Tell Us Your Curl Story! My Curl Story - Lashmi

The topic of hair was - and still is - a very sensitive one for me. My mom used to braid my hair when I was little, and I didn't like it at all. Very early on I wanted straight hair, which is how I came into contact with chemical straightening. It burned, it was uncomfortable, but my hair was way easier to manage afterwards.

Unfortunately my mom was also really happy with the chemical straightening, because she was completely overwhelmed with all my hair. So I mostly wore it straight, or sometimes in braids. As I got older, I also got into extensions. I spent way too much money on them, but I liked how I looked with the long black hair. I got a lot of compliments for it and didn't think much more of it. The turning point came during my internship abroad in England in 2015. At that time I got really into natural products and nutrition.

I did a lot of research online and came across a short article on chemical straightening. That's when it really hit me how unhealthy that process is.

I spent a long time thinking about how to wear my hair. I braided it and was happy with that. At the school where I was interning, there was a dark-skinned girl who cut her hair off to wear her curls. I thought this 14-year-old was so brave. I stood in front of my mirror and thought about it. Should I really cut my hair off? I typed "big chop" into YouTube. That's what people call it when you cut your hair off radically. I just did it. After the initial shock, I thought it looked pretty good. My hair was very short, but I could finally see my curls. The next day I thanked the girl, because she'd given me so much courage. From then on, I never straightened my hair again - I simply let it grow naturally.

Lashmi