Naturally Ever After

Truth be told, I never needed a relaxer in the first place. But the mixture of a single mom with very little time, a daughter with long and thick hair, coupled with the absence of a father in the house refusing to let anything be done to his daughter's hair - does not make for a good "natural" formula.

Finally many years, and a move to LA, later...I had had enough. Enough of spending ridiculous amounts of money to suffer in pain from the irritating chemicals on my extremely sensitive scalp. Enough of the damage that comes from over processing. Enough blaming my mother for ever deciding to get my hair relaxed. My hair was now in my own hands!

After moving to LA and developing a rapport with my hairdresser - I had many conversations with her about my wanting to go natural. I expressed my concerns and apprehensions about the "transitional" period, as I did not want to have to cut ALL of my hair off in order to achieve my goal. She was able to ease my mind and, when I considered the amount of trust I had in her, we began the process.

Less than a year later, my hair was completely natural and I was lovin' it! I was, however, getting my hair pressed for manageability purposes.

About six months or so ago, I decided I no longer wanted to press my hair...I wanted to sport my natural waves/curls. But in order to do this, I was going to have to get my hair cut. For one, I was going to have to get my hair cut to remove the "trained" ends of my hair...the hair that, even though no longer chemically straightened, was bone straight from years of pressing. Secondly, I hadn't had my hair cut since I moved back East and I needed my hair shaped so that my waves/curls would lay nicely (and I say "waves/curls" because I have "combination" hair...LOL).

Two days ago, I got said hair cut....and I. ABSOLUTELY. LOVE. IT! I mean, it definitely took a minute to get used to it, but now that I have I can't stop thinking about how I wish I had done it sooner! Right now I'm wearing it with a few flat twists in the front and the rest is a curly 'fro of sorts. The hairdresser cut off a significant amount, but my hair retracts a bit, so it's really longer than it actually looks. I'm going to have to play around with different products to determine which will give me what kind of look (currently I'm testing out Aveda's Be Curly and Miss Jessie's Curly Pudding)...so we shall see what fabulousness awaits me!

It's really astonishing how much a hair cut can do for your spirit. I feel...changed...in a way. And - although I totally agree with India.Arie when she proclaims: "I am not my hair" - my newly coifed hair has me feeling like the me I've been longing to be...naturally.