Amy Pugsley 
A common but unfortunate experience that many women have faced is that they go into a hair salon looking for a cut and color, and leave looking like a frizzy blow-dried poodle. For some reason, professionals insist on heating, drying, ironing and flattening curly hair so it appears more manageable and tame. The idea of straightening curly hair by any means necessary has resulted in split ends, and more than that, a fracture in the self-esteem of women. Eurocentric beauty standards still reign supreme and this toxic narrative led the Dubai-based mother-daughter duo of Sara Adel and Mony Rahman to take matters into their own hands. Knowing that women deserve a better experience and that curly hair deserves to be celebrated, they opened Curl Therapy Salon in March of 2019. We wanted to sit down with these ladies and ask them about their personal hair journeys and their opinions on this often contentious issue.
Your bio says, “a mother-daughter natural hair boutique.” When did you decide to turn your passion into a business?
Here’s the thing – whenever Curl Therapy comes up in conversation, I can’t help but mention my mother. In fact, the business coming to life was all her idea, and the concept being embedded in me was also her influence. In retrospect, I feel incredibly lucky to have grown up with a woman who not only accepted the nature of her hair but was absolutely obsessed with her curls. Bearing witness to that level of self-love as a little girl was highly reflective of the way I viewed and treated myself. I was fascinated; the world around us had different ideals of what defines beauty, but this little girl saw beauty through her mother. There’s no doubt it was impressionable because I started applying what I saw through her. I remember binge-watching curly hair cutting-techniques content online until one day, I picked up a pair of scissors and started cutting my own hair. I formed this beautiful little curly heart-shaped bob that I intended. As I gazed at what I’ve done through the mirror, I saw my mom walk in through the rearview, and I could see her jaw drop in awe. And that’s when it hit me, self-love, acceptance and embrace of who we are is inherited. And it was in that defining moment that we just knew we had to take that inheritance beyond our family and extend it to our community. We began to learn more about natural hair, how to protect it, how to treat it and how to nurture it. So together, we enrolled in the Lorraine Massey course and got certified in the Curly Girl Method, and soon after, the Rezo cut too. Queue, the curl therapy! We hope that we can recreate that mirror moment between my mother and me with every single person who sits on our salon chair.
Will you share your personal hair story with our readers?
I fell in love with my curls the moment I first saw them at the beach, but I can’t deny that during college, just like many curly-haired girls, I felt peer-pressured. I straightened my hair for a long time, resorting to the same old toxic cycle. While I did have my mother as a role model, I also began seeing the world around me and what beauty looked like through other people’s eyes. After a while, I couldn’t take flattening my curls anymore, so I literally bought every curling iron I could try. I straightened my hair using a gentle relaxer so that my curls would pop, and I fake-curled my curly hair on a daily basis for at least two years. My hair was effectively damaged during that period. What they don’t often tell you about this process is that it reaches a stage where your hair refuses what you’re doing. It fights back and no longer looks the way you want it to, and it’s entirely frustrating. Luckily, I’m a nerd and once I decide to get something done, I get it done. I dedicated months to research on how to rescue my hair and salvage my curls, and ever since, I’ve been heat-free for ten years. The rest is history.
On that note, your bio also says “…a safe space/a revolution” which I think resonates with a lot of people because I think breaking free from Euro-centric standards of beauty is a type of revolution. How do you see yourselves within this movement?
Advocating for natural hair cannot mean ignoring the unfortunate global beauty standards that are deeply embedded within the cultures, societies and mentalities that we operate within. The reason why the word ‘therapy’ exists in our name is not merely to sell a deep-treatment service, but rather to induce a healing dive into what it means to have experienced living with natural hair. Beyond the tangible damage of split ends and chemically-processed hair, there are also mental traumas that have to be overcome in the process. Many of which begin with abolishing the implicit unfair beauty standards. For centuries, these standards have been an existing factor in everything that we digested. From subliminal messaging in movies and media to more explicit claims in beauty commercials, we saw the line being drawn between beautiful and unlikable. Fair skin, straight soft hair and blue eyes sure are beautiful, but these qualities cannot monopolize beauty. So yes, we view ourselves as a contributor to this movement. Our “safe space” is one where conversations can be raised with no prejudice, judgment or close-mindedness.
In your experience, why have so many women been reluctant to embrace their natural hair?
We always try to have conversations with our clients and this particular question is one that we’re always keen to ask. Some of the answers we receive often revolve around how they believe curly hair is still seen as “unprofessional” in their workplace, “inappropriate” in occasions such as weddings and events, “unruly, messy and unkempt” in a school setting, and sad to say, “unappealing” altogether. Interestingly, we see a lot of women being hesitant about their natural hair journey because a partner, a parent or an important figure in their life prefers their hair straight and have a more enthusiastic reaction when reacting to a blow-dry. Even beyond that, within the curly world itself, there are so many rumors about methods, products, and the right and wrong ways of doing things, which becomes all too misleading for anyone about to embark on their natural hair journey. This again offers a reason as to why it’s so important to have a space dedicated to curly and textured hair; to break stereotypes, unravel myths, put a stop to stigmas altogether and provide a guided support system that many may not have.
Do you think social media has played a role in encouraging the embracement of natural hair?
Absolutely! We believe representation plays a massive role. In previous times, to be represented meant to be accepted by a particular media industry, to appear on television, to be chosen for a leading role, and the chances of diversity and inclusivity making the cut were quite thin. However, social media became a platform where you represent yourself, it’s a free-entry chance to advocate for natural hair. Again, this is not to say that we have to depend on social media to forge new beauty standards but it sure helps to afford the luxury of choice and selectively follow or create the content that would help you feel seen, represented and spoken to.
What advice would you give to fellow curly-haired women?
The advice would be that the journey of embracing your curly hair is no longer a lonely one. There’s an entire community of curly-haired girls and women out there going through the same things. Speak up, support one another and defy the norm just like your hair defies gravity. It all begins with self-love. Nurture your hair, claim your curls and embrace your unique pattern.
Give us the insider scoop! What are your top 3 must-have products for curly hair?
Some of our current favorites are Aesop Volumizing Shampoo, Innersense I Create Lift and Jessicurl Spiralicious gel. With that being said, it’s super important to remember that every hair is different in terms of what it needs and how it responds to certain products. For that reason, we will soon be launching an extensive consultation service that will feature identifying everything you need to know about your hair, from scalp to roots to ends, and then determining how best to take care of it.
