Samantha De La Cruz
Abstract
Hair holds a lot of cultural significance, with certain styles meaning certain things; most times the way hair is worn has its own meanings. It’s one of the first things people notice, and most times people unconsciously judge others because of their hair. The way people treat you may also be affected by then sort of hair you have; the way you treat yourself can also be affected by the sort of hair you have.
I had worn my hair relaxed and straight for as long as I could remember, to the point where I didn’t even know I had curly hair. All I knew was that we had to put some white cream thing in my hair that would burn my scalp because I never really said anything when it started to sting and it would stay too long, and that I could not wet my hair if I didn’t want to go through the struggle of detangling it. When my cousin was 19, she stopped putting relaxer on and after a while her hair started to curl. When I turned 19, I also stopped putting it in and when I was 20, I stopped straightening it and now, at 21, I started taking care of my own hair (and stopped going to the salon). I had to learn the things it likes and the things it needs, and I also started taking pride in the hair that for most of my life I didn’t know I had.