Little Ronzoni Curls

By: Mai Eldib

Curl it. Straighten it. Perm it. Cut it. Color it. Highlight it. Trim it. Deep
condition it. The options seem limitless. Or do they? My hair has had its bad
days, its good days and it’s not so much days. I have curly hair. Really curly
hair. The kind of curls people dream of, and hairdressers dread. Whenever I
sit on the chair at a hair salon, the first look I get from the hair dresser is
this sad and sullen look that can only
translate to “what do you want me to do?”
and “this will definitely take more than
30 minutes.” To write a story about the
trials and tribulations of dealing with my
hair can fill up a book, but as the song by
Indie Arie goes: “I am not my hair…I am
the soul that lives within.”

Could I ever let my hair go au natural? Frizzy. Unruly. Curly. Again, that’s
all I could think of. For the longest time, and until now, my hair is the
hardest thing I need to manage for my outlook. I am not vain, but I’ve
managed to convince myself that curls make me look UNPROFESSIONAL.
My curls are synonymous with fun nights in the summer and the beach.
Where everyone lets go and societal rules are washed way like the sea tide.
At the age of 13, I journeyed into my first hair drama, I got a perm, or like
my hairdresser liked to called a RELAX!!!!

He promised me that this so-called “relaxing” procedure would give my
curls a more defined bouclé. No more frizziness and I could say goodbye to
this tiny pesky hairs that spiked onto my forehead. Little did I know that
this relax was actually a PERM! A perm I lived to hate and my mother did
not hear the end of it. Poor woman, I nagged and I was relentless. My hair
was one of the main sources of our daily bickering. I accused of her pushing
me towards this “relax” procedure and she argued about my unkemptness.
But to my chagrin, this wasn’t the only time I was convinced into getting a
relax procedure. I think throughout my first 18 years I had a total of 3 relax
procedures. All of them with the same end result, my absolute
disappointment.

At one point, I was so frustrated by my permed hair that I cut it all off. It
was a boy cut, and it didn’t suit my face one bit. I am absolutely mortified
when I remember what I did. Everyone hated it, including me. But it was a
rebellious phase. I remember distinctly it was before Christmas break and I
decided to cut off all my hair, because the perm was annoying me way too
much. Well, after the stylist cut it, I cried. And then I cried a bit more,
hoping my tears would allow my hated permed inches to grow back.
Unfortunately, tears didn’t bring back my hair, but I lived with my mistake
and learned that short hair is a complete NO for me.

Happily now I have my curly frizzy hair at shoulder length. I still get it
blown out during the winter, on average twice a week. I am absolutely
convinced that my curls make me look unprofessional, but maybe later in
life, I will grow out of this tad-bit absurd notion. I am occasionally tempted
to get the new straightening procedures done, whether it is the Japanese
system or the Brazilian system. But, then I reminisce to my short hair and
how much I hated the “relax,” and I smile and think to myself, 45 minutes
at the hairdresser isn’t that bad. I love my curls on the beach and my blown
out hair when class and work are in session.

Total number of trims: every 6 weeks, if it was up to me every 4 weeks – my
hairdresser objects!!!

Total number of perms: 3 times

Total number of complete disastrous hair cuts: One

Waking up with the option of having straight or curly hair: PRICELESS