Growing up I always hated my curly hair – seeing girls with naturally straight hair made me wish my hair was like theirs. Now I’ve learned to embrace my curls! This is my natural hair journey as a Hispanic woman!
Growing Up With Naturally Curly Hair In The Hispanic Community
I remember going to the Dominican salon once a week, faithfully… for a wash, rollers (under the dryer for an hour, sometimes longer), blow-dry, and the infamous flat iron.
As a Hispanic woman, naturally curly hair was considered “bad hair” or “ugly hair.” My mother didn’t know how to manage my hair so she did what she knew – straightening my hair, relaxing my hair, burning my scalp, constant heat, and overall mistreating my hair. None of that mattered because I just wanted straight hair like the girls I saw on TV.
For years I thought if my hair wasn’t straight that it was “ugly.” Curly hair was taboo in the Hispanic community. To be “pretty” you had to have straight hair. So for 24 years, it was my weekly habit. My hair started becoming weak and thin…I abandoned my natural hair and tried to change what was a part of me because I wanted to be accepted.
I didn’t know how to embrace and love my natural hair. My mother grew up thinking natural hair was “bad hair” therefore teaching me the same thing – which led to me teaching my daughter what I knew. My daughter started visiting the Dominican salon as well, repeating everything I was taught.
Straight hair = “Good Hair”
Natural hair = “Bad Hair”….. for over 20 years..this was all I knew.
Finally Embracing My Natural Hair
In 2014 I decided to embrace my natural hair, after coming across a Youtube video of a Hispanic woman embracing her naturally curly hair – Sunkiss Alba. She motivated and inspired me to start my journey. I watched her videos and fell in love with her hair. The way she embraced her natural hair made me wonder, “can I do that?”
I started questioning myself on how I let my hair become so damaged and weak – it all led to how I grew up. It was definitely a struggle because I had no idea what I was doing.
The first thing I knew I needed to do was to stop straightening my hair. So for two years, I didn’t blow-dry or flat iron my hair. It was one of the hardest things I had to do because I was so conditioned into thinking that my hair was supposed to be straight.
Of course, I got comments from family members, “you should straighten your hair,” “why is your hair not done”…so I typically wore my hair up in a bun.
After much trial and error, I finally managed to get my natural hair back. I thought I would never embrace my natural hair.
Breaking Generational Curses
Learning to embrace my natural hair was an amazing journey. I felt free and empowered! I wish I would’ve realized sooner that my natural hair was always beautiful. My curly hair journey taught me self-love, self-worth, and to be unapologetically ME.
Embracing my curls was one of the best decisions I made. Soon after, my daughter started her journey and I realized…I just broke a generational curse!
Today woman everywhere are embracing their natural hair! The curly hair community is beautiful! It’s empowering to see so many women, men, and children embrace their natural hair!
xoxo
Gleydy Brito (@curlzmatic)
