My Natural Hair Journey

I'm so excited that I have been witnessing more young women deciding to explore their natural hair journeys! A few years ago, it was rare to find a young black or mixed woman wearing their natural hair texture. Oftentimes, the women that were bold enough to bare our kinks and curls were considered eccentric or pro-black. Many people believed that no one would accept our textures that we were born with, so we relaxed(permed) or texturized our hair with harsh chemicals. Some of us grew up without the option of staying natural or reverting to the "creamy crack." A lot of parents did not have the knowledge or products available today, so they relaxed their children's hair to make it "easier" to manage. Children as young as three years old experienced their first dose of "creamy crack" and this addiction has continued onto their adult years.

If you are like me, you put the "creamy crack" down and decided to venture on a journey of discovery. I can remember being young around 4 or 5 years old and my Mother asked me did I want a perm or a texturizer. I was young and unaware of the world, so figuring out the difference between a perm or a texturizer, was one of my lessons in life that was soon to be learned. I decided to go with a texturizer. For years, I suffered the ridicule of having activator in my hair, the pain of leaving the chemical on too long, and a "slick back" everyday hairstyle that led to many jokes from siblings and peers. When I got older, I wore my hair relaxed. I endured damage over the years from chemicals, so my edges went through weak stages. I got my hair pressed with a hot comb at times, but after getting burned so many times I hated my hair pressed. My Sister did my hair in braids, or I experimented myself with crochet braids. I went through phases of braids pulling my hair out in areas from tightness, scalp burns from perms, dryness from overprocessed hair, thinning hair, and lack of hair growth.

After I graduated highschool, I decided to cut off the relaxer from my hair. In August 2006, I did the big chop on my hair. I wore my hair in braids for months after this and my hair grew tremendously. I had always wondered what my natural hair looked like and how it felt, so being natural was very different and new to me. I took very good care of my hair(conditioning, moisturizing, treatments, etc). After a year, I decided that I wanted to cut my hair off and texturize it (August 2007). I thought this was a good idea, because I go through boredom stages with my hair and this style was appealing at the time.  I went to a beautician and she cut off inches of my thick, beautiful hair and texturized it. I wore my short curly hair for months, until I decided to touch up my own texturizer at home. I left the texturizer on too long, so it straightened my hair more than it made it curly. I was so upset with the results, so I went out a bought a half wig that blended wonderfully with my hair. I got tired of wearing the same wig, so I went back to the "creamy crack." I got it cut in a cute "Halle Berry" hairstyle, and wore it like this for months. I noticed my edges becoming thin again, so I knew I couldn't go down the hair breakage path again.

In April 2008, I had all my perm cut off and had another texturizer put on by a barber. I let me hair grow and did not put another texturizer in my hair after the first one. I began my dreadlock journey in August 2008. It took my hair almost a year to completely lock, which extremely tested my patience. Once my locks were locked up, I loved them! I had many hairstyles in my lifetime thus far, but dreadlocks were very different in my opinion. Your hair goes through stages, grows very fast, and forms a personality of its own. Some of my dreads did not lay down the way I wanted, they had a mind of thier own! I had my hair twisted every two weeks(big NO NO personally), so they were thinner than they should have been. I wanted my locks to be well groomed and neat, so this was my preference. I ended up combining a few locks that became weak due to over-twisting. I always had my hand in my head twisting everywhere I went. I did not like how thin they were anymore, so in January 2009 I combed them out. YES, you can comb out dreadlocks, but you need patience and time! I went to braids, which pulled out my edges. After this, I two-strand twisted my hair for months until.... I discovered the wonders of youtube.com!!! I have been wearing half wigs, which are great protective styles. I wash and moisturize my hair once a week and wear my hair in individual braids. I love the versatility! I can wear my hair if I want, or experiment with cute wigs. There are so many websites out there that you can order wigs from at very cheap prices( as low as $15).

Through all these different experiences with my hair, I have learned that MY hair is at its healthiest state when it is free of chemicals. I may prefer my appearance with different styles, but they have been damaging to my hair. My natural texture is very thick and tightly coiled, but versatile.

My strands extrude from my scalp to the sky,
it catches the attention of curious passers-by.
My coils are beautilful and have individuality,
they luxuriously make the person that is me.

MizzExcel :)