Not an ordinary haircut

Early this year my brother introduced me to a hair salon that specialized in cutting and styling curly hair. This was a big deal for me because I have struggled with my hair identity my entire life. If you know hair types, mine has always been 4C, which is the thickest hair type with less curl and more of a z shape. It happens to be also the  most fragile, so being tasked with managing my hair has always been a love hate relationship. I did find peace with my hair when I went natural almost 8 years ago. Chemo left my hair was in shambles. During chemo, I did something called cold-capping. The process freezes the scalp to prevent the blood stream from accepting the chemo molecules to prevent the death of the hair follicules. From the help of my amazing sister in law we were able to navigate prepping my hair for the cold cap process before chemo. It helps slow down the hair loss, not prevent it totally. I was almost a year out from when I started chemo, but was still loosing hair, and couldn’t get comfortable going outside without a head scarf. That’s when Jordan from Anita Curl stepped in. She made me feel so comfortable sharing my story, hopes, and truly dreams about having a full head of healthy hair again. After she looked at some styles I was hungry to try. she gently shared that we can use those as a guide, but right now we need to start from the ground up to get healthy hair. My first hair cut with her was transformative. I suddenly felt free, and she showed me that my hair pattern was closer to a 4B, and I had tight coils. I love rocking my hair simple, and unattached to how I think it should be.  

I had my second appointment with Jordan recently, and I already was really connected to my hair. I felt so much resistance to go and get a hair cut. Again Jordan sweetly said that now the base is set, we can start shaping things the way we want it to grow. As I sat in the wash chair after the cut, I fell into a state of deep relaxation. Having someone lovingly just massage and scrub my scalp was the ultimate therapy. I felt like I just left a deep meditation or yoga nidra class by the end. As I was getting ready to say goodbye to Jordan she asked me about my name’s origin. I felt embarrassed as always, because growing up my name had been the center of jokes because no one could say it right. She could sense my doubts, and she said something so moving to me. “Your name is beautiful. There is power in a name. Your parents loved you and wanted you to be seen.” I can never express to Jordan how truly empowering and loving it was to get that reminder. To remember, you are loved and everyone who loves you wants you to be seen.  

Paxman Scalp Cooling

https://paxmanscalpcooling.com/

Anita Kurl

https://www.anitakurl.com/