Until that day, I am the only one in my family wearing my natural hair. No one encouraged me to take care of it when I was younger.

It might be the reason why I never really felt connected to my hair. For me, it was just hair…

However, I used to be frustrated by my hair length, thinking that long hair looks sleeker, more presentable, especially in the workplace. I was also convinced that having my natural hair at work would lead to unwanted comments and microaggressions.

This feeling has progressively fainted as today I actually prefer wearing my natural hair rather than a weave.

In the western media, I can see that there is a strong division in regards to textured hair representation. You will either see very loose curls or very corse hair. I am somewhere in the middle and feel frustrated not to see myself out there, I am frustrated not to see the diverse range of curls that really exists out there.

I feel like natural hair is nothing but a trend for big brands at the moment, especially in the cosmetic industry. They might have a ‘natural hair’ range, trying to show how inclusive they are without really being inclusive… It’s not a genuine process so why should I become one of their customers?