From “What Happened?” to “What Have You Been Doing?” — My Hair Story

In order to explain how I turned my hair around, I need to go back to the beginning.

I was born with thick, curly, medium-coarse hair. As kids, our mom styled our curls beautifully and we wore them out proudly. But by the time I was a teenager, I started straightening my hair, pulling it back, or throwing it into a bun. I rarely wore it out curly—unless I was by the pool rocking the wet look. When I did, I usually felt self-conscious.

In my late teens, I started embracing my curls more, but the truth was, I had no clue how to care for them. My curl results were inconsistent and my hair was short, which didn’t give me much confidence. Then, around age 22 or 23, things really started to change—my hair felt thinner, less curly, and overall just… different.

At the time, I figured it was just age. I thought, sure, my hair won’t look the same as it did when I was 16. While that’s partly true, what was really happening was a lack of nutrition. And it was starting to show in my hair.

The problem? I didn’t know that then. So for about two to three years, my hair thinned out. I wore wigs and extensions, and avoided wearing my natural hair out because I didn’t feel confident in it. I also had a horrible experience with a stylist giving me traction alopecia from over pulling with my extensions.

My hair was basically wavy, growing out of my head straighter, thinner, and stringy.

Then a client put me on to Vitamin C and Iron—two separate supplements that I take together. Slowly, I went from seeing scalp, to seeing thickness return at my roots. It took months, but I was patient.

When my hair finally started to grow in thick again, I thought my problems were over. But there was a new one: breakage. Not from bleach. Not from flat-ironing. From detangling.

See, I wasn’t born with the kind of hair that just grows endlessly no matter what. My curls are extremely fragile. They tangle and knot easily, and every time I would detangle, my ends would snap—stopping my growth in its tracks. It became a vicious cycle.

It wasn’t until a couple of years ago that I really figured it out: the tools I should be using, how often to detangle, and how to prevent tangles in the first place so that when I do detangle, I minimize breakage. The brush I swear by is here.

Now, I’m finally in love with my hair. After all these years, its become a major part of my identity, my beauty, and my originality that sets me apart from others.

Here’s what helped me transform my hair:

5 Things I Started Doing

1. Taking Vitamin C and Iron consistently at least 4x week. (this grew my hair fuller)

2. Oiling my ends. (this strengthened my hair to prevent breakage)

3. Learning proper detangling techniques and using the right brush. (this stopped it from breaking)

4. Maintaining my trims, usually every 3-4 months. (again, strengthens your ends so they don’t tear.)

5. Wearing my hair natural. (letting my hair be, puts lets stress on it).

5 Things I Stopped Doing

1. Excessive heat styling or excessive temperature, (still love a good blowout).

2. Rushing through detangling.

3. Over washing my hair, because that dries it out.

4. Stressing so much.

5. Tying my hair up or back. If it’s up, I use a clip.