No matter what type of curl you have, the struggles are pretty much the same.
We're constantly told by other women that they wish they had our hair, that they would die to have it and oh, how lucky we must be to be blessed with such a hair type. But as much as our hair is seemingly envied, we literally never see people in the media with curly hair. Take a look and you'll start to notice. For a lot of TV shows, there is one character who starts the show off with curls on curls on curls. But by the 3rd-5th episode, they've been straightened or at the very least, relaxed, and by the end of the show, we've all forgotten that curly hair even existed (see exhibit A).
Exhibit A
Even Taylor Swift ditched her signature blond curls circa 2012 with the release of her album Red and seemingly hasn't looked back since. In fact, when we think of Taylor Swift today, short blonde hair and red lips are about the only thing to come to mind.
Exhibit B - Swift in 2006
But beyond other women telling you how much they love your hair... To which this is your response...
Having curly hair is actually really hard. So we don't blame TV shows for not putting up with it for long. Because naturally curly hair is a major struggle.
Especially when you try to figure out how to style it. Because when you google "curly hair styles", all you get are a bunch of photos of girls with straight hair using a straightener over their braids or hairspraying something they spent an hour getting into place.
This is why we can't have nice things.
People literally don't understand when you tell them you don't wash your hair that often because you actually don't need to. But it's an actual thing. With curls, the oils take longer to get down the shaft of your hair, so unless you want to, there's no reason to wash your hair until you feel like it's getting oily/dirty. I literally wash my hair maybe twice a week. But it also kind of sucks because my hair will look its best about the day after a wash.
And even then, once you start explaining "the curly girl method," people are just like...
Curly hair needs more moisture to survive! Like, do you want to see my hair with less conditioner? No. I promise you do not. But also note, over-conditioning is also a thing. It's all about balance.
And you've also read every single article and list for getting your hair to look perfect.
Plot twist: They're all the same tips about air-drying, conditioning, and not using heat.
And then you get those people who ask you why you don't brush your hair.
This. This is why.
You finally come to the realization that curly hair changes literally every day, and there's pretty much nothing you can do to stop that. And while your hair might have this weird appreciation yet lack in culture, it actually is pretty cool. And while some days you wish you could keep it permanently straight, it's fun to flip around and constantly be told how awesome it is. Plus, keeping your hair naturally curly is a great way to encourage young girls who hate the way their hair is or are being told that they need to straighten it. Because as someone with curly hair, I was that girl who straightened it every single day in middle school. And now I really wish I had more of an appreciation for it early on, because yeah, my curls are awesome (most days).
And if you have curls and you don't really love them, that's okay. But Dove's "Love Your Curls" video certainly changed my outlook.
