Love your crown.

“I am a queen crowned in my curls.”

Believe it or not, I grew up with relatively straight hair, wavy, but not curly. That was, until I was in grade 7 and decided to have a major haircut and boom: the curls appeared. 

The next few years were a major struggle. Well actually, up until I was about 20. I used to hate going to the hairdresser, I would literally cry, because they would always hurt me and I used to hate washing my hair- don’t worry I still did- because that would mean having to brush the rats nests out first. So, maybe a strong word, but I HATED my curls. 

Every chance that I would get, I would straighten my hair. Even though it took an hour and a half to blowdry and straighten it, I would do it. I can't even count how many late nights I would sit and straighten my hair after everyone had gone to sleep. It wasn't until I was about 20 that people started saying to me: "Ah, did you cut your hair?" I was extremely confused and frustrated because I hadn't trimmed my hair in a while and I have always had long hair. Soon after that I stumbled across some photos on Facebook from a year or so back, and I saw how long my hair was. I compared it to recent photos and I was devastated. Hair that was once halfway down my back was now at my shoulders. I was embarrassed and angry as I realized that straightening my hair so often had damaged, and literally, chopped my hair at the ends. 

This was all a blessing in disguise, as that was my turning point. From then onwards I almost NEVER straightened my hair. Still to this day I straighten my hair maybe 3 times a year? I forcibly had to learn to love and embrace my curls, but the more that I wore my hair curly, the more I realized that it's a BIG part of who I am, and loving my curls no longer needed to be forced. This may sound silly but it brings out a "wilder" side to my personality, that I love! I realized how lucky I really am, because I can have my hair curly, straight, it holds GHD curls really well and I only have to wash my hair twice a week (YEP, seriously). People also ask: "How do you get your curls like that?" and I literally don't use anything else besides shampoo, conditioner, water and air. So, yes, I am very lucky. 

The moral of my story: LOVE your hair. Your hair is your crown that you wear every day. Embrace it! Whether it is short, long, curly, straight, or somewhere in between. A big part of loving your hair is learning how to manage it. I realized that the reason I hated my curls was simply because I didn't know how to manage them. Talk to someone, Google, experiment or do what you gotta do to find out what works for you. I must also say that a big part of loving and embracing my curls, I owe to my husband. He loves my curls and he tells me that often. You have to find someone who loves you for you- the real and natural you- because that's what they're going to see when they wake up next to you.

Love, embrace and own your crown.