How long have you been natural?
I’ve been natural for about three years now.
What motivated you to transition? Were you a trainsitioner or Big Chopper? Why?
I can’t really say I had found any inspiration to go natural or stay natural other than the fact that I was entirely sick of straightening my hair! I’d always had long hair, so the idea of chopping it off genuinely scared me. Ever since I was little, I’d gone to the salon to have perms and have my hair straightened. I remember feeling embarrassed at even such a young age because stylists would say that my hair was “too much work” or “nappy” because it was and still is almost unbearably thick. Though a permed my hair less and less, I continued routinely straightening my hair through high school until my senior year. I realized that with college soon approaching that I would more than likely have to rely on myself to have my hair straightened, and the fact that that’s almost a three hour process was more than enough to make me drop the flat iron for a while! I really adored the idea of not having to worry about my hair being perfectly straight all the time. Luckily, even though I’d been frying my hair for years, it didn’t take too long for my natural curl pattern to be nursed back to health. I liked being able to just let my hair do whatever it pleases and rock it the way my genes intended!
I fondly describe my hair as my biological pillow.
How would you describe your hair?
I fondly describe my hair as my biological pillow. But to others as well as myself, my hair is kind of like a lion’s mane. I have two different textures; the right half of my hair is more wavy than the left half which has tighter coils and tons of shrinkage, often leaving me looking like I got a bad haircut! But whatever my hair wants to do is what it’s going to do, and I’m okay with that.
What do you love most about your hair?
I love the freedom that comes with my hair being natural. Natural hair is so versatile! I love the little kick my big hair can do for an outfit, especially since I colored the ends of my hair. But most of all, I just enjoy that my hair is healthy, because it’s the most important thing.
What has been the most memorable part of your journey? Has it been easy, difficult, or both?
The entire journey is so memorable! It was a surprise each morning to watch my hair get healthier and healthier. I honestly had no idea that my hair could even look the way it does today. It was so refreshing to just go with whatever my hair wanted to look like that day. I didn’t care that people thought hair should look a certain way. Looking back at old pictures of my hair trying to get healthy I’m shocked at how pitiful it was but I remember how happy I was at that very moment that my hair was slowly but surely on its way to health.
