I'm Going Natural!
I have made the decision to go natural! I am very excited about my decision! I think it will be a learning experience for me. I initially tried to go natural about 3 years ago & I was unsuccessful. At that time I had no idea what to do with my hair except wear it in braids. It was way too time consuming for me to keep my hair braided so I eventually took the braids out & relaxed my hair.
Even though my hair was relaxed, I often wore textured styles. Very rarely did I just wear my hair straight. I loved the wavy/curly look. Therefore, more often than not, I wore braidouts, twistouts, & styles with curls. Braidouts were my favorite. All I had to do was shampoo, condition, plait (braid) my hair & then take it out. No heat required. I hated having to blow dry & flat iron my hair. It took up way to much of my time.
April of this year was my last relaxer. I originally didn't inted for it to be my last relaxer. It just sort of happened. I was never one to get a relaxer every 6 weeks. I would always stretch it to about 8-10 weeks depending on the condition of my hair. 8 weeks rolled around & I was going on vacation to the beach so I got cornrows put in my hair. I took them out & shampooed & conditioned my hair & I was enjoying the feel of my new growth. I loved the texture I was feeling. I kept my hair up my regular shampoo/condition routine & styled my hair in braidouts & twistouts. Vacation time came around again & I again got more cornrows. By this time it was the end of July, beginning of August & I said to myself, I've gone this long without a relaxer, I might as well keep going. Of course by this time I'd watched a ton of youtube videos with all these natural sistas with gorgeous hair, all types & textures & I realized that was what I wanted.
I needed a plan of execution! How was I going to get that goregous textured hair? I decided against the BIG CHOP. Although, after my last set of cornrows, I was extremely tempted. I finally understood why women just proceed to cut out the relaxed hair. It came to a point where managing the two texturs became very difficult. My braidouts were starting to look a hot mess. I decided to do my hair with Senegalese twists. I thought it would be easier than individual box braids & take a little less time. I searched youtube for how to videos & then I got to work. Initially it did take me a long time to do the style, but, I think it was b/c I was still learning how to do it. Now, I am able to easily retouch my hair & it doesn't take me that long!
It has been 8 months now since I have had a relaxer & I don't regret it one bit. The next time I redo my hair, I will be sure to do a growth check & cut out more relaxed ends. I'm just excited to be on this journey. My daughter, who is 6 absoloutely loves her hair in it's natural state & I don't think she would have it any other way. More to come on my natural hair journey soon...
No comments:
Post a Comment