The Journey of Embracing Natural Hair and Its Power
Jellyfish tentacles move in unpredictable directions. To some, they look repulsive, to others they are a beauty of the sea. I feel for these misunderstood creatures. There is so much more beneath those curly tentacles.
I’ll never forget the smell of burnt hair every morning. I meticulously sprayed each section with designer chemicals that could blur vision. I could hear crackling and sizzling, as my hair lay pressured between two constricting sheets of metal, but curved into the palm of my hand like a treasured heirloom. I always worried, did I remember to unplug it from the wall? I must be careful not to get too close or this hair straightener will likely burn away more of me, than planned.
The Early Days of Hair Straightening
From time to time, these hair-owing moments come rushing back like a tidal wave. There was the time my middle school crush finally noticed me in class. He grabbed one of my curls, pulled it down straight, and watched it boink back up. The entire class laughed. I was utterly shocked and ashamed, but I started laughing with them too. He let me know that my hair looked like the bottom of an old beat-up broomstick and recommended I should wear it smooth.
So I did. I stopped embracing my hair and fell in line. One time I’d left for prom with straight hair and ran out at the end of the dance like Cinderella before my date could see me. That girl would be completely unrecognizable to them, and especially to myself.
I stopped joining friends well into my college years at the pool or a beach day, all because people might find out the real me, and discover I’m a straight fraud.
To really know me is to know my early years revolved around my hair-straightening schedule. By the time I turned 30, I’d hidden my natural hair for 18+ years.
An estimated 65% of the U.S. population has some form of curly hair but sadly less than 35% embrace it. But why? There is plenty of evidence to support conflicting ideas behind hairstory when the idea of good and bad hair took shape. Slaves with straight hair were offered better opportunities than those with curlier hair. Yet, royal families adorned their curly hair with crowns and hairpins, while poor families were frowned upon with natural curls.
A Spiritual Perspective: Hair as Energy and Sacred Geometry
However, in a spiritual perspective, “Hair is an extension of the nervous system. Each hair follicle is an exteriorized nerve, a strand of highly evolved ‘feelers’ or ‘antennae’ to the subtle cosmic energy around you,” Yogi Bhajan explains. There is also sacred geometry in each spiral pattern. Your curls are sacred! I love this powerful reframe.
Flashback to one day back in that bathroom, burnt hair in one hand, straightener in the other. But all of a sudden my hair wouldn’t straighten anymore. I’d press down on each strand. It wasn’t smoothing the curl. I was dumbstruck and wondered if the weather had different plans for me. Clearly straightening my hair hasn’t straightened out my life, so I decided to throw the appliance in the trash can. I looked out the window and noticed the most incredible skyline.
At 33, I now see my curls as a reflection of my spontaneous personality. Bringing the shame out of the shadows has deeply soothed my soul. If embracing my hair and sharing my story publicly inspires even one reader, then it’s all worth it.
The key to being a creative force and successful fempreneur lies in each curl pattern— growth is never linear. Curly hair or not, we are all different in some way. And we get a daily opportunity to choose to commit to that which makes us different.
As Women Thrive Magazine’s Cassandra Love Lambert puts it, I turned my pain into power. From that day on, the more my natural hair started to peak through, the more I felt home.
About the Author
Name: Jess Levy
Professional Title: Writer, Marketer & Communications Manager, and Human Design Guide
Bio: Jess Levy is a Writer, Marketer & Communications Manager, and Human Design Guide. A California native and ex-techie working in Silicon Valley by day, traveling by weekend searching for those hidden gems to write about. She loves planning local and international trips to nourish her creative soul. She’s now back home by the beaches of San Diego and loves guiding small businesses to creatively share their message with the world.
