Goodbye! Farewell! Adios! Ciao!

It saddens me to come to an end with my blog post. But, all good things come to an end, am I right?

At the beginning of this semester, I had no clue what I wanted to talk about in this blog! I tried to find something that really interests me and that I could write so much about. Before I was doubtful about the topic I chose because I did not think it would interest anyone. I did not think any special about it. Hair is hair. It was not a big deal for people. For me, it made me the person I am today. So, wasn’t that important enough to talk about?

Creating the first post was a STRUGGLE! I do not define myself as a creative person and keep in mind I never made a blog before. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. This was all new to me! I did not even know that Giphy.com was an actual website containing all gifs and memes. You probably think I am a blog noob, but I am more knowledgeable now. Overall, I could say I enjoyed making these blog posts. It made me think of ways I could get people to read them.

I do consider making a blog post as a form of creative writing. It extends your thinking. THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX! You can write whatever you want, however you want, and how long you want. So you aren’t restricted to many things! You are free to write as you wish. It is nothing compared to trying to cram in a 10-page paper!

Anyways, you all are probably wondering why I even picked this topic. My goal to the readers is to empower them that you all are good enough no matter what society may say. There is no such thing as the “perfect” way to look. We are all different. And different is okay. My hair was one of the reasons why I did not feel good about myself. Since I mentioned before, I did not have many people who I could relate to since I mostly had friends who either had straight or wavy hair. They could not relate to my hardship.

As I said before, my love/hate relationship back then was mostly hate. No matter what I did I was never satisfied with what my hair. I did not have much confidence because of this.

I feel like our hair determines how we feel for the entire day. Yes, we have those bad hair days or those days where we seem to have our hair just the way we like it. I used to get bullied or made fun because of my hair. That’s why I felt like whatever I did with my hair was never good enough. Later, I realized I did not need to change my hair to realize that it was good enough. I just needed to believe and have confidence in myself. These qualities will soon reflect how others see me as well.

We have all those moods where we do not feel the best about ourselves. But, just because we have negative feelings about ourselves does not make them true. These are just opinions of ourselves. Do not let anyone degrade you. Always be kind to yourself and others will too.

I hope that my posts could empower you to be the best versions of yourself. It is not easy; it just takes time! And, never believe that you are inferior.

I hope I made a difference into you (the reader’s) life to be happy with yourself.

BYE GUYS! Thanks for reading my blog! I appreciate it! PEACE OUT!

I hoped you all enjoyed the break and getting ready to end the semester. I know I am but anyway, let me tell you what happened during my Thanksgiving break.

You know how we get tired of our hair, so we try to do something new to it? We will either dye, cut, curl, or straighten our hair. Due to school, I have not had much time to myself. I wanted to relax and enjoy myself. I was tired of my curly hair. I decided to STRAIGHTEN MY HAIR! Just to keep in mind that I have not straightened my hair in about two years. I totally forgot the feeling of having straight hair. I was feeling so nervous since I was paranoid about ruining my hair. But, I was feeling spontaneous during the break, so I took that risk.

Then, I thought about something. I imagined the time consumption it would take for the entire process. That did not change my decision though. I wanted my hair to be different for this holiday. And I was determined to straighten it no matter how many hours it would take. I wanted to look different. I wanted to feel different. I wanted to be different. I wanted to change my hair look for once. It was time to shine!

To start this straightening process, I had to wash my hair. I made sure my scalp was squeaky clean. Once I was done, I made sure to wait until my hair was thoroughly dry. It takes my hair about an hour or so to be thoroughly dry.

As you can see the picture above, my hair is somewhat dry. This is how it looked as soon as I got out of the shower. It started to immediately dry up on its own. This is my hair when there is no product on it. My hair dried up quick when I do not put products in it. It has a bigger volume compared to usual. As I waited for my hair to be about 85% dry, I had to brush it. This is the only time I brush my hair. I had to brush my hair because once it dries, it becomes more tangled. But anyways, after finishing brushing my hair, I waited for the rest of my hair to dry.

When my hair was dry, I got everything ready. Plugged in my straightener. Placed the brush, comb, and hair ties by my side. I was ready to go! I realized that I had to protect my hair somehow. Before I straightened my first strand of hair, I sprayed an argan oil heat protectant spray throughout the sections of my hair. It had great reviews on Amazon, so I trusted it.

About one hour or so ago, the whole process was done! The straightener had done a great job! I felt more confident about myself after this. It was like a hair life-changing experience. Not to be dramatic or anything haha!

It was Thanksgiving morning. As I came downstairs to say “Good morning” to my parents and siblings, they were amazed by the look. And, that’s where the compliments started that day. I felt even better about myself. But, I am not saying people’s opinions define who you are. It just gave me some boost! I was okay with that. After a week, I was saddened to wash my straight hair, but then I learned something. The straight hair did not provide me with my confidence. My confidence was within me. Moral of the story is that it is okay to treat yourself. It is okay to be confident. It is okay to be feeling yourself. Once you’re portraying this to the people you are close to everyone will show you how worthy you are to the world.

Be kind. Be empowering. Be confident. Be spontaneous.

You all are capable of good things. Do not let anyone tell you otherwise.

I hope you enjoyed this week’s post. Please feel free to share your experiences. Bye guys 🙂

The video below inspired me to create this post for this week. It reminded me of my middle school days. I was like one out of the two girls in my class to have curly hair. I am assuming not many people would see people with curly hair back then. People would ask so many questions to me regarding my hair as if I came from a different planet or had three heads. I could never differentiate whether they were trying to be nice or insult me. It is certainly not easy maintaining my hair so I do not have the patience for people to degrade me in any kind of way especially if it is my hair.

Has one of your parents taught you that if you have nothing nice to say then do not say it at all? My mom said this to me. Well, I apparently thought many people were taught this as well. People need to think about what they want to say before actually saying it. It can hurt someone’s feeling or be interpreted the wrong way. So be careful when trying to compliment or say a comment to someone.

Let’s get started with these pet peeve comments/questions on curly hair, shall we?

1. Your hair is so big and frizzy. 

Okay, thank you Captain Obvious for further clarifying how my hair is looking right now. I already do not like how it frizzes most of the time but thank you for pointing out the one main flaw of my hair. My hair is naturally like this and there is not anything I could do about it regardless of the amount of water and products I try to keep from forming into a puffball. Are you trying to compliment me or insult me? I definitely take this as a negative connotation. Take my hair as it is.

2. Can I touch it?

I remember when people used to try to be funny and stick paper or pencils in my hair. I did not find it funny but very insulting. This experience was one of the reasons I did not like my hair. So when people ask this question, I mostly freeze and have trouble coming up with an answer. I give you props for actually asking to touch my hair then just digging your hands in there. Many people do not ask. I hate that so much. I see that as a sign of disrespect. I do not just randomly touch someone’s hair. I did not understand why people want to touch the curly hair. It’s a strand with just curls in them. Not a big deal! Anyways, you need permission first in order to touch some else’s hair. That is my main hair policy if you want to call it that haha

3. You look so good with it straightened!

First of all, what are you actually trying to imply? That I am ugly with curly hair? Or that people with straight hair look much better than individuals with curly hair? Either way, you are still disrespecting me and anyone with curly hair. I really do not appreciate that because despite any hair type we all are beautiful in our own way. We are created with these certain hair types for a reason. Moreso, genetic reasons lol.

4. Do you brush it?

I do not brush my hair. I do not even brush my hair when my hair is wet from washing it. I separate my tangled strands with my fingers while I’m washing my hair. It is much more comfortable that way. They say especially if you have curly hair, it is not good to use a brush. You will just damage your hair more. The only time I use a brush is to style parts of my hair. Even if I did try to brush my hair it would take a long process to try and brush my whole hair. And, you know what my hair would look like? Do you know? A LION’S MANE!! I am telling the truth. To avoid this issue, I say bye-bye to brushing!

5. Do you wake up and look like that?

My hair is nowhere near how girls in movies just magically appear with their hair groomed nicely when they wake up. I wish we can all wake up with our hair done. Saves us some time. If you looked at the video, the lady with curly hair responded to this question as “it looks like I got electrocuted.” This is a true statement. I look like either I got electrocute, got in a fight or look sick. I hate my hair out when I am sleeping so I usually tie it. This is a bad habit since it is not good to tie up your hair while you are asleep. My worst pet peeve is my hair bothering my face. Besides that, it takes time to “calm down” from the frizz and dryness state. I could never just get out of bed and leave the house like others could. But this question can be interpreted in many ways. Are you trying to say it looks like I woke up like this? (Thinking about Beyonce’s song right now haha) Or that I do not look my best right now? So, I am not sure what you are implying when you ask this question.

Remember to make sure to think about what you are going to say to someone even if it is about their hair. Most of the time, the person who heard these comments, their implications can be negative so just be careful. However, you can change someone’s whole day by giving them a compliment or even showing a smile. Keep in mind of these questions and comments when you are talking to someone who has curly hair. We are the same people as you are. It is okay to be curious. Never degrade someone but always empower them. We are all important and have unique characteristics. Spread love to all!

I don’t know about you, but I was very fascinated to look up some facts about hair. But I won’t bombard you with so much. Instead, I will break it down into 3 facts. They say you learn something new everyday so be prepared for your mind to be blown away. Because I indeed was once I learned about these facts.

FUN FACT #1: The average person has 100,000-150,000 strands of hair.

I never really thought about how many strands we have in our hair. BUT I SURE KNOW NOW!! Regardless of your hair type, we all have around the same amount. I have always thought that the bigger your hair was then, the more hair you had. Apparently, I was freaking wrong. I am sure many of you thought this too.

FUN FACT #2: On average, you shed around 50-150 strands of hair a day. 

When I was younger, I had a constant fear everytime I would wash my hair in the shower. My fear was the amount of hair I would shed was too excessive. Every time I wash my hair, I see the hair accumulation. When I finish showering, the hair accumulated is as big as a fur ball. I am not joking. Maybe even a little bigger than that. I had this constant fear since I would pay close attention to family members’ hair. They were losing hair as they were aging. So little ol’ me thought that me growing up would result in losing hair. I just had the misconception between shedding and losing hair.

In some cases, this happens. Mostly after you have a kid. I came to this conclusion once I started to notice it from my mom. As I mentioned in one of my first few posts, my mom has five kids. Recap: I have four siblings. All of us came out with curly hair except for one of my brothers. Now, when my mom was younger, she had so much hair and had as much volume as I do. I noticed her hair started to become thinner once she had my youngest brother (who is 6 years old now). Not sure the reasoning behind this but I am sure all those hair genes had to be passed down for my siblings and me to have curly hair. It does not just magically happen. I guess you can say, my mom has strong hair genes, haha! Kudos to girl power, am I right?

FUN FACT #3: A single hair has a lifespan of about five years.

This one was the most mind-blowing out of all the facts that I have read. Well, at least in my opinion. I had no thought of the average lifespan of a single strand of hair. But once a strand is lost, a new strand immediately grows from the hair follicle. Hair is always growing even when we do not consciously think about it. Five years is such a short time. That is the age of my youngest sister. You really have to take into consideration on how you treat your hair before it is too late.

It is essential to appreciate the things to have while we still have them. I used to hate my hair, and I used to think of ways of how I can get rid of it. I did not consider about the other perspective. The perspective where others do not have hair at all and that they would do anything to get hair. It made me see a silver lining to my hair. I prefer to have hair than none at all. I could not even possibly imagine me shaving my hair. I would go crazy! Anyways, finding out some facts about certain things about you could change how you see things. My hair taught me that. Your hair is your ride or die, honestly. Once you are gone, then it goes with you. Have care for your hair!

Hellllo to my fellow hairy classmates! I came up with this new idea to tell you all about! So, be seated and enjoy another post about me venting something about hair!

We all know that certain things can represent how we feel. Just like pictures can capture moments on how we felt on that specific day our picture was taken or even the representations of colors. For example, blue means sadness or yellow represents joy and happiness. You get the idea!

Believe it or not, hair does the same job. You can get to know some things about a person by looking at their hair. Have any of you woke up #BEDHEAD and realize that you did not feel so good about yourself? I know I have felt like this a bunch of times.

Depending on the day and your mood determines what you do to your hair for the day. You have a choice between effort or no effort. For some people, there is always a battle in your mind of what you should do to your hair! This mostly happens with girls since we tend to have long hair (able to do much more with our hair) but this applies to guys especially who have thick or long hair too! So what do you end up deciding most of the time? 

Personally, I get EXTREMELY lazy when it comes doing my hair. All hair especially curly hair is so time-consuming. I dread my wash hair days because overall it takes me like 40-50 minutes in the shower. I have a step-by-step on how I wash my hair. Please don’t judge me I usually do a bun when I am running late getting ready since that is the quickest style to do. I tend to do this style a lot as I mentioned in my previous posts. I used to this style literally every day when I was younger since I did not know what other hairstyles to do. Along with, my hair frustrating me every second of every day. 

Even the hairstyles that I would see from videos, I did not like how it looked on me. I found HOPE! Luckily, from searching youtube I found Lisette (aka Luhsetty) who I mentioned before too! She embraces herself and others to love their hair. Thanks to her videos I was able to give it another try to find hairstyles that I would like yet were quick to do. And, these styles show that it took me time to do = A for effort, am I right? 

Here’s one out of many videos Luhsetty has posted. She vlogs not only about hair but of other things as well. I look for her for inspiration regarding hair though. 

She has an easy step by step process to her hairstyles so whenever I successfully complete her styles, I feel great about myself. Even putting effort into my hair and feeling good about it is like one of the best feelings you can have. When I leave my hair out, I feel the most genuine and happy state.

Do not be like me and wait to the last minute to decide how you want to style your hair. It will drive you crazyyyy! It is always a good idea to plan ahead if you are planning to style it nicely. Also, it is important to put effort into something that is part of you. Because like I said before, your hair can say some things about you! The more you put effort into your hair then the happier you will be with yourself. If you are happy your hair will be happy too. Be in a good schmood guys! 

Get ready to be tricked or have a treat! Halloween is approaching very quickly. Halloween is my least favorite holiday since I get easily scared. YUP, I am a scared-y cat, and I always have been. I used to be much worst when I was younger. I could not even go through the aisle in Party Fair with the SCARY masks. Also, I have never been to a haunted house since I refuse to go! The only thing I enjoy about Halloween is dressing up anything I want to be! Halloween is very expressive when it comes to everyone dressing up for this holiday! Everyone should dress up however they want to; it is what makes Halloween so unique. Seeing many individuals with different costumes creates this diverse world!

Speaking about dressing up, it took me longer to decide what I wanted to be this year. UGH, decisions, decisions AND even more decisions!! But, I FINALLY MADE UP MY MIND! I am going to be a fairy! I know that there are different kinds of fairies, but I am intending to be a natural fairy. Just a regular one. My brother’s birthday is four days before Halloween, so we always throw him a Halloween party the weekend before! So this means I will be a fairy at his party!! My main concern like every day is HOW DO I DO MY HAIR??? This year I am trying to be creative as I can be. I went on the Pinterest app to get some ideas on how I can style my hair. These below are some.

I felt something was missing in these photos. Other photos mostly had girls with straight hair. I was shocked because no fairy hairstyle had naturally curly hair. So what I thought to myself is that I am going to BREAK this fairy hairstyle stereotype. Not all fairies have to have straight hair. All fairies come in all styles. I am going to be the first one to create a hairstyle specifically for dressing up as a fairy.  I am determined to prove to people!

Saturday was my brothers’ Halloween themed party. I did not have much time to get ready since the guests were coming earlier than expected. So, the only option was WING IT! It took me quicker to do my hair than to do my make up which is so shocking!! I washed my hair earlier that day, so my hair was somewhat damp when I was styling my hair. I did a halfway style, so the top part of my hair was a bun and the other half I left my hair out. It came out better than I thought it would!

I was going for a natural look, and it worked out very well! The flower crown made a nice touch with the whole fairy look I was trying to go for. I received many compliments about my hair. It made me feel good about myself. This day was another time that I was not so concerned about my hair. I was proud of that because I knew that my hair is my hair. No matter how much I try to change it, it is still going to be part of me. I did not let my fairy look stop me from having fun at the party. Even though I felt silly dressing up for Halloween when I am currently 20 years old! But, you only live once so why not try to be your inner kid self?

Have a HAPPY HALLOWEEN! Be safe! And, make sure not to get tricked haha!

As I started getting to know my hair more, I began to experiment my hair with PRODUCTS! I get such an exciting feeling in my stomach every time I walk in the hair aisle of Walmart. There is an unlimited amount of products just waiting there to be bought!! Do not worry I am not a shopaholic lol! As I stated in my previous blogs, I take into consideration which products contain more healthier ingredients. The healthier product brands are Shea Moisture and DevaCurl. Well, I could at least say that these brands helped my hair get to where it is now. Through experimenting products, I imagine myself as being a LAB-HAIR SCIENTIST, MUAHHAHAHA (I was going for that evil scientist laugh haha)!

One thing I learned while trying out different products is making sure you are taking good care of your hair! I almost view my hair as a plant. You have to give it the right nutrients and ingredients in order for it to survive. Your hair is just as important as your health. For crying out loud, its located on the scalp of your head!!! But anyway, why am I telling you this? You all are probably asking yourself, “What is the purpose of taking care of your hair, its just hair?” Hair is not just hair. It is much more than that! It is a part of you!

Referring back to my comparison of plants and hair, especially my curly hair, it needs to have water since my hair is dry 24/7. To all the plant owners who have to water their plants every day, well think of hair (mostly curly hair) like that. My wash days are the most lovely days since my hair just cooperates better when it is wet. It is easier to apply my hair products. Air drying is not a problem. When I was younger, I used to enjoy washing my hair every two days because of how the final result would be once it was done. It was very conflicting because washing my hair is such a HASSLE! But, little did I know that washing my hair frequently was doing damage to the ‘DO! WHOOPSIES!

Every time I get ready for class, the first step to doing my hair is spraying water on some parts of my hair depending on which hairstyle I feel like doing on that day. The wetter the hair then the better the result. Every hair is different so try to find out what works for you. Do not be embarrassed to research which techniques are good for your hair because no one is a hair expert! Well, maybe hairstylists but that is beside the point haha!!  Even when it is my second day since I have not washed my hair, I try to keep my hair looking alive so I wet and apply some conditioner to my hair. Also, from many years of experience, to avoid frizziness I have to touch my hair when my hands are wet. Dry hands and dry hair do not work well together. DRY FIASCO IF YOU TELL ME. It seems impossible to not touch your hair especially when your hands are dry. Keep close attention to how your hair interacts when you do certain things. So just so you know, water is a curly head’s best friend!

In case if you were wondering which products I use, here below are the ones I use. I am not trying to be dramatic but these products work WONDERS! They do a fantastic job moisturizing and providing my hair with the right stuff it needs to grow healthy. With years of experimenting with my hair, it finally PAID OFF! But, that does not mean I won’t stop exploring new ways to get my hair to it’s most healthy state. Fair warning: DevaCurl brand product is specifically for curly hair but Shea Moisture brand can be used for different types of hair. A plus about these brands is they never fail to make your hair smell good too! Do not be afraid to try new things! It will make you learn more about yourself!

I captured a moment where I was feeling happy about my hair. It did not give me any trouble that day. Unfortunately, my hair does not behave that way all the time. I have learned to accept it for what it is. Bad hair day and good hair day equals a regular day! Remember that your hair is not perfect and neither are you but we can always embrace ourselves especially through pictures! Just because your hair is giving you a hard time does not mean you are less important. You matter to the world! Stay tuned for next week’s post! 🙂

Did you guys know that you could fix your hair to be healthier? Pay close attention to the hair products you use or other kinds of products! Also, make sure to maintain it such as getting a trim every couple of months or so depending on your hair type.

I know some of you are curious to know the process to when I was more knowledgeable into how to manage my hair. As you readers know, I have struggled to try to get my hair just right. The problem was all the products I would use for my hair were BAD for my curly hair. Instead of nourishing and hydrating my hair, these products were DAMAGING it. Plus, I had so much heat damaged throughout most of my hair due to the number of years that I straightened my hair. My hair was a mess, A TOTAL MESS!

The reason I found out that some products contained so many chemicals that damage your hair is this app called Think Dirty. I know what you guys are thinking but the name is unexplainable. Trust me it really WORKS! All you have to do is scan the barcode of the product and VOILA!! You see all the chemicals that are used to make this product. The products that I was using consisted of alcohol which makes my hair drier and drier. People who have curly hair already have dry hair… We do not need DRIER hair!

It is important to know what products you are applying to your body, face or hair so feel free to download it and inform yourself. This app made me look for products that contained essential nutrient oils like coconut oil which strengthens, hydrates and nourishes hair. Also, another tip I learned while shopping for organic products is to look for how much ingredients they put in the product. If you notice that they put not as many ingredients then its better compared to others. Thirdly, if you notice that if your shampoo and conditioner has suds, its a NO GO! STAY AWAY FROM HARMFUL CHEMICAL PRODUCTS!

I was shocked because it took me 19 years to actually be fully knowledgeable of my hair. From social media, I found out about this haircut specifically for people who have curly hair. It is called DevaCurl Cut. The hairdresser usually trims your hair while its dry to notice which strands need to be cut. Its nothing fancy or anything LOL! Before I got my cut, I was really nervous because I do not trust many people with my hair… Heckkkk I do not even trust myself!

While starting the haircut process, my hairdresser had to blow dry my hair. My hair looked like a lion’s mane, no joke! While my hairdresser was in the process of making my hair healthy, she was informing me of what I needed to do to maintain my curls. It was crazy because she knew more about curly hair and she did not have curly hair. Crazy how things are! Overall, it was a great experience!

This is the before and after photos of my DevaCurl Cut. A major difference, huh?!

The haircut experience taught me that throughout these years I really took my hair for granted. I regret not taking the time to learn about the flaw that I have struggled with. Everyone is going to have at least one thing that they do not like about themselves. Take a closer look to why it is important. Everyday tell yourself one thing you like about yourself. It will change how you feel about yourself. And, you have to find time to get to know yourself so that others can too! Your insecurity is there for a reason. Instead of hiding it, embrace it! Hey, your flaw might teach you something you never knew before 🙂

Hopefully, this video makes you look in a different perspective of your well-being. Know your worth! You are important and so are your insecurities; those insecurities are what contribute to your uniqueness in the world.