Driving into the strip mall I immediately spotted my destination and I was impressed with the exterior simple but classy and elegant. I told myself “this is the place I was recommended too, not bad”. I walk in and was captivated by the sleek modern look. The entire room was sleek, sexy with just enough class. I was greeted immediately and offered a glass of wine, water or soft drink and told "your stylist will be with you shortly".
It's my turn for the wash, I'm sitting in a nice reclined foot raised chair as my hair is being washed and scalp massaged. I feel a sense of calmness and relaxation. You all know how good it feels to get your hair washed by someone else. My hair is natural and the stylist is complimenting my hair, "I have a good strain of thick texture hair, I have a lot of hair, my natural curl pattern is nice, she tells me." These compliments are all new to my ears for the expectation from a previous stylist who told me "All hair is good hair, there are just different textures." You see as a Black Latina/ Afro-Latina growing up the goal was always to achieve silky straight hair. We’ve tortured our heads with harsh processed chemicals to achieve this goal.
Unfortunately, for me there was no societal positive reinforcement for embracing my natural texture hair. It was always more of a negative "Kinky bad hair”, "You need a relaxer your edges are showing their truth", the secret will be revealed, your roots are giving a different image of Latinas." This was common talk in my community. Striving for long silky hair on a daily bases was essential it defined the standard of beauty. We can’t all achieve one standard of beauty, besides that would be boring. Embracing who we are with our God given gifts is a fundamental belief I have and strive to install in my daughter. Please don't misinterpret what I'm saying I love to rock silky straight press looks, protective styles with weaves, and occasionally braids versatility is everything to me. But this experience at Hi Texture hair salon was self- empowering. The attention, education on how to achieve my ultimate hair goal was priceless, the professionalism by all staff was refreshing, and the immaculate space with its sexy classy decor set the tone for the divine ambiance. I walked in as a spectator and left feeling like a Self-Empowered Diva. My natural is beautiful because it's God given! Ladies, embrace all of you because you are not a mistake!
By, Dania Peguero, LMSW, EdS.