My Mother's Day S-hero!
This post is sponsored by Hair Biology. All opinions are my own.
My mother and I sharing tea on April 14, 2022.
With Mother’s Day approaching, I’m reflecting on my phenomenal mom, Mary Ann.
She’s my sweet, fun-loving, first-gen mom! We have so much in common: our love for our Japanese-American culture, for shows we binge-watch on TV and for surprise treats we gift each other. (She loves chocolate toffee! I love matcha lattes! We both love doting on my kids!)
We’re both only children, but with vastly different upbringings. Born in Tokyo, Japan, my mom came to this country post World War II at age 9, on a US-military-issued boat to California, without speaking a word of English. Quickly fluent with no trace of an accent, she is now an artist, a teacher and a community connector. She is at once a perfect blend of Japanese and American culture: grace and elegance, independence and verve.
My mom as a teenager.
When I turned 18 and though her only child, she channeled her adventurous spirit and pushed me off into the world… I took her cue and never looked back. When I lived in Los Angeles, Paris, Kyoto, Hiroshima, New York and DC, she never waivered, urging me to relentlessly chase, dream, pursue and experience… no matter how far across the country or continent that made me travel away from her.
Across this distance, we’ve managed to love big, visit often and make up for lost time. She’s the only one I’ll speak to on the phone at length and we’re always plotting our next trip, usually late into the night!
We also share incredibly thick, coarse, voluminous hair–oh how our hair alone can tell a tale! From my mother’s tightly coil perm and feathered-back-Charlie’s-Angels styles in the 70s to my perfect, bowl cuts that she trimmed throughout my childhood while I sat on a chair atop a low-lying, round, coffee table. Needless to say, back then, we didn’t have the best hair products on hand to handle our Asian hair.
But today, we’re so happy to have Hair Biology understand our unique hair language, with products for extra moisture and frizz control as we mature.
In New York City, April 20, 2022.
Their Vivid & Protected shampoo and conditioner help to nourish and protect my red hair against color fade, while free of parabens, sulfates and dyes. For my mom, it’s the Argan Oil Taming Serum that adds shine, while taming unruly hairs.
I hope she knows I work tirelessly to share her life lessons of grace and thoughtfulness, endurance and resourcefulness with the next generation of women that I surround myself with, with the hopes to inspire in some small way.
Happy Mother’s Day, Mom. Thanks for the great head of hair, and for this solid head on my shoulders.
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