my journey with hair

welcome to introspection ft. harsehaj! ⭐️ i’m harsehaj, a 19 y/o always up to something in social good x tech.

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onto today’s topic: my journey with hair 💇‍♀️ 

up until middle school, my hair used to be pin straight. it was honestly pretty strange considering nobody in my immediate family has straight hair.

i liked it — i never had to deal with frizz or being overly attentive to how i wash it. then it was halloween in 7th grade and i decided to use heat and curl my hair for once. it stayed curled.

to this day. 😭 

the curling iron was probably just a coincidence and my hair’s texture shift was likely due to hormonal changes, but it’s a funny story to tell. it’s also part of why i refuse to use heat tools on my hair since there’s always that nagging possibility it could revert back to being pin straight. that curling iron in 7th grade was the only time in my life that i’ve used a heat tool on my hair.

i prefer my hair wavy, even if it does come with its own set of annoyances (relying on a good hair wash day, extra steps to showering, dealing with frizz & the horrific tangles).

in all honesty, i hated my hair when i first observed the change. i didn’t know how to take care of it, and it ended up always being a big puffed up mess (i physically cringe looking at my photos in 8th/9th grade). i was so used to brushing out my hair every single day and didn’t understand why my hair had grown 5 times in size. 😞 

not to mention there was little representation or information on using curling products, unlike today where you see “curly hair routine” videos every other scroll on tiktok. i eventually learned how to take care of my hair throughout quarantine, experimenting with different products and wash schedules.

i now love my hair and wouldn’t change the texture for the world. of course, a rainy day is still my worst enemy and i take a gamble hoping for the best each wash day, but it’s something i love about myself.

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