You might be thinking, "what the heck, a post about your hair?" Why yes! it's one of my most prized possessions. Having natural hair as a Black woman is a kind of big deal. For centuries, Black women in western countries have been straightening their hair. Natural, kinky hair was/is not proper and seen as demeaning and unkempt. This view on hair like mine is still prevalent; but the whole Natural Hair Movement is changing that. Thank goodness!
I am half Black, half Puerto Rican. But as you can see, my hair is all fro. Ever since I can remember my mom has used products to straighten my hair. Nothing too harsh; mostly those Just 4 Me kits that looked so awesome with all the pretty colors. This is basically the norm for every little Black girl with thick curly hair. I'll admit I had A LOT of hair that was incredibly thick. It'd be a chore to manage my hair without this nifty little relaxer, so thanks mom for all the wonderful styles! Although this picture doesn't quite showcase that... I was too busy having fun at the beach down the street from my house that day....
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| christmas party, 2008 ~ Also my last relaxer |
As I got into my teens I never kept up with my hair; I'd get a relaxer twice a year and have my mom braid my hair most of the time. I was very active with sports and band all year round and pretty much a tomboy until I graduated high school. I was the princess of ponytails, wearing my hair out twice a year, right after my relaxer. Throughout this time I noticed my scalp not fairing too well with scabs and redness, so my mom and I tried a few different brands; but nothing worked. So by the time college came around, I just stopped.
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| June 2009; before I knew what transitioning was...Same beach as the 2nd pic! |
I didn't really know what I was getting into; I just knew I didn't want another relaxer. The picture above was a very popular hairstyle for me. *Wash condition, mousse, scrunch, air dry* It'd last a couple days, was super easy, and hid the fact that I have two very different textures going on. If it wasn't this, It was blow dried and pulled back into a bun or a ponytail, like this picture over here on the side. This was actually the last event of pictures with my hair still relaxed, taken January of 2010 by Zack when we went to see Yankee Stadium. He's a huge fan. Also notice my rad warhol bag that I still own and love
I started looking into how to care for natural hair towards the end of 2009. There wasn't very much information so it took a while. But alas, YouTube had all of these hidden gems of natural hair vloggers, tutorials, and encouragement. It was
overwhelming. I would literally spend hours every night watching videos. The vloggers that helped me decide to do the big chop (in the natural hair community, the moment you cut off all the relaxed hair) are
NaturalChica,
Naptural85, and
BlackOnyx77. Late one night (March 5, 2010 to be exact) I went into the bathroom and just cut off all my relaxed ends. I went to bed grinning from ear to ear.
That morning I woke up to my mom yelling "WHAT'S ALL THIS HAIR DOING IN THE GARBAGE?" I sort of just looked up, pointed to my head, and clonked back out. The only person I told about it was Zack, and he was pretty nervous to begin with. My dad was totally shocked and my mom kept touching it and said, "well it's her hair she can do whatever she wants."
Whatever I want. :)
I've gotten an unbelievable amount of positive comments when people found out. I felt a little insecure, but I knew this was definitely for me. Everyone loved it!
The only other major thing I've done since is dying it this reddish color in September 2010. After I had my fill of this color I've been trimming the red out slowly but surely. You can still see it in the tips, but for now, I don't mind it.
Two years later, I haven't stopped looking into videos, tips, ideas, and products for natural hair. I've found out a wealth of information and only realized this after talking with one of my sister's friends about going natural. I told her I will share with her information on how to go natural, transitioning tips, talk about the BC (big chop), products, and anything else I know about hair like mine. I'm not turning this into a hair blog or anything, but my hair is a very important part of my style. My fro has gotten so many compliments and has become a part of who I am; I really think it reflects my style all on its own.
Now when you see a hair post, don't think it can't apply to your hair type. Lots of the hairstyles and products can be used for any hair type; especially the home made products I like to make and the masks for some TLC on your lovely tresses.
I look forward to sharing with the world (and Nancy) all I know about hair. I love talking about it so much! Most importantly I love my hair. (in case you couldn't tell)
TTFN<3
