(The first two pictures are OBVIOUSLY not me - LOL, they are file photos taken from Google Image Search)
In the last year or so, since I started this natural journey, I have often become inspired and irritated both at the same time, by new hairstyles that I've discovered. I'll spend time searching the web for a really cute idea for my hair, particularly a protective style; find the one that I really like and study the technique to achieve the style; then gather up all the necessary tools and items to duplicate this style I just studied (*anticipation mounting*). I'll start out so excited, following all of the steps as closely as humanly possible, but soon thereafter the frustration begins to build as I discover that I just can't get my hair to do THAT! Either my hair is not long enough, TOO long in some cases, not the right curl pattern for some styles, too uneven in some instances or, the one that I hate the most, too freakin' THIN in the front! Grrrrrrrr!!!!!
Its taken me a little while to figure it out, but, because my hair is thinner and has a slightly looser curl pattern in the front, and because of the shape of my face, I have to modify a lot of the styles that I see to fit me, my head and my bone structure. I recently tried to duplicate a style that I found on You Tube that I thought was just sooo cute - I thought the You-tuber and I had similar hair texture and length so I figured it would look perfect on me. Fail, Fail MISERABLE FAIL!!! What looked super cute on her looked really stupid on me because my face is just too long and the hair in the front of my head is just too thin to wear all pulled back away from my face. I need to have some kind of distraction going on up at the front of my head- either a cute headband accessory, or a style with some volume or structure (a pomp, a flat twist, SOMETHING). I don't even like the way my hair looks parted down the middle, unless it's in a twist out style, framing my face with some height at the crown. Generally, though, I end up parting or styling the front of my hair to one side, no matter what's going on with the rest of my head.
I did have an epiphany just recently, though. Indeed, we're all here to help, inspire, encourage and offer support to one another. I would never have made it this far in my journey to natural hair without the Internet and the natural hair community. But, those ideas, advice and suggestions are not there for you or me to copy to be just like someone else. When I take other people's styles that just don't "work" for me and modify them to look right on my head, I oftentimes end up liking them better on me than the original style that I was trying to copy. I have that - "Hey, I just created my OWN style", moment. And that, my friends, is pretty cool and is what this whole natural journey is all about...discovering what works best for YOU -- no matter your hair-type, texture, thickness, (or lack thereof!) Just do you, boo;)
Ciao for now!
Visit my You Tube channel: "Over 40 Curly" www.youtube.com/user/pstaver1
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