learning to love my curls

Today marks three weeks of curly hair - officially the longest I've left my hair in its natural condition in 13+ years! 

It may sound silly to some, but I haven't always loved my curls - so this is a quite an achievement!

Throughout my secondary school years, I was very self conscious and uncomfortable with my appearance. I thought that having straight hair would make me mildly more attractive, and much like Ghenet and Adrienne mentioned in their recent posts, I assumed having straight hair would be easier to maintain. In hindsight, it certainly wasn't - I have memories of getting up an hour earlier than necessary to straighten/curl my hair every morning, and probably wasted a good few days of my life complaining about having a frizzy fringe...

In my late teens and early twenties, I had become so used to straightening my hair, that it was really all I knew. I made every effort to make sure it stayed that way - always swimming with my head above water, tucking my hair into hats if it rained, awkwardly standing in showers, and even getting my hair relaxed when I was seventeen, which completely damaged my hair. Despite all of this, leaving my hair natural just never really felt like an option. 

The turning point for me was at the end of 2015. Rob and I stayed at the Corinthia Hotel for our one year anniversary and spent much of our time in the pool. It was all going well, until just before check out I was accidentally splashed righhhtttt in the head. I usually would have freaked out, but I didn't want to ruin such a special time with a problem which suddenly felt rather petty, so I held it together. I was having the time of my life with someone who loves me for me, so why should it matter that my hair wasn't 'perfect'? That evening I didn't want to waste time straightening it, so the next morning I went to work with completely natural hair. Whilst think it the novelty that people have been used to seeing my hair straight over the years, the wonderful compliments I received certainly made me rethink - if other people love my curly hair, then I should too.  

   

I'm now in a position where I truly feel confident with curly hair. Finally! Saying that, I can't deny that I love having my hair straight, however now I'm certainly going to have a more healthy balance between the two. It's my hair after all, there's not wrong or right, but I'm so happy that I'm so much more accepting of my natural beauty. 

Love Jazz xx

Jumper, courtesy of Next