Embracing My Natural Hair

There was once a time when I would feel the roots of my hair and automatically say “I need a perm” or “My roots are getting nappy.” As African Americans we are conditioned to hate the natural texture of our hair and to prefer straight hair over our own curls and kinks. Although there is nothing wrong with straight hair you shouldn’t feel that you have to chemically alter your hair to achieve that hairstyle. I chose to go natural a few months ago and at first people asked “Why do you want to do that?” some even looked at me like I was crazy. First, it was never my choice to receive a perm while younger, I was given one because I was getting older and could no longer use the hairstyles I was given to hide the traction alopecia I was battling (I Am Not My Hair), and as I grew up I was used to receiving one so I kept with it. Second, this was something I was contemplating for a while and decided to go through with it. It feels good to commit to something, especially when it’s something that you really want. People will always have something to say about the choices you make but you learn to ignore them when what they have to say is neither beneficial or positive.

No matter what we do to our hair there will always be negativity coupled with it. I even see African American men saying that they prefer their women with straight hair, or to have a mixed women because they don’t want their children’s hair to be “nappy”.

In that case, let my children have the nappiest heads ever. People forgot where they derived from and I see some people saying “Natural hair isn’t for everyone” the last time I checked it grew from your scalp so how can you dictate something like that and say it isn’t for everyone.

I am glad I chose to start this journey and cannot wait until I am fully transitioned and can embrace my natural curl pattern. There will be ups and downs in this journey as I have already encountered because it’s hard to find what works for your hair without going through several products. At first you may put a dent in your pocket trying to find the right product and I have days where I am tempted to pick up my flat-iron but I learned to throw my hair in a ponytail and embrace my little puff-ball that’s trying to form when I am not having the best hair day. I didn’t do the big chop but I cut a good portion of my hair because it was damaged. It may take longer for me to transition because I am doing the grow out method but I am accepting this challenge. When I need inspiration I look at all the “naturalistas” on PinInterest and Instagram, Tumblr, etc. and tell myself that within time I will be further in my transitioning stage, and further along completely transitioned. My mother also sends me thousands of hair ideas so I have no choice but to stick with it, plus knowing I have support encourages me to keep going. I will reach my 6 month mark of being perm free on December 21st and that is exciting because before I know it I will be at a year. I had a weak point last month and had to straighten my hair when I had bad results from a product that my hair didn’t agree with but in that moment I realized that I prefer how I look when I have my hair curled. I am now completely done with heat, I can’t recall the last time I have blow dried my hair and I am loving this journey and all the new things and creative ideas I am stumbling upon to curl my hair. I have been following these rules and will continue to do so: