Day 1

From Day 1, I've haaaated. No, abhooorred. My curls. Sure I look happy here... It was early August in humid Rochester, NY and my hair--short hair--looked good--okay, hot--down. (We'll get to that...) But every summer since, not so much. In fact, I had to be just 5 when I used to go to bed with hair wet, neck strained. Please, God, give me straight hair. So I can feel normal. So I can be pretty. I stretched and tugged and cried. Every morning... I woke up with curls. Scratch that: frizz. Dry, scratchy, frizz. (Pictures to follow... I hope!)

It hasn't been until very recently...some 20 years later, that I've begun to make peace with, accept, and even admire my curls. I attribute most of this to a fabulous cut, keen consultation, and nurturing products. Still, I battle with my hair. Just this morning, in my 25th minute of hydrating and scrunching, twisting and tugging when 25 minutes I had not, I let the bold mass fall into billows around my sweat-soaked face. I then tugged at it like a gardener extirpating root from earth. I [expletive] hate you, I said aloud. Only difference between this morning and those nights 20 years earlier: I didn't mean me. I meant the hair. I meant temporarily, the hair.

This is why I want to write. I want to understand my hair. I want to understand what hurls me toward battle with it. The humidity? The product? The styling? Society? I want to understand what makes the curls look insatiable one day, inscrutable the next. I want to understand what curly--very curly--hairstyles work best with which fashion styles. I want to understand what coiffures look best with which shape face, which eye-wear. I want to understand which products work when it's humid, and why, and which work when it's dry...and why. I want to understand what I should and shouldn't invest in. I want to understand so that others can too. I want to understand, because I deserve to find out.

...This should be interesting. (Please- personal testimonies welcome!!!)