Personal Narrative: What I Do With My Hair

“It’s just hair. It’ll grow back.” Well, it was never just hair for me. I was always known as the girl with the big curly hair. Of course, people would try to give me their opinions on what I should do with my hair. “Why don’t you straighten it?” “Don’t ever cut your hair!” Well, random person who I’ve had one conversation with, you don’t have to sit for hours on end straightening or styling it, so you can keep your two cents to yourself, thank you very much. In all seriousness though, I loved everything about my hair, even the long hours required to detangle and style it. My hair was my most prevalent feature, so it felt natural to build my identity around it. Unfortunately, at the end of my sophomore year, following my first Crohn’s Disease flare up, I was left with thin, brittle, lifeless hair. I had no idea what I was going to do. Crohn’s prevented me from absorbing nutrients, and my body, in all it’s infinite wisdom, went into survival mode. Any nutrients I was able to absorb went solely to my body’s core functions. My hair …show more content…
I’ve cut my hair before and knew it would be easier to manage. It was the thinning and eventual hair loss that slowly made me lose my mind. I wasn’t the girl with big curly hair anymore, and I felt lost because of it. This was my new reality and I needed to adapt, however; after months and months of expecting my hair to revert back, I put my big girl pants on and looked up my first transitional video for curly hair. To my surprise, the curly girl world was much larger than I expected. At first, I was extremely annoyed with the process because every “beauty guru” was giving me different advice using terms I didn’t understand. What’s the difference between a pre-poo and a co-wash? Do I have to deep condition once a week? A year ago, I wouldn’t be able to answer those questions. Now, not only do I understand the process, but I have completely thrown myself into the naturally curly world. I absolutely love