Accepting my Curls and Culture.....

by Ruthy Oliveras
(Clarksville, Tn)

I am 27 years old and it has taken many years for me to finally accept my hair. I am of Puerto Rican descent and since I was a child have always heard the dreaded words: "Why don't you relax your hair?" or " Don't you straighten it?"

This made me feel as if having these curls were more of a curse than a blessing.

My hair is extremely thick and has its good and bad days. It gets dry easily in the winter and too oily in the summer, still making it frizzy at times. I relaxed it in my teens and it was okay, until my hair began to fall out!!! I went from having a thick mane to a thinned out head of hair. Once it grew back entirely I vowed NEVER to pay attention to the hype of celebs and people's comments.

I get tons of attention because of my curls and I KNOW now how unique and beautiful curly hair is and can be with the proper attention and love. I have discovered ways of handling it that leave me very satisfied and make guys want to simply run their fingers through my curls!

It took me a long time to embrace the fact that this is my hair. No-one in my whole family has the exact curls I do. Thanks to my genetics I was given a gift from my grandparents who have passed on.

Love your curls, and they'll love you. Love yourself and they'll shine for you!!