A braided gesture of Love.

This post won the runner-up prize in the said contest.

Some days I am a curl,

while others, I merely swirl,

They say, I am a sweet lullaby,

or that, I am a braided gesture of love,

perhaps, it is just Dove.

Sometimes strictly parted on the side, sometimes seductively falling over one eye, sometimes wet, sometimes rigid, sometimes tied up in a high ponytail, sometimes braided together into a french bun, sometimes tousled in the front with a fishtail braid over the left shoulder, sometimes the usual bombshell waves, sometimes polished, yet sometimes casual. Your hair define your personality, more so, they define you. A messy braid resting on the nape of your neck will make you your man's guilty pleasure even on the most unlucky day of your life.

I have been raised by a loving punjabi family and a strict Convent school. And by a convent, I'm not intending to imply towards nuns and discipline, I mean a compulsory pair of braids with a precise middle parting. I've lived, loved, grown, and also matured in braids. The way they frivolously hung over my neck gave me a beautiful carefree feeling. There are certain things in life that look better when put in perspective, one of them is my hair. Its like they have a mind of their own, they know when to be mean and when to be subtle, when to be nervous and when to be at their cautious best. Nonetheless, over the years, I've fallen in love with them.

Hair, I believe, have a mind of their own,

They twirl, they dance;

Not always prim, not always proper,

It can make you drown, into its serene expanse.

To be honest, I've never had long hair, even though I'm proud of my Indian woman mindset, that loves her silky smooth hair flowing carelessly in the summer breeze. And when they do oblige me by growing beyond a certain length, I have to chop them off because, Hair, is a funny thing, they curl, swirl, twirl, dance, straighten, perm and among other things that you and I thought they could never do, they now split too.

The first time when I heard of split ends, I was a careless teenage girl, and was shocked to know that a thin healthy strand of hair could betray and split into two if deprived of proper nutrition and care. Through Indi, Dove has always encouraged me to talk more and more about my hair, and it always sends me into a cute memoir of a fuzzy-hair-girl flashback. But split ends, they're new to me. Just when you think you're doing everything right, your hair smite you in the face with a wake-up call.

I started working as a teacher last year. Stress levels rose, sleep hours got cut, pollution poured in, causing my healthy hair to revolt back in unsympathetic split ends. Chop chop, snip snip. My beautiful braid from 2012 had to be disguised into regular shoulder length waves that I now have. I wish Dove had launched its Split end Rescue System back then, before I got my cut, but better late than never, and I couldn't be more thankful. Braids are supposed to have a beautiful beginning and beautiful ends. And it's possible now, 4x times less split ends with the new Dove range. 

 I, mostly, do not have a clue as to what is the criteria for calling one's hair happy, but what I do know with certainty is that when you are happy, your hair bask in your glory.

Friends shot envious stares, relatives wondered,

Only because she grew up, with tresses so long,

They did all, but could never find the answer,

To, how on earth were her hair so strong?

Hair, weren't much of an issue,

Until the day, time flew by and stress flew in,

Bringing along, dryness, damage, split ends

And hair, Oh so thin!

Reminiscing about old times,

When her hair shone with pomp and glory,

Nostalgia overcame, and she knew,

A change was needed, to rebuild her damaged hair story.

And then, came along DOVE,

With its enriched conditioners and mild fragrance,

A shampoo that coaxed the split ends,

and taught them once again, what was LOVE.

                                                             

This post is in association with IndiBlogger and its Dove Split End rescue system.