Singer, songwriter, and actress, Solange, said it best in her hit song “Don’t Touch My Hair,” “Don’t touch my hair, when it’s the feelings I wear,” and after the love, hate, blood, sweat, and tears my natural hair and I have gone through I feel the same way. While each race has different hair struggles, I don’t think anyone can relate to the, in most cases, excited nine or ten-year-old black girl sitting in the chair waiting for the relaxer to touch their hair oblivious that one day they might regret it.
My Journey
I didn’t really know what a relaxer was or what it would do besides make it “tamed” and straight but I begged for it anyway… and I got it. Five years later I was still getting relaxers regularly and I felt the burn literally (no seriously, because if you’ve ever gotten a relaxer you know they burn). My hair was brittle, uneven, heat-damaged and everything in between. So, in the summer of my 10th grade, I decided to go natural.
While the big chop was an option, which is cutting off the majority, if not all, of your hair and starting over, I choose transitioning. Transitioning is cutting your hair off of chemicals and training it back to its natural state and eventually cutting off the rest of the relaxers. Regardless of the method you take, all you need is a good gel, conditioner, and curl cream.
Transitioning is not easy and it was not a short journey. Although my hair was finally fully natural, I still loved my protective styles, but my brother challenged me that I couldn’t go a week without it. After three years of transitioning and a year of no heat, my curls are finally growing, defined, and flourishing. What started as a bet with my brother turned into a new found love for my natural hair.
What is Natural?
There have been many debates on what being natural actually is and what makes someone natural. For example, I have been ridiculed for wearing weave although I claim to be natural. The only thing that determines whether you are natural or not is if your hair is relaxed or in its natural chemical-free state.
Wearing weave, getting braids, dyed hair, straightening your hair, throwing on a wig, or just simply wearing your afro are all ways you can choose to wear your natural. Don’t be afraid to rock your natural hair anyway that you want and just love your hair period. Embrace every fly away, “nap”, and edges that no gel can seem tame!
How do you rock your natural hair? Show us on social media! Don’t forget to tag @Cfashionista!
