My Hair Story

I don't have any horror stories about getting a bad relaxer, if you don't count the many times when I felt like my head was on fire. LOL. I just could not stand the fact that my ends would dry up or break off everytime I "needed" a touch-up.

I got my first relaxer at the age of 10 in Frankfurt, Germany to make my hair more manageable for my mom's sake. I went from having bra-strap length hair to shoulder length by the time I was a sophmore in highschool. By then, my mom started working more so she did not have the time to do my hair like she wanted to. I had to do it myself and that was when my prejudice of my hair began. I walked around with crunchy pieces of broken hair scattered all over my shoulders due to daily curling iron usage. And funny enough, I thought this was normal. What made matters worse, my hair is very soft so getting touch-ups every 6 weeks was definitely a big no-no. I got touch-ups every 2 or 3 months so those in between stages were really tough to deal with. You can tell just by looking at my high school pictures that when my hair looked bad, I felt awful. Which was most of the time.

By my senior year in high school my hair was in decent shape since I used less heat but I was bored with it so I got a haircut inspired by Bird and Terry from "Soul Food" the series and I loved it! My mom did not talk to me for that whole day (she was overly protective of my hair), but she eventually came around and complimented it.

In my early 20's, I went though the "ugly phase" of growing out my hair. Despite my lack of hair care knowledge back then, I was able to grow it from 3 inches above my shoulders to 1 inch past my shoulders in just 6 months. My hair was a soldier! Then being pregnant and keeping my hair in kinky twists for 4 months I got my hair just a little above arm-pit length.

I'm Bored Again
While web surfing, I found a website called Longhaircareforum.com (http://www.longhaircareforum.com/) and the first thing I tried was co-washing (conditioner washing) and I immediately saw great results so I was hooked! By then, I said good-bye to "Just For Me" relaxer kits and regulary received professional touch-ups and trims for my hair. My hair looked great but yet I was bored with straight hair and I knew that to reach my full hair potential and length I had to get rid of the chemical forever! I was scared, but I loved how the hair surrounding my ears would coil like it did not have a care in the world. So if these hairs were like that, then why couldn't I be care-free?

So on October 30, 2008 I received my last touch-up and started my transition. With daily cowashing and wet donut buns, everything went great. Between months 6-9 months post relaxer, I felt a little discouraged. I even scheduled at least 2 appointments but then cancelled them when I realized how far I have come. I continued to get small trims in between and stuck with my wet buns and occassional press outs and braid outs. So on a scale of 1-10, 10 being the most difficult, I would rate my transition journey a 3. Patience and persistence were definetly my best friends.

Now I know I'm ready to do what needs to be done to fully embrace whatever hair type I have. On my birthday, March 21st, I will get a "little" big chop and be fully natural.

Stay tuned, subcribe and be ready for videos related to this wonderful journey :).

An Eye Opener

On September of 2008, while surfing the web on a very ordinary day at work, I stumbled upon the beginning of my new life. I know that sounds kind of dramatic, but that is what literally happened, though not intentionally. What started as just web surfing for hair styles for work became a real serious passion to get my hair to it's fullest potential. I honestly had no idea there were other women of color that were working together and sharing a plethora of information about something that was truly unique from every wave, bend, kink, or coil that rest upon heads.

After over 2 years of researching and implementing ways to transition from relaxed to natural hair, I decided it was time to come out of the shadows and show you that with A LOT of TLC black hair is something God has blessed up with, not fear.

This is not just another hair blog because no one has hair like me. So if you feel the same way that I do and say to yourself, "I can't relate to any other blogs because her or his hair is not like mine" then you have come to the right place at the right time. No, your hair may not be like mine, but you know how it feels to be, well...different. Trust me. I've been told that for as long as can remember. Now, looking at 2 years and 4 months of new growth I understand why I'm considered different and I truly Love It!

Again, welcome and I hope you enjoy riding the natural wave (pun, intended) with me.

Welcome!

Hello and welcome to my blog. Join me as I go through my journey from relaxed, limp hair to thick voluptuous waves and coils.

The purpose of this blog is to encourage me and anybody else to accept and let go of old ways and old baggage that was deemed as acceptable by others like friends, family and even co-workers. As we all know, society has painted a negative image about what is considered "beautiful" and now that we are in a new decade in this millenium it is time to share and encourage information amongst ourselves.