Let’s admit it: most cultures think that curly hair is ugly, and straight hair is gorgeous. How else can we explain those makeover scenes in countless high school movies, where an awkward-looking girl gets her hair straightened and becomes a pageant queen?
But things are slowly changing, and women everywhere, including Filipinas, are embracing their textured hair. One of them, a 21-year-old college student named Shasha Patricio, has penned an emotional tribute to her curly locks, which took years for her to embrace.
Read: Renouncing Rebonding: Curly-haired Filipinas are fighting a battle for (self-)acceptance
Patricio wrote on her Facebook post that she “desperately” wanted to have straight hair when she was a teenager. In her quest to change her hair, the South Cotabato native ended up damaging it from constant rebonding, a popular salon treatment in the country.
“Whenever my hair grew a little bit longer, a few months after rebonding, I would iron my new roots every day. I was so insecure with girls who had straight, healthy hair. For 4 years, I have maintained rebonding my hair, and everyone knew me as a girl with naturally straight hair,” she wrote.
After years of putting herself through that, however, she learned to embrace her natural hair as it is.
“Deciding to grow out my natural hair was one of my best decisions. The process was not easy. I tied my hair every single day whenever I’m out of the house, never used hair straighteners, chose the right products, stopped using harsh shampoos and chemicals, etc. on my hair and learning to love how God originally designed it to be. It was all worth it. It may not happen overnight, but the result was more than what I was expecting,” she said.
Growing out her curls was one of the “best decisions” she has ever made.
“[W]hat I saw before as a curse is now one of my best physical asset[s],” Patricio said in her post, which has been shared almost 42,000 times.
In an exclusive interview with Coconuts Manila, Patricio said she was inspired to write the post when she saw how her curly hair has improved once she decided to accept it.
“I was looking at my old photos and realized that my appearance changed. I’m sure it wasn’t because of my face. It was the hair. So I decided to write something on Facebook to empower other women to stand up for their curls,” she said.
Patricio explained that her family and friends quickly accepted her choice to stop straightening her hair.
“They were actually happy for me. They saw it as an amazing decision, and they totally supported me,” she said.
She also noticed that many Filipinos, unlike in the past, no longer attach some sort of stigma towards curly hair. Patricio said that she received hundreds of messages from women—and men—asking her how they could tame their curls as soon as her post went live.
“In the past, having straight hair is really society’s standard of a true Filipina beauty. Today, we have evolved into a more accepting society, and people who do not conform to the patterns and trends are usually seen as unique and more interesting,” she said.
She advised curly-haired Filipinos that “there’s no need to hide your natural curls.”
“Take care of it. Don’t bleach it, straighten it, iron it, or apply chemicals that may damage your curls. It’s your crown. Wear it,” she advised.
Have you seen any inspiring posts about beauty and acceptance? Share it with us by tweeting to @CoconutsManila.
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