My natural hair journey started during my senior year of college. I had recovered from years of heat damage and had about a 50% success rate on my twist outs. My curls and the natural hair movement was starting to pick up steam, and I fell in love with it.
After graduation, when I started going on job interviews, I had a choice to make. Many of my friends who had embraced their curls on campus were straightening their hair to avoid any disadvantage during the job hunt. I get it. When you already stand out it can be hard to make choices that “other” you even further. The nervous feeling of not knowing whether your interviewer will see your hair and make a snap judgment on your character rather than your ability to do the work is enough to make you lose your A game.
It is a difficult choice!
I decided that I wasn’t straightening my hair for these job interviews. Nor was I going to hide my curls in a bun. My hair was flourishing and I didn’t need to go throw another year of growing out damaged hair. I knew that when I accepted an offer, I wasn’t going to straighten my hair so why not just show that version of myself at interviews? Take this 4a hair or leave it. Women, especially black women, are scrutinized heavily for our presentation choices. Wearing my curls all throughout my job hunt was a bold choice, even when my curls were pulled back into very office appropriate styles. Being authentically me is a bold choice.
The unsought attention
Interviewing with curls was nerve-wracking but being the girl in the office with the big hair who changes styles every day was like being under a microscope. I loved my hair and I’ve loved creating new styles for myself. I loved it so much that it inspired my blog, Cubicles & Curls. But the attention I got from my natural hair at work often stole my joy. Some people genuinely admired the work & creativity I put into my hair while others only delivered the kind of empty comments you make when you notice a change and just want to say something, like “Oh you changed your hair again!”. The lowest point was when a coworker palmed the back of my head after I told her for weeks that she couldn’t touch it. I lost my temper and yelled for her to stop. I was mortified.
Live your truth
Years later, I have more confidence than ever in my natural hair. I’ve matured and will push back on people who make me feel uncomfortable about it. Having a huge community of natural hair black women in social media and at my workplace has shielded me from the negativity on my hair I received in the past. Exposure and strength in numbers are necessary for any cultural shift and the afro hair movement is doing just that. Whether you wear your hair curly, straight, or in braids, you have to make choices that represent you authentically. Professional hair is clean, neat, and represents the company image well. Natural hair is all that and more.
