From Heat-Damage to Healthy Curls | Dove

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“YAYYYY!!!! No more relaxers for me!” That’s what I said when I proudly declined a touch up from a box perm my mother was fixin’ to apply to my head. I was 17 and had absolutely no idea what I was embarking on. A life of no relaxers just meant I would wash and blow dry like always right? Wrong. I was a perpetual straightener. I washed, blow-dried and flat-ironed my hair every single week. Every morning? The flat-iron would be plugged in and ready to glide down my semi-wavy, heat-damaged, half-relaxed strands.

Eventually I saw the consistency of my wavy heat-damaged curls (not knowing they were heat-damaged) and didn’t think twice about letting them be. Fast forward 10 years later and I started to REALLY understand what “returning to natural” meant. Embarking on an international adventure (in Sudan) where flat-ironing was not a choice abruptly ended my hair care routine as I knew it. As my hair grew out, the ends of my hair were so straight and my new growth was NOT.

The very slow process of transitioning from heat damage was filled with transitioning fails and successes.

I can’t believe it’s been 5 years since I made the decision to limit heat, cut off the damage and embrace my curls! Is this “natural” life all that I dreamt it up to be? Absolutely not. It’s better!

Over my transitioning years I learned just how versatile curly, kinky, coily hair is! I’m more in love with my hair now than I was those 5 years ago. That doesn’t mean every day of this natural walk has been easy smeasy! I have had a’many failed styles, haircut mess-ups and tragic outcomes!

Today, I am fully embracing my natural hair as an outlet for having absolute fun! I color, I cut, I try different styles and products! Here’s to more experimentation and BOLD styles. If you were to make a drastic change what would you do? What steps can you do today to #LoveYourCurls even more?

Dove Hair encourages all women and girls to love their curls. Download the Dove Love Your Curls Emoji for free in the App Store and Google Play, and show us how you #LoveYourCurls to help inspire the next generation. Standard data rates apply.

Peace & Blessings,