Guest Blog- “What The Road To Healthy Curls Taught Me”- Penelope Baez
WHAT THE ROAD TO HEALTHY CURLS TAUGHT ME
By:Penelope @curlyandproud
It has been four years since I began embracing my natural curls. Coming from a Dominican culture where straight hair was preferred, I would always neglect my natural curls and would seldom wear it curly. Fast forward into adulthood and that all changed. I now proudly rock my natural curls and seldom wear it straight! I decided to finally start embracing my natural hair and throughout this healthy hair journey I learned some life lessons that I had no idea my hair, out of all things, would teach me.
Patience: Being patient means knowing how to wait calmly but still persevere when you are faced with difficulties. I know how frustrating the transitioning phase can be especially when you see
no immediate results. However, nothing good ever comes easy. We have all been through the awkward phase where we have more than one hair texture. Many times, I was so tempted to just give up because I felt like I was not progressing but I stuck to it and my results were extremely worth it. I continue to practice patience in all aspects of my life.
Not everything has to go as planned: I am a planner. I always tell myself, “If you fail to plan you plan to fail.” Little did I know my hair was about to brutally teach me that sometimes you just can’t control your circumstances, even though you have thoughtfully planned things out. There were many times where I have washed, deep conditioned, and perfectly styled my curls, for them to just decided they really don’t feel like being tamed. Other times, I have strategically planned out my wash days to just have unexpected rain appear and cause my frizz-free locks to turn into a frazzled mess. I used to get stressed when my plans were not being executed the way I wanted them to be; with curly hair and in life. Now, I just go with the flow. It rains? I can do a cute up-do. They honestly have taught me how to be a bit more spontaneous and make some lemonade with the lemons life may throw at me.
Acceptance: Curly hair is magical; from the shrinkage to the versatility. All curl types are amazing. The problem I had before my healthy hair journey was that I only loved my hair when it was straight. Now, I have truly learned to love my hair, in any state that it’s in. Loving my hair eventually trickled down to loving and accepting everything else about myself. Love your natural hair whether you have loose waves or tight coils. Just be unapologetically you.
