My Hair Story: Journey From Natural to Relaxed and Back to Natural

Posted by fareed shakir on June 17th, 2019

"You must relax your hair," curtly suggested a family member. "It's time now" she continued. Perfect- As if it wasn't hard enough being truly a teen, especially for someone with my degree of gaucheness (at that time). Just one more thing to worry about- start being self-conscious about my natural hair. Her doctrine was that my natural hair didn't look presentable and didn't enhance my appearance being an emerging woman. Needless to say I complied with this injunction, how dare would I posit my opinion to an older adult? Not to mention that in those days, the mid 90's were the heyday for relaxers and perms. For a lot of, chemically altering the hair was almost such as for instance a rite of passage into adolescence.

So yes, I acquiesced, and almost instantaneously, I acquired my first dose of "creamy crack." I was greeted with a slew of reactions, from startling looks to compliments and straight-up blank stares. How do I own and embrace my new look? Will I ever grow into it? Admittedly, it did have a while for me personally to obtain used to my regular doses of "creamy crack" every 6 -12 weeks. This was exacerbated by constant exposure to high temperatures, disguised as a hooded hair dryer, alongside huge plastic rollers (new hairstyling tools that I'd need to get used to). But the result was all worth it- straight, slick, shiny, and manageable hair... approximately I thought. It took me a while to find out how brainwashed and delusional I was. Your home is and you learn, and knowledge is power. The question is, "When would I acquire the knowledge that will eventually liberate me from the external pressures that sinfully desecrated my fragile mind?"

I soon forgot how my natural hair looked or felt. The curls and coils of my natural hair fibers were as distant and vague as an unexplored galactic body. There is a price to cover the harsh chemical treatment that my strands were subjected to. For something, I suffered from severe hair damage which included breakage, dry and brittle hair, split ends, and worst of most, ALOPECIA (hair loss). The sight of my bare edges evoked intense emotion. Was I going bald? No, I'm not ready for that. In reality, I'll never get ready to face that.

Making lemonade from lemons...

So I big-chopped. I felt this was my last resource to counteract the nightmare from the creamy crack. I haven't seen my hair in its natural state for at the very least 14 years, and what a shocker it had been! I was unfamiliar with its texture, and I discovered it extremely difficult to control although it was pretty short. I then looked to YouTube and other online resources for help. Since my hair was on the coarser end of the hair spectrum, I made a decision to lock it as it were naturally selected for locking. I kicked my "Rasta" vibrational energy into high gear, and in no time, felt like a new person in the Bob Marley clan within their early stages. I began with two strand twists which eventually transformed into tiny cute dreadlocks.

But this would only be ephemeral. I kept my locks for annually before tackling the painstaking task of individually unlocking over 200 dreads. It took a few days to perform this arduous task with the help of moisturizers and conditioners. Inevitably, there clearly was significant hair loss with this particular procedure. I was now "au naturel" and was up against dealing with hair which was unfamiliar albeit being section of my soul and genetic code all along. I kept my wigs close; I lacked patience and didn't tissage bresilien have the time to fight with my strands once they didn't conform to my intended styling desires.

Natural Hair Journey: Highs and Lows

I'm going to be significantly less than honest if I were to state that my Natural Hair Journey has been "a breeze" with pure joyous moments for as long as I've reverted to this state. My journey has been orchestrated with periods of high points and moments of rock bottom self-epiphany.

There were:

Days when my twist-outs had no curl pattern, and just fluffed as if they completely disregarded the hours I spent prepping the night time before.
Mornings when I would have plans for a "fly" coiffure, which remained a fantasy because my hair had shrunken to over fifty percent its actual length and was resistant to my styling attempts.
Finally, just tangled and matted hair like a comb were its greatest enemy.
I cite these examples to exhibit that my hair has kept me in balance several times. In fact, there were many instances when I wrestled with the epiphany that natural hair was not for me. My hair wasn't so long and manageable with loose curls like those rocked by other naturals. I found even other reasons to complain and be unhappy. Why made it happen require so much maintenance, and why were the hair products so expensive?

But how can I truly say that I love myself if I struggled with embracing my very own hair? Can learning how to love your hair be learned? Needless to say this lends itself to other social issues which I discuss in the content Hair Debate.

Within most of the struggles and trials, I can claim that I have already been happily "naptural" since 2010 (when I initially big chopped), and I've learned so much in my own natural hair journey. I'm still experimenting and trying techniques that will assist you to serve the most effective hair game I can. I've also used the prayer for serenity which reminds me of the significance of self-acceptance. Whether it is Afro-textured, curly, or straight, love your hair the way in which it is.