Mireille Liong-A-Kong had a difficult time breaking the habit of relaxers.
Even when her hair started breaking, turning thin, dry and lifeless, she still chemically straightened her hair. Out of desperation, she resorted to wearing braids with extensions.
She went from one hairdresser to the next, from a regular lye to a mild, no-lye relaxer, but her hair continued to break. ‘A guy I was dating told me I had a complex,’ Liong says. ‘I was so mad at him. I told him ‘It’s just fashion. Why would I wear an afro when it’s not hip to wear an afro? I remember thinking that I could stop relaxing any time I wanted to?’
It was at this point that she faced the fact that she did indeed have issues with natural hair. So, faced with going natural or going bald, she began transitioning at the age of 32.
After 18 years of relaxing, Liong-A-Kong learned to love her nappy hair, trying all kinds of styles— from twists to cornrows to an afro.
‘My world turned around,’ says 36-year-old Liong-A-Kong.
Her hair grew quickly and she loved the feeling of her naps. Even detractors of her new look couldn’t take away from her sense of freedom.
‘I couldn’t care less,’ she says. ‘I was so happy with my healthy hir.’ In her quest to learn how to live with natural hair, she did extensive research, ordering every book available on the Internet and collecting stacks of black hair magazines.
‘Unconsciously this is where my natural journey really started and it has been a wonderful experience ever since,’ she says.. Liong-A-Kong, who already had published a book in the Netherlands, realized she had enough information to write a book. So over a year’s period, she penned ‘Going Natural: How to Fall in Love with Nappy Hair.’ The 110-page book took a year to write and includes photos of the journey from relaxed to natural hair. She has included photos from her own experience. It also includes grooming and styling tips for natural hair. ‘
I had collected so much information about natural hair,’ Liong-A-Kong says. ‘I believed there were more people who wanted to stop relaxing.’This is the second book for Liong-A-Kong, a native of Suriname, South America. She published her first book in Netherlands on Afrikan hair. It sold out within two months.
