After decades of being asked about my hair I have finally decided to find a forum to share what I have experienced.  So no matter what your curl story is you will hopefully find a way to connect with my curl chronicles or in the least enjoy a good story or two.

First, let me introduce myself, my name is Courtney Marie.  I was adopted when I was only 7 weeks old by two amazing people and grew up with my brothers in a small town in central Pennsylvania.  When I was about 9 I found my birth certificate and discovered I was mixed (according to my paperwork I was “mulatto” – more about that in a future post).  I know very little about my birth parents beyond their age and race.  What I do know is that I grew up in a house and a community where the faces and hair did not match mine.

I cannot remember a time when I didn’t struggle in some way shape or form with my hair.  Only the innocent baby you see in this post lived a life free of hair problems.  I know if you asked my mother she would say she also bore the pain of the early years.  I can remember sitting between her legs while she brushed my hair out.  She didn’t have Google or YouTube to assist her in the challenges of raising a daughter whose hair was nothing like her own.  She also couldn’t ask a neighbor or find a hairdresser in town that had hair like mine.  We were on her own.  My mom’s solution?  Cut it short when it gets too long to deal with.  Short curly hair combined with my brothers’ hand-me-downs resulted in being mistaken for a little boy more often than not.

Thinking back I only recall wishing I had wavy red hair like my mom or straight dirty blond hair like my cousin.  In fact, I am pretty sure I spent about the first 20 years of my life wishing I had hair that wasn’t mine.  Little did I know that women out there do it all the time and it is just called weave (again a subject for a future post).  There are a number of reasons why I didn’t love my hair but they all come down to a common denominator – I didn’t have someone to help me or to identify with.  I don’t blame anyone – it was my reality at the time.  Luckily, any little girl in a situation similar to mine now has access to so many resources to help them learn to love their curls early.   Maybe I was nudged by Dove’s new #loveyourcurls campaign  http://www.dove.us/loveyourcurls 

My family – circa 1982. Can you spot me?

Regardless, here I am taking the plunge and sharing my journey with my curls.  It is an ongoing roller coaster ride that I have learned to love.  I do love my curls and I am so glad God blessed me with them.  That does not mean I always know what to do with them or how to take care of them so you can join me as I continue to learn what works and what doesn’t.  Welcome to my #curlchronicles and thank you for reading my first post.  Please subscribe or come back for more.