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| Me and my Beloved Iggy Boy |
"Grandma, your hair is kickin like Kung Fu Panda" (Iggy Boy Age 3, on seeing his Grandma's natural hair )
The creamy crack (relaxer) and I, have been in a monogamous relationship since I was twelve years old. Though my mother was hesitant, I begged and begged and I finally wore her down into letting me get a perm. Up until then, my hair was usually in french braids or micros or on special occasions, pressed and curled.
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| The infamous press in curl Xmas 95' |
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| Micros |
I had this idea in my head that getting my hair relaxed would somehow make it longer, or prettier, or more luxurious, or something. (IDK i was twelve, I was struggling).
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| Me in the Pink @ 12 yrs old. Hot mess.org |
What it did however was just make me more annoyed with my hair constantly wishing it was better then it was. I really didn't begin to understand what it meant to take care of it until my sophomore year of college (seven years later). For the past few years there has been this movement in the Black community when it comes to women embracing their natural hair. I initially wasn't feeling it. There are crazy Black natural ninja women on You Tube who are psycho and unrelenting. Instead of talking about the positive aspects of having natural hair, they badger women who choose to put relaxer in their hair or who choose to wear weaves or wigs or whatever makes them happy. They are literally aggravating as hell, so I chose to continue to take care of my relaxed hair. However, my natural hair is very similar to how my mother's was, its not coarse at all.
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| MAMA (<3) |
Though it's a bit difficult for me to manage because I'm not use to it, its really fairly simple to deal with it once you get the hang of it. I feel that because I have been taking fairly good care of my hair and it has yet to grow below shoulder level, that perhaps relaxer are too harsh for my hair. ( I also tend to get a bit over enthusiastic with the flat iron.) I decided to make a bold decision! I will transition my hair for a year, and see if there is any difference in the health of my hair. Since I wear sew- ins about half the time it shouldn't be a huge burden, but along the way I will be relearning my natural hair texture and if I hate it after a year then I will return to my beloved creamy crack. (Its a semi-permanent break up so to speak.) I chose not to do the big chop (cutting off all of my hair), because though I can pull off short hair I fell it may be too emotionally traumatic for me . ( And lord knows I need a break from emotional traumas.) So alas, my journey to natural has begun (As of May 6, 2011) . I have my natural besties, positive youtubers, my beloved weave and good products as a support system. In the end it really is just hair, and its up to each individual woman to decide what she'd personally like to do with her hair.
Here are some products that have really helped my thus far: The Shea Moisture Line
Cantu Shea Butter
Coconut Oil Wide Tooth Comb Weave :)
PS. Imma buy a box of Organics Olive Oil Relaxer just in case it gets real rough (ie. Iggy Boy comparing me to Kung Fu Panda), or if I just choose to spite some annoying ass holier then thou natural women SMH.
xoxxoxoxoxo Chocolate Girl In the City