Saturday, April 9, 2011

Why I Decided to go Natural

I have been suffering from very bad dandruff for a long, long time.  No matter what type of shampoo  I used (believe me I have tried many) I was never able to get rid of the dandruff.  One day I came to the conclusion that my dandruff was a result of the relaxer.  You know the drill, relax the hair, burn the scalp, scalp starts healing, the scabs begin to slough off (my dandruff) and before it completely healed I would relax it again.  My scalp never had the chance to heal completely! 

I contemplated going natural for more than a year.  I would start to transition and before you know it the creamy crack was calling my name.  I was not mentally prepared and could not handle the new growth so I would relax it. 

In May 2010 everything changed!  I made it up in my mind that I was going natural!  My youngest sister has been natural for almost two years.  She gave me a lot of encouragement in the beginning and she gave me a lot more encouragement during the transitioning period.


Dandruff has had a lot to do with me going natural.  Now my dandruff is under control and I am able to wear black blouses without the worry of having white stuff on my shoulders.

It's been almost a year since I decided to go natural and I have loved just about every minute of it.  I have no intention of going back to the relaxed hair.

By the way my twin sister (we are identical) decided to go natural and she transitioned for a little while.  More information to come on her journey...

Stay tuned.

Sunday, April 3, 2011

The Beginning of My Journey

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All Natural

2nd to the last hair cut.
I decided to go natural when my relaxed hair started shedding.  My hair was on my shoulders when it started falling out.  I tried cutting it to stop the shedding but it kept on falling out, ugh. My relaxed hair was dry, dull and dead looking.  It seemed as though no products worked to make my hair shine and look healthy. The last time I got it cut the girl botched the job.  My hair looked nothing like the picture I showed her!  That did it for me!  The last day I relaxed my hair was May 29, 2010.

TRANSITIONING

I transitioned for almost 6 months.  I wanted to transition for a year but it was too much of a hassle to deal with both textures (relaxed and natural).  Some of my transitioning styles included braid outs, twist outs and roller sets and since it was cold at the time I wore beenies a lot.



Braid Out

BIG CHOP

So on November 25, 2010 I took the plunge and did the big chop.  My sister did my big chop.  She has been natural on and off for a while.  She did her last big chop around 2 years ago and she does not plan on going back to the creamy crack.  After my big chop my sister put some gel on it and tried to slick down the sides but it did not work for my hair.

Well, hummm my hair, my hair, my hair.  What did I do!  My natural hair was shorter and courser than I thought.  The ends were straight and what was under the straight ends felt like barb wire.  Some people describe the straight ends as "scab hair" but I believe the ends were sraight because of the weight of the relaxed hair. 



After Big Chop


I didn't know what to do with my hair!  I watched a lot of You Tube videos trying to get some kind of idea of what to do with my TWA (teenie weenie afro). 
 
I didn't feel very confident with wearing my TWA yet because I didn't know what to do with it.  So I decided to wear wigs, heck it was still cold outside and the wigs would keep my head warm, lol.  I spent a lot of money on wigs.  I also spent a lot of money on different hair care products but it seemed as though none of them would work on my TWA.


DAY OF RECKONING

Yes!  I finally found a product that works for me, Eco Styler Gel.  Some ladies on You Tube gave raves to Eco Styler Gel so I decided to go out an buy some.  Oh what a difference it made to my hair.  I was able to enhance my curl pattern and make my twa look good.  At first I did some finger coils and later I did some finger twist.  I also did a curly afro.


Finger Coils

First Style Worn to Work

January 1, 2011 began a new year and I said "You know what, I'm going to do it".  I showed up at work with my TWA and I never wore another wig.  I got a lot of compliments on my hair.  At first I wore styles using the Eco Styler Gel then I went to the barber and got my hair shaped up and later started wearing afros.


After visiting the barber


I have come out of my shell.  A lady walked up to me one day and asked me how I got my hair like that (finger twist)  I told her how to do it.  She also asked when was the last time I combed my hair.  I told her I combed it that morning when I styled it.  She said somebody told her not to comb her hair so she had not combed it in 4 weeks.  After I picked my jaw up off of the floor I told her about the Tangle Teezer (I love my Tangle Teezer) and Eco Styler Gel so I hope she was able to get control of her hair.


I'll be back soon with more information....Stay tuned.


All photos are copyright protected and can not be used by anyone without my permission.