The difficult thing about any curly hair texture is understanding the full styling potential your hair is truly capable of. Growing up with naturally curly hair amongst a sea of fine, straight-haired individuals, used to make me envious. It seemed like all my little, straight-haired friends were able to instantly transition from elegant updos to loose, liberated locks, all effortlessly decorated with trendy hair accessories, such as petite, delicate butterfly clips.
Meanwhile, my giant, frizzy curls were swallowing up everything that came in its path, from brushes to barrettes. I was convinced I would be forever condemned to a life of giant, retro scrunchies and ballerina buns if I ever expected to spend less than an hour grooming myself.
My mother was as equally as clueless as I was about my curls when I was a kid, and with no curl experts to consult with, she decided that chemically relaxing my hair, permanently altering the beautiful structure of my natural curls, was the easiest solution to taming my mane. It was her belief that the maintenance of my curly hair required was too much for me to handle, and that straightening it would make my hair more manageable, as I approached my pre-teen and teen years. This would also ultimately allow me to feel more independent, and I could explore my hair's versatility and style for myself, without her walking in to find me surrounded by of clumps of broken hair strewn across the bathroom, or crying because I got my comb stuck in a tangled nest.
As my mother, she made what she believed was the best call for my well being, however, if, given the power of time travel, the first thing I would do would be to journey back to the mid-1990s and stop her from wasting money on that first at home relaxer kit. I have spent a majority of my adult life bouncing back and forth between transitioning, to chopping, to whatever trendy "healthy and safe" new relaxer is on the scene, all in an effort to somehow regenerate the childhood curlies I have lost, to no avail. While I don't resent my mother for permanently trapping me in weird hair limbo, I do wish she had taken the time to research what the right styling techniques and products were actually conducive to my natural hair texture. If only Miss Jessie's had been around when I was a little girl...
I could've learned simple, yet sophisticated techniques such as this: You can't underestimate the styling potential of naturally kinky, coily, curly textures! With the proper moisturizing products and knowledge of protective styling routines that best comply with your specific texture and personal schedule, you can strut the streets while looking chic, within no time at all; so fly, you won't even need to compensate with butterfly clips. 
*All photos from Pinterest
