I love hair and I love encouraging women to love the hair they have, finding ways to work with it, not against it. There is an abundance of products, cuts, and styling techniques available to us now – along with the collective knowledge of hundreds of diverse cultures we have at out fingertips. However, in a world still full of those who desire to shame us into conformity there is much to be said for raising our voice to empowering women to be the best version of themselves they can be – promoting ideas and products that help them achieve the best natural version of themselves.

Coveting Others

It seems that much of the time we lust after what we don’t have, the expression that the “grass is always greener on the other side of the fence” relates here. Many of us want what we don’t have,simply because we don’t have it or we’ve been brainwashed by Bollywood, Hollywood, and advertising companies to think we need to look, act, or think a certain way to be healthy, fit, attractive, or productive. We end up striving toward almost impossible ideals in an attempt to gain material possessions, friends, or power – ignoring our natural body types, or tangible personal assets.

We can’t always change what nature has given us, but what many of us still strive to do, however, is learn how to manipulate our bodies and hair to achieve our ideals. This can be achieved through the use of waist, bottom, and arm trainers, or through the application of other products and tools like hair straightening brushes, chemical bleaches, colors, perms, and relaxers.

Feeling abnormal

For example, if live in a culture that overly values straight and silky hair you may have grown up thinking you were a freak and may have even considered posting life observations to Tumblr. It may have taken you years to realize that part of what makes you ‘YOU’ is your untamed tresses. With a dearth in positive outspoken role models it may have taken you years to figure out how to harness your curls, or properly straighten them out and style them for special occasions. Hair straightening brushes can eliminate much of the frustration of hair straightening, and danger of over-applying heat as well. But as with any body-altering procedure, it should be done with caution, and not on a routine basis, and alternatives must be sought to make peace with the body we’ve been given.

Moving away from toxic products

Thankfully there has been a shift in recent years away from harmful and toxic chemical products – returning to more natural and “free” solutions. While manual straightening is still commonly practiced, it can cause loads of hair damage by applying heat to the strands – frying hair in the process. However this is a price many are willing to pay to get the look they prefer at least for some time. Consumers are willing to pay big money to achieve these ideals as well. Allied Market Research projects that the worldwide cosmetics market will reach $390.07 billion by 2020 – indicating that the worldwide consumption of beauty products is steadily growing with no end in sight.