(Illustration: Mai Tran)
Last year, I decided to grow out my kinky, curly hair for the first time. But there was no one in my family that I could turn to. YouTube came to the rescue.
In my immediate family, I’m the only one with kinky hair. I’m mixed race —black, white, and Filipina. My mom has loose curls and my dad’s hair is straight. I didn’t have anyone to look to for guidance.
Time and again, I wandered through the natural hair aisle—feeling lost. When I decided to grow my hair out, I realized I needed some real advice. So I turned to YouTube.
Immediately, I discovered tons of girls online that faced the same hair challenges. I didn’t feel alone anymore. Through these videos I was able to try out new products and styles. I feel less intimidated in the beauty supply store now.
I often hear about social media and the internet hurting more than helping teens. But in this case, I was able to discover a community that wasn’t available for me in person.
Watching people talk about their natural hair made me feel more confident about mine. Now, I consider it one of my best features.