5 Natural Hair Confidence Boosters | Your Best Hair Means Being Yourself

Hi Curl Friends! By now you’ve probably seen that I did another big chop! I know, I know, I keep you on your toes with my ever changing hairstyles. The truth is ever since I began growing my hair out in August 2019, I’ve wanted to cut. I fought the urge to cut and continued to grow out my hair despite my nagging gut feeling to cut it all off. Fast forward to March 2020 at the start of COVID-19 when after being in the house for a few weeks made it evident that I needed my ends trimmed. So I experimented with trimming my ends (you can watch tutorial here), and once again, that strong impulse to cut my hair lingered. Then, in May, I randomly had my kid’s barber shave my sides because I missed a taper cut. Now here we are in July, and I’m bald! So I’m asking myself what happened? How did I wake up and decide to go bald? The truth is I like me more with short hair. I’m a short haired girl. Period.

Reflecting on my natural hair journey, I’ve realized that I have always loved myself with short hair. Even when I wore a short permed pixie cut, I loved it. I love the way my facial features are structured, I hate hair in my face, I don’t like ponytails, and I don’t like spending hours on a wash day. I know this is a direct contrast to my work as a natural hair blogger, but it's the truth. I was growing out my hair because I thought that a big, long, curly hair image would be better for my brand. I’m here to tell you I WAS WRONG!!!

The best thing for your natural hair is to be yourself! Wear styles that you love. Choose styles that align with your lifestyle and preferences for how much time and energy you want to spend on your hair. Your hair looks your best when you are being yourself. I feel so free! I keep thinking about how much time I spent hating growing out my hair or thinking about cutting my hair. What if over the last year I spent more time loving my hair and being comfortable with how I like to wear my hair, instead of attempting to please my social media audience and what I thought brands would want.

So now that I’m living my authentic Naturally Shauniece self (with my favorite hairstyle), I want to encourage you to learn from me. Your natural hair looks best when you are true to yourself. Be yourself. There’s nothing more beautiful than a woman who knows what she likes and what looks good on her. I’ve been receiving a lot of messages and compliments saying how radiant I look. I truly believe that radiance comes from within, truly being happy with oneself. We can’t live our lives for social media or other people, and this includes how we choose to wear our hair.

Okay, it's time for me to wrap this up. Moral of the story:

“YOUR BEST HAIR MEANS BEING YOURSELF!! ”

— Naturally Shauniece

If you’re struggling in your natural hair journey or just confidence overall, here’s three tips you can do to improve how you feel about your hair and have confidence that radiates.

Think of a time you were most happiest about your hair
What style was it? What color? What specifically did you like about that style? Once you answer those questions, wear that hairstyle. Boom, instant hair happiness.
Stop looking at Instagram for hair inspiration
Yes, we can find cute hairstyles on IG/Pinterest and be inspired, but for many of us, this means we want “her” hair. Having someone else’s hair won’t make you more beautiful until you love and accept your hair.
Choose hairstyles that align with your lifestyle
Lifestyle and hair go together like peanut butter and jelly. I’m always on the go, so spending a lot of time and maintenance on my hair isn’t ideal for my lifestyle. If you find yourself constantly wearing a bun or ponytails to avoid “doing” your hair, you may need to choose a different hairstyle (unless you love ponytails and buns). The point is if your hairstyle aligns with your lifestyle you're more likely to maintain and care for your hair. This means healthy hair, which is beautiful hair.