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I am proud to partner with Dove™<\/a> Hair \u00a0in this sponsored post as part of their social mission to empower mothers to be leaders in their daughter\u2019s hair confidence by teaching them how to love their hair.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve loved my Li\u2019l Bit\u2019s hair from day one.\u00a0 She didn\u2019t have much, but I couldn\u2019t wait to put it up in puffs and braids.\u00a0 I stroked her little curls while she ate, and brushed my own long hair out of her face while she slept on my chest.<\/p>\n Earlier this year, Dove™<\/a> Hair found that 8 in 10 women feel pressure to wear their hair within a narrow depiction of what \u201cbeautiful hair\u201d should look like. \u00a0For many, myself and my daughter included, these pressures began when we were young girls.<\/p>\n My mom took me to a salon for a chemical relaxer when I was 6.\u00a0 Now that I am a mom, I get teary eyed just thinking about that.\u00a0 I was taught that my hair needed to be \u201cfixed\u201d before I could even understand why.\u00a0 All I knew was that hairdressers complained about how long and thick my hair was, and how difficult it was to comb.\u00a0 My hair broke off almost immediately.<\/p>\n I learned to appreciate the strength of my hair shortly after that.\u00a0 With a lot of work and care, my hair was back \u2013 longer and stronger than ever.\u00a0 It was unreal.\u00a0 It taught me that my hair was more than okay.\u00a0 It was brilliant, resilient, reliable, and trustworthy. I had hoped that my daughter would know and believe that because I told her so, but she wanted to be like me, not how I told her she should be.\u00a0<\/p>\n My daughter asked me one day, \u201cMommy, why isn\u2019t my hair straight like yours?\u201d<\/p>\n We have a saying in the Caribbean, \u201cdo so, no like so.\u201d I was always telling her that her hair was so pretty, and that I wished I could have beautiful curls like hers.\u00a0 She never asked me what was stopping me.\u00a0 If she did ask me, I wouldn\u2019t have had an answer. \u00a0 \u00a0I couldn\u2019t imagine my daughter going through what I used to go through to straighten my hair \u2013 the burns from the heat, the burns from the chemicals \u2013 I didn\u2019t want her to deal with that\u2026 for what?<\/p>\n Dove™<\/a> Hair is committed to ensuring that hair is a source of confidence, not anxiety, for women and girls by broadening the definition of beautiful hair.<\/p>\n She didn\u2019t ask me right off the bat for straight hair. She simply asked me, \u201ccan I have my hair like YOURS?\u201d<\/p>\n How was I supposed to answer that?\u00a0 Recently Dove™<\/a> completed a study and found that 82% of girls learn to care about themselves from their mother.\u00a0 Li\u2019l Bit\u2019s hair is almost exactly like mine, so technically, she already had hair like the hair that grew out of my scalp before I did anything to it.\u00a0I decided that if she was going to love herself and her hair as it was, I was going to have to love mine. So one day, I just cut it off.<\/p>\n \u00a0People are free to do what they want with their hair, no judgment here, but my Li\u2019l Bit was watching me. \u00a0She would teeter around in my high heels, play dress up in my clothes, but the one thing she couldn\u2019t try emulate was my hair.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cTell Li\u2019l Bit she\u2019s my hair inspiration.\u201d \u00a0I’ve had more than a few people – adults and kids – say that to me.<\/p>\n My Li\u2019l Bit LOVES her hair now.\u00a0 She just loves it.\u00a0 She loves the versatility, the different sizes and shapes it can take, and how it inspires people of all ages to embrace their hair as is. Dove™<\/a> Hair believes a positive role model can greatly impact a girl\u2019s confidence, and when I see my Li\u2019l Bit flipping her twists and fluffing her afro, I know that my decision meant something to her.<\/p>\n When wash day comes, we talk about what we\u2019ll do with her hair \u2013 braid, blow dry, twist, afro, cornrow, afro puffs\u2026 she\u2019s got options.\u00a0 The only rule she has is that she doesn\u2019t want direct heat on her hair too often because she doesn\u2019t want it to \u201cloosen her curls.\u201d<\/p>\n That\u2019s my girl.\u00a0 I wish I had the confidence in my natural hair when I was her age, but I am so glad that I have been able to show her that her natural hair is beautiful. As a mother, you can make a difference and help ensure that your little one grows up feeling confident about her hair by celebrating the beauty of her hair.<\/p>\n I hope that my Li\u2019l Bit carries her hair confidence into her teen and adult years, and can inspire other little girls, by example, in the future \u2013 maybe even her own.<\/p>\n Dove™<\/a> Hair hosts a website where moms can add creative text to mother\/daughter photos for sharing on Facebook and Twitter. Tell your daughter why you love her hair, and inspire her to do the same when you create and share a custom #LoveYourHair animated message like this one with @Dove: http:\/\/bit.ly\/2hiNYSJ<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/socamom.com\/w\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/dove_socamom_13.jpg\")
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