This is my third summer in Japan, and it still feels like I keep discovering something new about this crazy hot and humid season. This year, I started wearing my natural hair out after spring and, boy, was I not prepared for what was coming. (For context, I spent the past two summers wearing my hair in either twist-outs or braids.)
Girls with curly hair can probably relate.
Nobody told me my hair would have to battle humidity!
I recently bought a hygrometer for my apartment, and I swear my hair does an even better job of telling me whether the humidity has gone up or down. The results are instant!
At the end of spring, I had blown out my hair and it stayed put. Come summer, I tried blowing it out again, and the moment I stepped outside, my hair went poof! I remember walking into a 7-Eleven and catching my reflection in the mirror. I burst into laughter. I love that my hair can make me laugh.
I won't lie though, I'm really enjoying discovering new things about my hair.
You're probably wondering, how did I not know this?
Well, as a girl who grew up in Kenya and lived there her whole life, we don't experience extreme seasons like summer or winter. Our weather is fairly consistent throughout the year, so this simply doesn't happen. I'd say we have spring-like weather for most of the year.
(I know—we have the perfect weather. And if one more person asks me whether Kenya is hotter than Japan in summer, I might just lose it!)
I honestly don't know where the stereotype of Africa being this burning hot continent came from. Yes, some places are hot, but Africa is a huge continent with deserts, tropical forests, mountains, beaches, and even places that occasionally get snow. Kenya certainly isn't hotter than Japan during summer. Please spread the word :D
Anyway, I'm enjoying discovering new things about each season.
One unexpected discovery is that summer has completely changed the way I want to dress. Every year, without fail, I suddenly want to wear bright colors. Yellows, oranges, pinks, blues. Bright colors just feels right in summer. Then winter rolls around, and somehow all I want to wear are blacks, browns, greys, and other muted colors. I never noticed how much the seasons influenced my wardrobe until I moved to Japan.
So now, not only am I learning how to deal with humidity, but apparently I also need two completely different wardrobes depending on the season.
This also means I now need a separate collection of hairstyles for each season. Summer calls for hairstyles that can survive the humidity, while winter calls for ones that can handle the dry air and constant static electricity- Yes, your hair can literally shock you. I wasn't expecting that one either. So now, not only do I apparently need separate wardrobes for different seasons, but separate hairstyles too!
The discoveries just never end.
