September 23, 2010

The Saga of my hair

 

I think everyone would agree with me when I say that for a woman, her hair is her most treasured asset. And so it is for me, even when I hated it. Having malayali genes in me blessed me with extremely thick and curly hair. While my hair has been getting me compliments for years (from the time I was 6 and had thigh length hair), I’ve always hated my curls. Only I know the pain and hassle of managing my hair. For this reason, I kept my hair extremely short for years. It was only when i started UG that I finally started growing my hair, and even that wasn’t until I was in my second semester. My hair was still as unmanageable as always and i had bad hair days more often than not. I would have it in a braid most of the time. When i was in my second year, my father took up the franchise of one of those beauty & fitness centres in Bangalore, something along the lines of VLCC.  This meant that I got free Unlimited beauty services for life.  That is any girl’s dream. Now they’ve had some changes in the corporate structure. So i get 75% off on any service availed at any of their centres across the country. Yea me!!

So the point of me telling you this was that this was the beginning of me starting to love my hair (and not to boast). I would go to the salon every week and get it blow dried. The stylist was a really nice lady and she would curl the ends in a very cute manner. This continued for a while till I was no longer able to go to the salon on a regular basis. The centre is quite far from my house and in Bangalore, even a 10 minute ride drives you crazy because of all the traffic. So I started looking for other slightly more permanent options. My stylist suggested that I straighten my hair. My best friend had been getting rebonding done for years and I’d always wanted to get it done myself, but with my hair, it would cost me nothing less than Rs. 7000/- and I can’t afford that kind of money. But I still wasn’t so sure about it. So I started getting my hair ironed once in while to see how I’d look with straight hair. For a girl who’s lived with scary curls all her life, it was kind of weird having straight hair. I kept imagining that I was getting weird looks in college and was very self conscious for a while. But everyone I asked told me that my hair looked really nice. I even got compliments from few of my female lecturers.

It took me a few  more months to finally take the plunge and get my hair rebonded. I have never regretted my decision. My hair feels so silky and smooth all the time. On most days, I can even manage without combing my hair. And the rebonding easily lasts for 7-8 months if you take good care of your hair.

And my hair doesn’t look flat at all. It just requires very basic skills with a hair dryer to add some volume to it. And it is definitely not true that you can’t do much with straight hair. I come up with all kinds of hair styles for my hair. I even do french braids and it hasn’t affected the straightness in any way.

I’m not trying to boast about my hair. I’m trying to say how much even one good feature of yours makes you feel so confident. It could be great skin, or a perfect nose, or doe-eyed eyes or angelina-jolie lips. One good feature is all it requires to make you feel that confidence.  I have terrible insecurities about myself. I think I’m growing fatter by the day, my skin looks horrible, I get a new pimple everyday, etc etc. But one single compliment about my hair makes me forget all about the other things, atleast for a little while. I’ve gotten compliments from complete strangers and it always makes my day.

And I return that favor by complimenting someone when I like something on them, even if it is a stranger sometimes, be it their hair, or their skin, or a handbag, or a really cute dress. Most girls have insecurities about atleast one thing about themselves and a good word said will always make them happy. I know its true for me.

Every woman is beautiful in her own way and it doesn’t hurt to be acknowledged once in while.

So, to all my readers out there, you are beautiful and have a great day.

P.S. I will be posting a review of the products I use for my post-straightening treatment next.

2 comments:

Poohkie said...

This is truly a lovely and heartfelt post. I agree with you - all women have insecurities and having something you like about yourself is very empowering. I like my eyes; they're small and I have in the past wanted big eyes, but now i really like them.

beautiful post :)

ladylavendersays said...

You know what they say.. the grass is always greener on the other side..
And thank you. I'm glad you liked my post.

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