HERE IT GOES!!!
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It all started on a cold brisk spring afternoon in April of 2012. The birds gently woke me up with their harmonic tunes and the wind rushed from the east to the west in a hurry as the trees swayed as if to say hello. LOL naw I`m just playing it was a typical day for me as I woke up to the sound of my dad djaying in the basement of our house and my mother cooking up one of her famous Jamaican dishes. I jumped out of my bed quickly and scurried to the bathroom in hopes that I would not have to fight my older brother this morning for the shower. To my dismay he not only beat me to it but gave me a dirty little smirk before slamming the door in my face leaving me to drag myself back to my room to wait 45 minutes. As I looked at myself in the mirror examining the bags under my eyes and the once youthful face that I used to know, I glanced at a picture in the corner of my dresser mirror of myself a few years back with an afro that wow`d my peers, family and friends and thought to myself boy were those the days. Then it hit me!! WOW look at that head of hair!!! Alternating looks from the picture to the mirror back to the picture and once back to the mirror I removed my head scarf and was met with a sad, damaged-looking, lifeless, dry world of mess and words cant describe how I felt at that moment. That was the moment I took up my scissors from my dresser and contiplated pulling a KELIS movement, but then I remembered the voice of my father saying that if I cut my hair he would cut my throat!!! LOL.. Not wanting to suffer from the hands of a Jamaican man, I made the decision to start a journey to get back what once was and to keep it that way. Fearful of what my father and family would say if I cut off all my hair, I decided to take the journey less traveled "TRANSITIONING" from relaxed to natural hair. As my heart rose up into my throat, thoughts flooded my mind. Thoughts of failure, hopelessness and insecurities as to what people might think or say or how I would be perceived by my peers. The biggest fear of all was how would I make this work!!! However, inspite of it all I decided to not only challenge myself but to prove that no matter what society or what the media might say.... black hair is beautiful even in its natural state. I put my game face on and spent hours upon hours researching products, videos, pictures, and hairstyles for natural hair. The biggest most important thing that I also research was how to take care of your new growth and relaxed hair and to establish a regimen that would promote the care of the 2 hair type. Even with this new found knowledge, my fears remained at bay as 3 inches of new growth came in within the first 3 months. I was NOT prepared for this :(......One faithful day I detangled my hair, shampooed and followed it up with mixed chicks deep conditioner with a plastic cap over it for 2 hours, then rinsed and was met with the KNOTS FROM HELL. That`s when I broke down and started to cry as I detangled the knots which took over 2 hours, I lost a lot of hair but also a piece of my confidence but as with every fight I picked myself up and reminded myself that its not how much battles you win, but how you perform in the WAR!!!! Well its been about 8 months since I started my journey I have 4 inches new growth and that`s after a 1 inch trim and every day it gets better!!! My hair texture that I adore is resurfacing and I get soooo much compliments about how healthy and thick my hair is getting and that alone encouraged a few of my peers to go natural as well. PRODUCTS USED AND REGIMEN: What one must remember is to moisturize and seal!!! it is vital to do this to achieve healthier stronger hair. Also deep conditioning your hair is equally as important as I try to do this at least twice a month. Everyday or every other day I will spritz my hair with water and use a mixture of coconut, olive, argan and castor oil to seal in the moisture. When it comes to washing my hair I use Live Clean Healthy balance shampoo followed by Mixed Chicks Deep conditioner and Cantu Shea Butter deep treatment masque THAT`S ALL!! I`m not a product junky and I don`t mind trying new products at all but if my hair is growing rapidly and getting stronger why change what works right. I usually braid my hair and wear lace wigs or wigs to avoid as much manipulation and that way I can have different desired hair styles while maintaining and watching my pretty (hair) grow underneath!! I usually keep the braids in for a month or two but still moisturizing and sealing. This is what promoted the growth so rapidly. As for the whole detangling issue I usually use oil to add slip as I finger detangle my hair and that also preps my hair before I shampoo it. I also do big doo doo braids (6-8) before I shampoo my hair to prevent further tangles as much as possible. One thing I can say is that I will never look back and I am greatful for every struggle that I have gone through it truly and continues to make me a better person especially a patient one. I am still learning new things about my locks and plan to make this relationship a solid permanent one :) To those thinking about going natural or transitioning remember that it is your choice and no matter what you choose healthy hair is beautiful hair. Wear it proud and never apologize for the way God made you. Rocky signing out!!!! Holllaaaaa |
