Jen didn't believe the viral curly-hair-in-love theory. Then her son made a comment.

Growing up, I always wanted to be Andie Anderson in How To Lose A Guy In Ten Days. Not just because of her job as a journalist, but because of her hair. 

Specifically, her hair after she falls in love with Benjamin Barry. Gone were her pin-straight, flat-ironed locks. In their place were gorgeous, natural waves. As a curly-haired girl myself, I loved to see it. 

Of course, at the time, I didn't realise just how radical the hair choice was. At least, for the time period. For once, curls were being portrayed as a positive thing, rather than being villainised.

"Huh?" you say.

Allow me to explain.

Centuries ago, European beauty standards labelled curly, coily and kinky hair as "bad" or "unprofessional", particularly targeting Black people. This stigma persisted into the 20th century and worked its way onto our screens.

As a child of the '90s, I grew up with the same messaging in the media. Sleek, straight hair was sophisticated and stylish. Curly hair was unruly and difficult. If you think I'm being grandiose, I urge you to think of all the famous movie makeovers from that time.

In Pretty Woman (1990), escort Vivian Ward's curls were tamed to fit a more glamorous and "classy" aesthetic. In The Princess Diaries (2001), Mia Thermopolis' curls were straightened as part of her transformation into a "regal" princess. In the book Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2000), Hermione Granger uses a hair potion to tame her unruly curls ahead of the Yule Ball and, all of a sudden, her classmates find her attractive! Imagine that!

Watch: 'You're so vain' from 'How To Lose A Guy In Ten Days'. Post continues after video.

It's no wonder the '90s and noughties saw a rise in flat irons and chemical straightening treatments. Not only had we been fed the messaging that curls were bad, we now had the advanced technology to fix them — both quickly and permanently.

When I was a teenager, my mum talked me out of permanently straightening my hair. A good thing too, because I bloody love my curls now. And I'm not the only one. TikTok has been frothing curls as of late.

In fact, there is even a "curly hair theory" circulating on the platform that suggests "the curlier the hair, the more in love you are". And no, it's not assuming that your hair magically turns curly when you fall in love, it just means you are more likely to embrace the natural texture of your hair when you're comfortable with someone.

Andie Anderson, of course, is a perfect case study for this theory. Before falling for Benjamin Barry, her hair was pin-straight. By the end of the movie, when she was head-over-heels for the advertising executive, she had embraced her natural curls.

It's a lovely sentiment, but I wanted to know if the theory translated off-screen — you know, outside the confines of a fictional rom-com. Is is true that we curly girlies are more likely to embrace our natural hair when we're in love?

I searched for proof. And that is when I found Jen.

A fellow victim of the villainisation of curls, Jen was a cynic. A serial straightener. That was, until the 'curly hair theory for falling in love' came true for her. Though, not in the way you might think.

"For 20 years, I was the executive assistant to the CEO of big companies in Australia — you know, wearing suits to work, that kind of thing," Jen told Mamamia.

"The impression was that curly hair was less professional than straight hair, and so there was a lot of pressure to maintain that appearance. Even when I went to business college in 1999, there were lessons about grooming, and having your hair straightened, pulled back, tight, smooth, shiny and sleek was definitely the message of the day.

"At work, the expectation was straight hair, and chemically straightened was fine, if that's what it had to be."

Then, love changed everything.

"One day, when my son was two and a half or so, I was touching up the already chemically straightened strands with my sizzling straightener," Jen shared.

"My son looked at me and said, 'Mummy, why are you 'flatting' your hair?' Without thinking, I said, 'because it looks better straight'. Instantly, my curly-headed toddler looked in the mirror and touched his own springy curls. I instantly regretted my careless words.

"I had just instilled in him the same message that I'd been given my whole life: curly hair is less-than, it's less professional, less neat, less cool, less, less, less."

Jen's love for her son made her put the straightener down, and she has not touched it since.

"As a mum, one of the worst things I can think of doing to my son is to hand him my baggage to carry. In that moment, I just felt like the worst parent you could be. I never wanted him to feel less than for any part of himself."

From that day on, Jen embraced her curls, and her life changed. She quit her corporate job and has spent the past eight years helping others embrace their natural curl texture through her hair business, The Curl Store.

"I have shown my son with my actions, rather than my words, that curly hair is amazing and should be embraced and celebrated every chance we get.

"In the years since changing, it definitely has changed him. A couple of years ago, during a kindergarten exercise, he was asked 'What do you love about yourself'? And his answer was, 'My big curls.'"

By showing her son how to love his full self, Jen has learnt to love herself too — and her curls.

"It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks about your hair. It doesn't matter what anyone thinks about what you look like, or any of those things. What matters is what you think about yourself and that you're a good person.

"That moment definitely changed my perception of myself, not only as a curly-haired person, but as a mum."

While I was initially drawn to the 'curly hair theory' as a silly little pop culture trend, I underestimated its significance, especially in the face of decades of messaging that curls are something to 'fix'.

It's not just about falling in love and getting lazy with a straightener; it's about feeling safe enough to embrace who you are.

Andie Anderson may have been the blueprint, but the curly hair theory transcends screens.

Whether it's through romantic love, a mother's love, or self-love, the moment we stop seeing curls as 'less than' is the moment we start seeing them for what they truly are: beautiful, powerful, and wholly our own.

Feature Image: Supplied.