Starting Over-My Journey Back to Natural Hair (Revised)

(Originally posted on September 5, 2010).

 

For as long as I can remember, society’s standard of beauty lied in no lye relaxers, hot combs and hair weaves. As a child, I was so happy when I got my first Just for Me relaxer in the third grade (by the way that was Latavia Roberson ¼ of the original Destiny’s Child on the box). I was so happy to have straight, shiny pretty hair, because I was conditioned to hate kinky or as it was referred to at that time nappy hair. It wasn’t until I attended Delaware State University and meeting three young women who rocked their natural hair with such beauty and grace that inspired me to want to wear my hair natural. I never made that transition because of the convenience of purchasing a relaxer for $10 was more appealing than wearing my hair natural.  I experienced a traumatizing hair incident back in May of 2007; a relaxer left on my hair too long took out the top and the back of my hair.  My scalp hasn’t been the same since this unfortunate incident. For some people, namely a man, losing one’s hair isn’t such a big deal. But seeing your hair falling out in clumps is enough to make a person go plum crazy. I was forced to pull the little bit of hair I had left back into a ponytail While waiting for my hair to grow back I wore wigs, braids, ponytails and weaves. Eventually my hair grew back and I continued to wear relaxers.

For the remainder of 2008 until 2010 I continued wearing relaxers, suffering numerous chemical burns to my scalp, sores and ultimately a sensitive scalp. The last relaxer I received was May 29, 2010. I got a weave that July and after watching the Good Hair documentary for a second time made the decision to wear my hair relaxer free.  Enough is enough, I didn't want to endure the pain any longer of having a sensitive scalp while getting a relaxer, and I wanted a healthy scalp which leads to healthy hair. At that time, I was three months overdue for a touch up, so the beginning stages weren’t that bad. I wanted to transition my hair from relaxed to natural as opposed to doing the big chop (BC) and I knew I didn’t want to wear locs or twists; I wanted the options of wearing my hair curly or flat ironed straight. I consulted with a natural hairstylist and watched tutorials on YouTube to get an idea as what would be the best solution for me to begin my journey. My original plan was to update this blog every three months, with pictures of my hair as it transitions, but I got sidetracked with well…life lol!

Six month process

November 29, 2010- Six months into my process, I tried a braid out as illustrated on YouTube as my first transitioning hairstyle. It did NOT look like the girl's beautiful hair, mainly because she's been natural for 5 years, as opposed to my three months at the time. I styled my hair in a roller sets for a couple of weeks before getting a bohemian curl weave in mid-October. At the halfway point of my transition, I liked what I saw, but knew I still had a long way to go.

Seven month proces

January 18, 2011- 8 months into my process, I tried a few more natural styles and started wearing my hair straight or thermal curled. When I flat ironed my hair myself I deep conditioned my hair and used John Frieda’s Frizz Ease. Other times I wore my hair flat ironed I went to the Dominican hair salon or my cousin did my hair. I noticed whenever my cousin or me flat ironed my hair it didn’t last long before my hair puffed up. When I went to the Dominican salon, my hair lasted a little bit longer. I learned from other women who wear their natural hair straight that it takes time to train it to be straight. 

 

My naturalversary!

 

 

May 31, 2011- On the 29th, I celebrated my one year naturalversary. The process has still taken me some getting used to but for the most part my hair hasn't been healthier, fuller and overall beautiful in such a long time. I did consider chopping off the rest of my relaxed hair but lacked the confidence to rock a low haircut. I have about three inches of relaxed hair on the ends, only because I mainly maintained my hair, economically couldn’t go to the salon every two weeks. As I continued to transition my hair, I wore weaves, roller sets, thermal curls, and I visited the Dominican hair salon a few times where my hair was styled either straight or curly. I celebrated my one year naturalversary by creating several Bantu knots on damp hair with the aid of Motions wrap lotion. I unraveled the knots and had a combination of waves and curls, which I styled to resemble a curly afro. My cousin who has been wearing locs for 25 years gave me some really great tips that I hope to use soon.

Through this journey I learned that natural hair shouldn’t be frowned upon, natural hair is beautiful. When I was growing up, there weren’t any products on the market that catered to natural hair so our parents relaxed our “nappy” hair for convenience. In this day and age, young girls should have the option of how to wear their hair; they shouldn’t be forced to wear a relaxer. When I have children, I will definitely allow them to make their own hair choices. Do I believe relaxed hair is bad? No, it’s just not for me anymore. I’ve added some pictures of my hair journey which I hope to convert into a video and slide show. (Pictures below are hairstyles I wore during my process). ~L.G.~

My last relaxer May 2010