When sporting the natural look, my hair can be closely related to a cocker spaniel's ears; that's exactly how I look and because it lacks in obedience yet is full of volume. Growing up, my arch enemy was the hairbrush. Every shower would wind up in a struggle with mother tugging at my roots and ends prying at each knot and tangle. And no matter how much I begged for her to be gentler, she'd brush through my mane even harder; only to make my hair even frizzier and lifeless as it was before I had shampooed and conditioned.
I've spent hours in front of the mirror toying with my hair and different products promising "life to my curls" and "beach-like waves." But no matter what the back of the bottle stated, my results always wound up the same: within the next few hours (and most often, minutes) of styling, my hair would poof out and grow a mind of its own.
All I wanted as a child and all I want to this very day is pin-straight hair that I can run my hands through without my fingers getting caught in at the crown of my head. Having curly hair wasn't for the lazy or impatient. Having to pick out a ball of strands out of the teeth of our combs, and constantly being mocked to mop the floor with our hair was not a job for the feeble.
I always felt like I had to try to be prettier because of my hair. My mother would always remind me that people paid a lot of money for my locks, but no compliment or bobby pin seemed to work. My hair would never be taken seriously. I, myself would never be taken seriously, for I was often compared to the vision of my hair - bouncy and cheerful.
which is not me all the time.
Then I met the flat iron, and suddenly all my prayers were answered. Sure, because of my inevitable thick texture, it isn't exactly silky and blown out like that of a gorgeous Asian woman. Eventually I learned to work with other tools, such as: heat protecting spray, the paddle brush and polishing cream. I feel like a different person after I take an hour out of my day to straighten my locks.
The curls which once comfortably rested at my chest were now mid way past my breasts. Mother wasn't comparing my hair to a mop, a bush or a rat's nest anymore. I could be taken seriously now, because styled straight hair projects everything that natural curls do not: It looks milky and expensive, not cute and quirky.
I felt at times I betrayed my curly roots, because they've stuck with me since birth. But I have to remember the bad hair days I've had on a first date, and the cowlick that my bangs have, and the nicknames in grade school, "jigglypuff," and "fluffy." The beauty of curly hair is that I can be versatile and straighten up, or shake it down. Girls with pin-straight hair are lucky to hold one curl - let alone dozens on their head.
I've had friends boast about how beautiful my natural hair is when I get out of the pool, and I've had exes beg to see my natural hair, claiming that straight hair is too boring. But nothing makes me feel more professional than straight hair. People were now looking at the rest of me, and not what was sprouting from my head. There are friends, and even family members that have not seen my curly hair - simply because I've been using the flat iron for over three years now. And as much as I enjoy the attention my curly hair receives, I can't resist the acceptation that straight hair gives me.
Do you feel like you have to be prettier because of your hair? Do you feel like you aren't taken seriously because of your hair?
When sporting the natural look, my hair can be closely related to a cocker spaniel's ears; that's exactly how I look and because it lacks in obedience yet is full of volume. Growing up, my arch enemy was the hairbrush. Every shower would wind up in a struggle with mother tugging at my roots and ends prying at each knot and tangle. And no matter how much I begged for her to be gentler, she'd brush through my mane even harder; only to make my hair even frizzier and lifeless as it was before I had shampooed and conditioned.I've spent hours in front of the mirror toying with my hair and different products promising "life to my curls" and "beach-like waves." But no matter what the back of the bottle stated, my results always wound up the same: within the next few hours (and most often, minutes) of styling, my hair would poof out and grow a mind of its own.
Comments (39)
i don't like my hair because its naturally thin and the only time it looks thick is when i let the natural waves in my hair sit there.. and im a big fan of layered hair styles and i can't get the look that i want because my hair isn't thick enough and when cut certain ways it looks all stringy so i have to becareful and over analyze a hair style before i get a pair of shears or blades near it.
I have naturally curly hair but I don't think that's really the main reason why I may not be taken seriously since I'm also pretty short (5'1") and I don't dress in a sophisticated way.
This sort of makes it sound like you think curly hair is ugly or something, I dunno.
I have curly hair. I used to hate it, but I'm actually learning to love it. With the right products, I can go outside without having to worry about it frizzing in the humidity, unlike all my straight-haired friends, who are all fussy and bring their straighteners to school and whatnot. I think that's a bit ridiculous.
Oh, and I get compliments on my hair all the time. I think it makes me stand out. Especially since everyone I know straightens their hair obsessively. :]
"gorgeous Asian woman" - ahahahaha.
I am one of those Asian women with pin-straight hair. If I curl my hair for 1.5 hours, it stays curled for less than 1 hour. When I wake up, the part in my hair is crooked, so I just tilt my head to one side to correct it and my hair is tame again. It's convenient to be straight and very inconvenient to be curly.
My 11 year old sister has hair just like yours. Everyone loves it but I know she doesn't. She always has her hair braided and I'm pretty sure she'll keep it that way for good. My mom started to let her put products in her hair so it's easier to tame now, though.
hehe we're never happy with what we've gotten (most of us, alot of the time).
I had massive frizz/curls all through school that my mum loved and coaxed to be as big and wild as she could :( finally I learnt to straighten it, but it's so frizzy most of the time, and thick, i can rarely ever get it the style I want, nor get it to stay that way for long (if i get it sleek and straight for a night out, it is usually frizzy and curly within an hour from the humidity).
Guess I just have to take it as it comes!
I feel like the hair makes the outfit. You can have the best outfit in the world, but if your hair is painfully boring and clearly not taken care of, it ruins everything.
I have extremely curly hair also, and I used to hate it, but now that I know how to deal with it, I love it.
oh...this made me sad. You shouldn't feel better and more professional with straight hair. Embrace what you have, its what was made for you and fits you the best!!
Yes.
I am Chinese but my hair is dark brown in colour. When I was younger, I got into a lot of trouble with the school as no one believes that I didn't colour my hair. Now that I am older, people tends to think I am lying when I told them that this is my natural hair colour.
A thousand times, yes! I used to be able to work with curls, but then I moved to a place that doesn't have the products I used and I looked like a poodle for a week. People say I'm lucky to have curly hair, but they're the lucky ones to have straight hair because if they don't have time to put effort into their hair it still looks cute. Sometimes I can spend a ton of time on my hair and it'll still look bad. I've been ironing my hair since high school.
i didn't have really curly hair but it was all poofy and thick and hard to manage. i had it chemically straightened when i was 15 and i regularly still do! i did perm my hair 2 because i thought it would be a convenient way to hide my thick hair... but i got tired of it because i had to put on mousse and style it everyday. so i ended up cutting it shoulder length and straightened it :) why don't you try that?:)
i have naturally curly hair and i love it. i don't have to wear my hair straight to look professional. i don't have to wear my hair straight to look better. i have genuine confidence in myself and what i was born with!
confidence looks good on anyone and it's FREE!
I can't say I have "Asian hair" because I truly don't have that pinstraight Asian hair look. My hair is flat and straight, but it looks very natural. Unfortunately, it's super thin =/
Um no.
Sometimes I hate my hair, because its so thick and wavy.. I want not so thick hair, and straight hair. I don't get how you arent taken seriously because of your hair... maybe if it was dyed bright neon pink then i'd understand, but no.
my hair is a mess
I used to straighten my hair everyday basically when it was short. Now that it's long I let the natural curls come somedays. Or I just put it up.
I've been made fun of for my hair before, so now I take better care of it.
I like both straight and curly, as long as the curls are maintained. I find if I get my hair thinned out when I get it cut the curls are actually easier to handle.
Not me, my hair in it's natural state is almost completely perfect (it is however, the only thing I like about myself)
Who I feel sorry for is those girls with Brillo-pad hair. I went to college with a girl who had super-curly hair cut to her shoulders, and the texture was so stiff it kept trying to stick out like twigs. It didn't move in the wind and individual strands didn't move by themselves. It looked like straw.
I don't know if she used any products in it but the blonde highlights she had put in never helped. They just added to the mess.
She was pretty but she gave off an aura of being ugly because of her hair.
I actually perm my hair to get it to stay wavy and have body. Â Naturally my hair is stick straight and super thin (and like you said, I'm lucky to get it to hold one curl naturally--without a perm my hair is limp). Â Â Personally I really like the wavy/curly look, BUT I think get what you mean about it being a hassle. Â No matter how much I brush it, it always seems to get into tangles before (and after) I wash it. Â oh well, I don't mind to pay that price to get the look I like.
If you are really interested in straight and only straight hair, you might look into the japanese straightening technique that some salons do. Â It works like a perm, except in the opposite way and is supposed to give you silky sleek hair. Â The process is pretty time consuming and the results last about as long as a perm (6 months to a year, depending on how much your hair has a mind of its own lol).Â
I was born with thick, humidity loving wavy hair. I was mad fun of all through elementary school about its unruliness, and then I found the straightening iron in 7th grade. It's was/is a pain to deal with making it look good daily, but I didn't really care.
The grass is always greener on the other side, though. I'll get off the beach/out of the pool/shower and everyone tells me how lovely my hair is naturally. And lately, between school, work, and the myriad of other things I have going on, I'm really just too tired to sit there for an hour every other day and iron my hair. So now I just iron the front pieces and put my hair half up, half down. Plus its much healthier for my hair... so it's a double plus.
I straighten my hair, it refuses to curl and my hair is normally puffy and wavy. If I don't straighten it and I go out, I'm soooo self concious because it's just so ugly!
Same story, different girl.
Yes and yes; I have naturally curly, reddish hair. I've been told/people have suggested to me (even my own mother, who cringes any time I mention straightening my hair, via flat iron or other means) that straight hair looks more professional; curly hair projects a care-free, possibly wild image. We are kind of stuck: people RAVE over our hair in it's natural state (because they have no idea the actual time/effort involved in taming it & making it look semi-polished), but still suggest we tame it even further to look serious and professional.
@abcdefgaby@xanga - i don't think naturally curly hair is ugly, i just hate MY naturally curly hair haha
@ROCKtheB0ATx@xanga - Ooh, haha. Wow, I went back and re-read my comment, and it makes me sound like a biiitch. 0.o