A Love Letter to My Hair: How I Learned to Care for It, Celebrate It, and Let It Be Mine
- Nov 17, 2025
- 5 min read
With my hair appointment coming up this week, I’ve been thinking about how I want my cut and highlights to carry me through the four trips I have planned over the next two months (I’ll hardly be home!). I’ve been reflecting a lot on my hair lately — how quickly it’s grown, how soft and full it feels, and how, for maybe the first time in my life, I can honestly say: I truly love my hair.
And that hasn’t always been the case.
And perhaps I’m also thinking about how healthy it is now, and how fast it’s growing… because it gives me the freedom to get a fresh cut and trust that it will grow back beautifully — just in time for my March trip to Italy, which somehow feels like it will be here before I know it.
The Long Road Back to Loving My Hair
My natural texture is very kinky, curly, and more coarse — and for most of my life, I didn’t know how to work with what God gave me. I fought my curls, straightened them, smoothed them, and at times tried to tame them into submission. Add to that the emotional and physical storms of the last few years, and my hair has been through just about everything a head of hair can go through.
In 2019, I went through a major surgery followed by eight rounds of chemo. Every year since, I’ve had another long surgery requiring hours of anesthesia — something most people don’t know can cause significant hair shedding. It usually resolves with time, but it shakes your confidence. Your hair thins. It changes. It breaks. And suddenly something as simple as washing your hair feels emotionally heavy.
Then came 2024 — the heartbreak that hurt more than anything I can recall. Loss like that drops you to your knees. It changes the way you see yourself, your future, and every part of your reflection.
So in 2024, maybe as an act of letting go or reclaiming myself, I chopped my hair off. All of it.
And I’ll be honest: I regretted it.
Deeply.
I spent months wondering if it would ever grow back. I longed for softness, fullness, length — dreaming of the curls that felt like me.
But oh, honey… did it grow.
It grew back thick, soft, wavy, full, and lovely — healthier than before, almost as though my body was ready for its own new beginning right alongside me.
Today, even on the mornings when my curls have an opinion of their own, I remind myself:
There were many years when I would’ve given anything to have the hair I have today.
Traveling Light, Living Fully — and Keeping My Hair Easy
Over the next two months, I’ll be on four different trips, gone almost half the time — and I want my hair to fit my life, not complicate it. I want easy days, simple styling, soft waves, and curls that behave because they’re well-nourished, not forced.
What I want is hair that feels like me — wherever I am wandering, adventuring, or resting.
So as my hair appointment approaches this week, my mindset is simple:
Healthy. Manageable. Effortless. And still beautiful.
And luckily… that’s exactly where I am right now.
What’s Been Working: Care, Consistency & Clean Living
This season of healthy, happy hair didn’t just happen — it grew from the inside out.
1. A clean, nourishing diet.
Plant-forward, vibrant, healing foods — my hair truly reflects the way I treat my body.
2. Supplements that support growth and strength.
Good health shows up everywhere, including your curls.
3. A silk pillowcase.
A small change that makes a massive difference. Less frizz. Less breakage. More shine.
4. Gentle, high-quality products.
I don’t weigh my hair down with heavy styling products anymore. I avoid hairspray when I can — it’s so drying and damaging long-term. Instead, I use nourishing, protective, curl-friendly staples that keep my waves soft and my texture defined without suffocating my strands.
5. No more keratin treatments.
Keratin can smooth hair beautifully — but too much protein leads to brittleness and breakage, especially for naturally curly or coarse hair. I want softness and health, not stiffness or stress.
Letting my hair follow its natural pattern has been the best decision I’ve ever made.
The Science Behind Healthy Hair (and Why Mine Finally Thrives)
You don’t need a lab coat to understand healthy hair — just a little curiosity.
Hair grows from within.
Your follicles are nourished by your bloodstream, which carries the nutrients your body turns into hair.
Healthy metabolism, clean eating, sleep, hydration — they all show up in your curls.
Hair grows in cycles.
Anagen (growth), catagen (transition), and telogen (rest/shedding).Illness, surgeries, anesthesia, trauma, or intense stress can push hair into a shedding phase (telogen effluvium).It feels alarming — but it is temporary.
Your story, and mine, are proof that regrowth often comes back stronger.
Curly and coarse textures need moisture, not excess protein.
Curly hair is naturally drier because oils don’t travel easily down the twists and coils.
Moisture = softness and definition.
Too much protein = dryness and breakage.
Balance is everything.
Friction can ruin even the healthiest hair.
Cotton pillowcases, rough towels, tight ponytails — these create micro-damage.
Silk, microfiber, and gentle styling protect your strands and help length retention.
Your scalp is living skin.
Healthy scalp = healthy hair.
It needs gentle cleansing, hydration, and kindness.
Hormones affect everything.
Thyroid, cortisol, menopause, insulin regulation, and surgery-related stress all show up in your hair.
You're not imagining it — your hair listens to your life.
My Go-To Products (The Ones My Hair Actually Loves)
Shampoo & Conditioner
Masks & Deep Conditioning
Leave-Ins & Styling
Dae Styling Cream for soft control and flyaways
These keep my curls nourished, detangled, soft, and shiny — without heaviness, residue, or that “crunchy” feeling I cannot stand.
Let Your Hair Tell Your Story
Hair is more than something we style.
It's part of our identity, our confidence, our sensuality, our self-expression.
It can honor where we’ve been and celebrate where we’re going.
My hair has walked with me through illness, grief, healing, hope, and now — this joyful, carefree season where I’m packing suitcases, exploring the world, and finally choosing softness in every sense of the word.
It’s my crown — imperfect, wavy, wild, and all mine.
And goodness, does it feel good to love it.
Honey Note
If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that our hair often grows right alongside us. Every inch tells a story — of healing, resilience, softness, and the courage to begin again. So whatever you choose this week, trust that your hair will meet you where you are… and grow with you into all the lovely places you’re headed. ✨
Letting my curls grow long, soft, and a little wild… just like this beautiful, brave life I’m living.
🍯✨ Honey
— just a girl with fun, wild-wild hair and a whole lot of joy tucked in her waves
