Ah, the never ending struggle – the feeling of longing for beautiful, straight hair but instead you were born with uncooperative, “I do what I want, when I want” curly hair. For as long as I could remember, I have always struggled with my natural hair. It didn’t help that my mother didn’t have the slightest clue as to how to take care of curly hair, being that she has straight hair. The solution? She would brush my hair back into a ponytail every single day. As I got older, I started experimenting with hair dyes and straightening it out (relaxers, blow dryer, flat iron). Say what – damage? Damage wasn’t even a thought.

A few years ago I realized that I once had an awesome curl pattern, and wished I had that again. What was I dealing with? Straight, thin hair that was so damaged it wasn’t curling up anymore. Instead of actually doing something about it, I stupidly continued to blow out my hair! The only thing that changed was the fact that I was no longer dying it. If you look through my Instagram, 99% of the time my hair is blown out. I would say about less than a year ago I came across Felicia’s page (hif3licia) and was absolutely amazed at how gorgeous her hair is. I started taking her advice and started incorporating some of her tips/tricks/products into my routine. I also started looking up TONS of videos on YouTube, trying to educate myself as much as possible – and decided to start getting more serious about taking care of my hair. I became more mindful of the products I was using and slowly but surely I started to see some change.

I got a quick trim at Devachan Soho salon when I was getting serious about taking care of my hair, but it wasn’t anything major – however I was educated on how to take better care of my hair. Fast forward to the end of October 2017, I booked myself an appointment at the Devachan Hair salon on 79th St ( in NYC ) and chopped off as much damage as possible (didn’t want to actually do the “big chop”). Being that I was starting to already baby my hair at that point, I decided to go for pintura highlights (VERY minimal) just to give my curls a slight pop. I was in love with my end results, and was quite excited to officially start this journey.

To be 1,000% honest, it is NOT easy. There are days in which my hair doesn’t want to curl up the way I would like it to. Being that I didn’t go for the big chop, I still have a few pieces that don’t completely curl. There are days in which I want to go back to blow drying the crap out of it – and to be quite honest, I have straightened my hair since my cut. I found that doing a roller set and wrapping my hair up at night has not damaged/altered my hair in anyway. However, it is time consuming and I save it for special occasions only. I have used very minimal heat doing so, and have only done it a handful of times. I make sure to prep for it before, and take extra care of it right after as well. Baby steps.

Remind yourself that you are beautiful no matter how crazy your hair may look that day. Positive self affirmations go a long way! Having a support system is extremely helpful – follow curly haired girls on instagram and join an online community. Seeing someone else’s journey will inspire you to continue on your path. I admit, I struggle with keeping positive about it, but I also feel like I’ve come a long way from where I was.

All in all, if you are ready to take better care of your hair – what are you waiting for? Do as much research as you can. Get rid of all of that dead hair. Also, getting the right curly hair cut for you is key. If you are in the NYC area I highly recommend going to a Devachan hair salon. As I mentioned before, I went to the 79th Street location for my last visit and I highly recommend you book your session with Robert, and if you want to dye your hair please book it with Eladia – I can’t recommend them enough!

I am by no means a pro at this – I’m still experimenting with what products works for my hair. My hair is absolutely no where near where I want it to be, but it has definitely come a long way. What may work for someone else may not work for me, and thats totally fine. I will definitely share with you all what I actually use for my hair in the near future, and hopefully it will help someone else out there as well. Learning not to strive for perfection, and embracing the frizz is key!

Anyone else struggling with their journey? What has helped you?

-gracex