PHOTO CREDIT: KESHIA
Your natural hair journey is a personal one. Everyone’s path is different and your journey will be as positive or negative as you want it to be. Attitude is everything. If you are seeing this as a lifestyle change, you will make it through with flying colors. Having a negative perspective and attitude will only cause you to concentrate on your failures. In order to achieve greatness during your journey, there are valuable lessons to learn early.
Be Patient
Patience is your key to success. If you don’t have patience you will not make it alive in general and you definitely won’t last on your natural hair journey. Expecting to know what to do with your transitioning hair is dangerous, as most of us are still in relaxed hair mode and the two textures couldn’t be more different! Reading about different techniques and products are essential.
Also, it takes time to find the right routine to achieve healthy hair so if length is your main objective, then trying every hair growing notion (Monistat, inversion method, bull semen“> will have you frustrated, broke, and potentially hindering your growth. Take the time to learn and understand your hair, what it needs, and which products it responds well to. Nothing great is mastered within a few days so expect the same from your natural hair.
Every Curl is Different
Everyone does not have the same texture, live in the same climate, or have the same genes. We are all unique and within that uniqueness we may have some similarities, but there are so many contributing factors to hair texture that it’s common for biological sisters to not share the same curl pattern, porosity level, strand width, and density.
Learning what your hair needs will require trial and error, and if you choose to follow bloggers or vloggers to learn their favorite products or techniques, be certain you have similar hair textures and that you live in similar climates. Drier climates require different products than climates with a higher humidity. Someone living with alopecia will have very different concerns than someone with psoriasis.
The verdict is still out on whether you need to know your curl pattern to take care of your hair, but knowing your hair’s porosity is definitely important. Knowledge of ingredients and various products is important as well. The only way to do either is to listen to how your hair responds to different techniques and products.
QUIZ: What’s Your Curl Pattern?
Your Hair Changes
Your hair will go through changes. When I first went natural my texture was very different than it is now and it was different again a year later, and it is even more different today! When you have to deal with transitioning, aging, and hormones, it all takes a toll on your hair and what it’s trying to do. Know that, accept it, and roll with the punches.
We all grow and change and so will your hair, so expect the changes and embrace them. Sometimes it may be illness and aging that create stress, so accept the challenges that life may throw at you.
Love Your Texture!
Love your curls, coils, and waves! Yes, to love your hair in its natural state is to love yourself and once you have accepted your hair and what it can do, you will have brighter days and happier hair. Hating what is naturally growing out of your head is detrimental to having a positive natural hair journey, and hair envy is nothing to be stuck on. It’s great to see another natural and admire their hair, but try not to get hung up on coveting someone else’s hair when you have your own beautiful tresses to admire. Love, nurture, and be kind to your hair and it will grow. See the pattern?
When you find beauty within yourself (and that includes your hair”>, your perspective on life changes and you see the world as a wonderful place to thrive. Your hair needs the same outlook so accepting your tresses and nurturing them will give you happy, healthy hair.
