Personal Narrative: Challenges Regarding My Hair In Dominican Culture

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Coming from a Dominican culture, I faced many challenges regarding my hair. Growing up, people around me would make fun of the way my hair looked. According to societal stereotypes, my hair was not straight enough and it didn’t look as shiny as other members of the family. I was always referred to as the one with “Pelo malo” which translates to “bad hair”. Throughout my life, I struggled with the appearance of my hair. For the longest time, I was ashamed of my hair. While my sisters and cousins had long, straight, and lustrous hair, mine was brittle, dry, and lifeless. Despite my best efforts to care for it properly, it always seemed to fall short of the effortless beauty that my sisters and cousins possessed. My hair was so damaged that it …show more content…

But I always felt like a burden to ask other people to help me with my hair because if they didn’t joke about me breaking the comb, they would just complain about the thickness and how long it would take them to do it. Consequently, I decided to just put it up in a bun and go to school like that, this was a short-term solution with very bad consequences. Repeating the same high bun for months, led to a lot of breakage, and my hair was very brittle. Although my hair was very thick and long, putting it wet in a bun created a lot of breakage. Consequently, my mother decided to cut it. Having short hair was easier to manage but I still faced the same predicament; I did not know how to style …show more content…

This struggle continued until one day, everything changed. I remember vividly when my mother took me to a hair salon for the first time to celebrate my birthday. When we arrived, a 65-year-old looked at me and with a smile on her face said, “Seat down princess, I will take care of you”. Her kind words made me feel welcomed the second I went in. Her hands were soft and gentle, she was amicable and knowledgeable. She kindly combed my hair and massaged my scalp. People were waiting to get their hair done but she would give my hair the utmost care and showed no signs of hurrying, That was the first time someone took the time to care and compliment my hair. She gave me amazing advice on the products I needed, but most importantly, she helped me embrace and love the texture of my hair. The quality of hair services at that salon changed my life and my perception. I grew up thinking I had “bad hair” but that day I learned that my hair, like everything else in life, just needed love and attention. In my experience, I can testify that high-quality hair service has a positive impact on one's self-esteem. When you use products that promote healthy hair growth, it not only enhances the physical appearance of your hair but

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