A Hair Story: The Evolution of Straight & Curls

I was born with a beautiful, silky, and straight hair. When I was 6 years old, I was offered an opportunity to be part of a REJOICE Kids commercial. We had to turn it down, because our school was really strict when it came to such matters. I grew up with people telling me how lovely my hair was. Then I turned 9 years old, and my hair started receiving negative feedback.

"Your hair looks like a horse's tail."

"Your hair looks like a broom."

"Your hair is like a manananggal's (a Filipino mythical creature)."

Yes, my hair suddenly became curly in a way that it didn't have that "GOLDILOCKS bounce" (My mom has a curly hair and my dad has a wavy hair. It's normal to have a gradual change of hair upon growing up). It was like having a hair that has this permanent hairspray on it. During those days, straight was  "in" and curly was "out". From 9 years old to 12 years old, I had my hair tied back in a ponytail, and I envied those who could let their hair loose and have the wind blow their hair dramatically. I hated my hair. I hated how I lost my beautiful hair.

I discovered rebonding when I was 13 years old. It wasn't known that time yet, and I was one of the few who became guinea pigs to this treatment. The first rebond I had was so bad--I had this straight hair, but it was stiff.

After a year, I finally found a good stylist. I had that silky and straight hair once again. I had my hair blown dramatically by the wind like everybody else. It received plenty of compliments once again. However, having a rebonded hair was so annoying. A few weeks later, of course, hair would grow, and you end up having that awkward uplifted square or edgy hair at the roots, since the rest of your hair is flat and your original hair is not. Because of this, I ended up ironing my hair all the time, and it's common sense that I was damaging my hair even though I was using heat protectors on my hair.

I enjoyed rocking it out with my hair not getting messed around by my hyperness on stage. This was in 2005.
"Sumusunod sa galaw kooo, sumusunoddd... " Lol... Catchy song from Rejoice.

Due to the high maintenance of a rebonded hair, I was rebonding my hair every year until finally, I was 20 years old. At that point, I discovered digital hair perm. Thanks to my Korean stylist from Tony and Jackey, he studied my original hair, and permed my rebonded hair to resemble my original curls. Thus, when my original hair grew out, it only needed low maintenance.

I was back to my original hair. I never brushed my hair, and only put mousse on it to keep them intact. Now, my curls had been receiving sweet feedbacks, and I must say that I am thankful for the hair that I've been given with.

I learned to love my curly hair. In fact, I've been having fun with my hair these days. The only changes it had received the past few months were haircuts and colourings (which I did on my own). No rebonds, no perms. Before anything else, let me give you the evolution of my hair from 2010-2011.

My natural look.

My weird look.

Plain

My semi-formal look.

My dinner events look.

My SPRING look.

My pa-cute look.

My weirdo Spring-Summer look.

My Christmassy Summer look. Short hair for a change-- after 18 years.

This February, I am back to my dark hair. I miss my dark hair. The only reason I have been colouring my hair for some time was due to me wanting to release my creativity somewhere else aside from writing, singing, or making videos. Unfortunately, my hair received doses of it. Poor thing. Lol. I actually enjoyed colouring my hair. It brought me comfort especially during stressful times. It's how I pampered myself those days. However, due to the damage it has received from colouring, I decided to have a haircut last December, so that I can start the year with a refreshed hair.

Basically, my hair is back to its original state--which I totally missed. I also miss my old hairstyles, but I miss this look more. Hey, it's good to celebrate my birthday on the 11th with my original look. Lol!

In the end, I actually love my curly hair. I hated it before, but now, I am thankful for it. I know that I've coloured it plenty of times, but it's just my way of "accessorizing" or flattering it. I REALLY REALLY LOVE MY CURLY HAIR! Yeah! I realized that I was really meant to have a curly and crazy hair. You see, my hair may be crazy, but it really matches my personality well.

-Crazy Steph

P.S. I am happy that being curly is now appreciated by the society. Back then, products were all targeting straight haired people. This was one of the reasons why I disliked being curly. I couldn't find a product that supported my hair type. Now, hair care companies consider curly haired people in their range of products, which is a proof of appreciation and support for the curlies like me. =)

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This post was inspired by the people who have been asking me about my hair, and the thought of curls being disliked by many. I have also been receiving questions about how to maintain healthy curls, and I will be answering this on my next post. If you have hair concerns, leave your question through the comment section, and I will answer them all in one post.

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UPDATE:

Here is a really helpful and recent post I made about CURLY HAIR PROBLEMS:

http://www.traveliztera.com/2012/03/curly-hair-products-problem-management.html

Posted in: BEAUTY: General, BEAUTY: Hair, Personal

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