In a recent Leaf Nodes podcast episode, I found myself thinking A LOT about the weeds in our gardens, physically and metaphorically! The parallels of the garden, life and our hair are quite remarkable, but when it comes to weeds, I think we really need to stop for a minute and take note.
So, where do we begin? When it comes to weeds in the garden, there are some curiosities that should be acknowledged:
What starts out as something great can end up toxic
In the garden, that lavendar that you love so much can turn from adornment to chore overnight. Endless YouTubing and Googling for tips, trying every fertilizer and watering technique under the sun can literally suck the life and joy from your hobby and the plant itself. It's very similar with our hair care routines. It's great to pay attention to ingredients, CGM, preservatives, sulfates, chelates, phylates, etc, etc, but at a certain point, these things can become an obsession and cause us to forget about the beauty that's part of the hair journey and why we even started this thing to begin with! So, I challenge you to recognize when those weeds crop up and get them under control quickly!
Taking your eye off the (root) ball can cost you
On the flip side, when you decide to start taking better care of your hair, it is a commitment. Much like in the garden, those peppers aren't going to water themselves! When you plant a seedling, you're initially enamored by the little stem and leaves, but often, we find ourselves busy and leave the garden to tend itself for a few days. When we return, sometimes it's amazing how the weeds have popped up and you can't even identify your little pepper plant! The same goes with our hair. Developing a routine and staying on top of it is key.
Weeds don't happen overnight
Pulling points 1 and 2 together, I find it fascinating how weeds can closely resemble the plants I'm trying to grow. It's almost eerie. If I'm not vigilant in my garden, I could easily mistake a weed for my tomato seedling and pull it out by accident! To me, this is another perfect analogy as to how comparing our curls to others (especially on social media) can quickly go from helpful to harmful and literally rip the joy from our journey. So, keep an eye on your feed and how you feel about it - do those reels bring you excitement and make you eager to try something new or are you finding yourself overly envious of the content creator's lusciously, defined locks to the demise of your own. Know your tipping point and keep watch, my friend!
Well, that's all the wisdom from the garden that we have time for today! I hope this was helpful and sparks conversation - please leave comments below - I'd love to hear from you.
Happy gardening!
Adria
This post really resonated with me as a new gardener and long time curly girl! The weeds can easily overtake if we don’t make time for dealing with them and our hair care routines can also suffer if we don’t set aside time to actually do the steps needed. A very needed reminder!