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| Don't be fooled by the natural light, I'm not that blonde! |
Me, Myself and My Hair.
It has taken me a really long time to feel confident about my hair. As I've gotten older, I understand the power I have from my hair. I always say it's filled with secrets.
It provides me with a sense of identity and uniqueness.
I've also realised, I quite enjoy standing out from the crowd. (My family and friends would argue that realisation came a long time ago).
As a kid I used to get a lot of comments about my hair:
Hairdressers would have a look of fear whenever I walked in and double appointments had to be reserved so there was enough time.
“Is that your natural colour?”
“It's so curly!”
“How do you manage it?”
“Oh, it actually blowdries quite nicely!”
I've had people come up to me on escalators in tube stations and touch my hair. One thing I can thank COVID for is no one will ever do that again!
My hair is a huge part of who I am.
I always say I’m like Samson, cut my hair off and you cut my strength.
When I was younger, I never really saw anyone sporting a curly girl vibe. If they did, the minute they became more commercial, they started sported a bouncy blowdry. Just look at models like Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell.
I was also a lot more of a red head when I was younger. (Thanks to my Grandmas genes). There aren't too many ginger Jews out there, nor ginger Latinas, so you can imagine the jokes. If ever my friends and I would dress up as the Spice Girls, I would insist on being Baby (Emma obvs) because I didn't want to be Ginger. I wasn't even THAT ginger. For years I wished I had brown straight hair. Now I'm a bit older I can say I'm glad I never touched my hair growing up.
(My mum will be thrilled to hear that).
When I was growing up, my favourite day was going to the hairdresser to get my hair blowdried! It was an even more exciting day when I got my first pair of Babyliss straighteners, they even came with crimpers to swap in. I then graduated to GHD's. I thought they were the best present ever. No more frizz. People wanted hair like "Rachel" from "Friends" or David Beckham.
Considering I loved standing out from the crowd when it came to performing, I wanted my hair to blend in with everyone else.
I am now the complete opposite. I go to the hairdresser when I have a headache because my hair gets too heavy. I am so specific with how much to cut off and I worry that an inch off translates to a pixie cut. Irrational and dramatic, but hey, that's me.
Growing up I always felt like my hair was messy. I would see girls at school with pristine, sleek long, straight hair. It tied up so nicely, it never looked knotted or like Albert Einstein. They didn't have what I like to call the Halo of fluff floating on top of their head.
Any time I had a party, performance, even a non school uniform day I always straightened my hair. I've noticed it a lot when looking back at old photos.
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| I know I'm going to regret publicly showing these pics. An assortment from 14 - 16 years old (I look younger now) |
There have always been adverts to stop us having our natural hair whether it’s a Brazilian blow dry, keratin treatments or relaxers. Even when I did let my hair stay curly, I would put so much product in and then straighten the ends and my terrible side fringe. Teenagers of the 00’s you know what I’m talking about.
I essentially wanted hair like Britney Spears in the Everytime video. Was it even curly? There is also a subliminal message saying Curly hair isn't professional or that it makes you look ethnic. Did the 80's just hurt everyones feelings so much that curly hair was suddenly not cool?
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I think I only really started to embrace my hair when I graduated drama school. I looked around at other people in the industry and realised my hair was going to be one of my most valuable USP's. I realised that no one really looked like me.
I remember a jazz teacher telling us he always wore red jazz trainers to an audition so that the panel would remember "the boy with the red shoes." My thinking was, the bigger my hair, the more memorable.
I have started to embrace my hair and what it says about my heritage. I have dark eyes and dark features, but light skin and light hair. No one really in my family has that combination, they're either dark with dark eyes or fair with blue/green eyes.
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| Even straightened and CUT my hair as a kid vs Curly Hair when I was 4! |
I'm on the road to embracing it more.
I think as I've gotten older, straightening my hair now just feels like an added effort and wastes time. Curly hair is who I am. In fact, long curly hair is who I am. I don't think I could ever cut it. That's definitely a thought I've inherited from my Mum.
Products I use now to keep my hair healthy:
Olaplex No:6
Moroccan Oil
At the moment using Phillip Kingsley Moisturising Shampoo and Conditioner.
I am looking into the best products that are sulphate and silicon free. I'll let you know when I find the right products for my hair.
The curly hair revolution is here!