Joe’s conditioner
• EcoStyler gel
• Shea butter

Gbemi/Imani’s Stories: 4B/4C Hair

I wanted to pay extra attention to my 4(B-C) girls who most people don’t want to acknowledge. So I decided to ask two of my close friends who have 4B/4C hair. First Imani who talked about how people shoved their opinions about her hair at her she explained, “I was often told in middle and high school that I should get a perm and that my hair would look better straightened. The Dominican ladies would always cluck over my hair at salons and talk about me to the women at the seats next to them in Spanish as if I couldn’t understand them and tell me that my hair was “so natural” like that was the worst thing it could be.” I have always known Imani to embrace her natural hair so when I asked her how she preferred to keep her hair I wasn’t surprised when she replied, “I prefer leaving my hair natural, mostly because I have more control over it that way. I can do whatever I want with it and that’s pretty cool.” but her answer to my last question is my favorite so far. When I asked her about representations we see/have seen of embracing curly hair she answered, “The only girl rocking natural hair when I was growing up was that light skinned girl from Cyberchase. They used to have a segment after the actual show was over and she was my favorite. Nowadays way more people embrace natural hair and there are sites like NaturallyCurly that focus on overlooked hair.” After talking to Imani it made me think about how growing up I had never thought about how TV, even childhood cartoons were making me perceive my hair differently. It also made me think about my nieces and how they will view their hair when they are older.

Next, I talked to my own personal makeup guru Gbemi. She talked about the many experiences she has had where her hair has so damaged the hair ”fell out after braids”, it was “burned with relaxer”, being “burned with hot tools” and many other unfortunate occurrences. But what I found most interesting was her view on how curly hair, specifically how 4C hair is perceived in professional settings. When asked how she thinks people like her hair type she responded, “Not as much for my hair type since a looser, coily texture is praised in the natural hair community. But I think everyone has their own preference for and reactions to products. The resources we have now and a larger variety of products we have are readily available versus 20-25 years ago. It’s becoming more accepted in the Black and Latino community. However, it is still deemed unkempt and unprofessional for jobs and schools which is absolutely ridiculous. My hair should not define me or my ability to perform” I could absolutely relate to her story, having curly hair is often seen as “messy” we are told to brush and slick it back to look more professional even if it means altering our hair.

Hair Routine:

1. Cantu leave-in conditioner

2. Blue Magic

3. coconut oil

Products:

• Cantu
• Shea Moisture
• Got2B
• Generic virgin cold pressed/raw coconut oil

My Story: 2C Hair

For as long as I can remember My hair has been an extension of myself, and for as long as I can remember there has been a stigma on curly hair. A “mess” of curls is often what our hair is referred to as and for a long time I tried to distance myself from that label. I didn’t know what to do with my hair and I didn’t have anyone going out of their way to show me. So I straightened my hair constantly. My decision to damage my hair validated by people's comments on how pretty my hair was straightened. But once I got to college my hair was so burnt it would no longer curl. By the time I realized that I wanted to embrace my curls the damage had already been done. Now almost a year later my curls are finally starting to come back, but I realize I didn’t know how to take care of them. I wanted to write this article because I know what it feels like to want to embrace your apart of yourself but not know how. My hair is not only a visual of my being but a part of my culture, my personality, it is a part of who I am. Curly hair is magnificent and should be celebrated. So for all my “messy” haired curly girls out there, I want you to know that your not alone and you're hair is beautiful.

My Hair Routine:

1. Detangler when needed

2. Leave in conditioner spray

3. Hair milk

4. Beach wave spray

Products:

• Shea moisture
• Carol's daughter
• Cantu

CURLY AND PROUD!