From Natural to Relaxed to Natural- An Afro Hair Journey

In reading about the 16 year old young women being sent home for her ‘unnatural’ hair color in North Carolina, professional hair braiders in Pennsylvania fighting for changes to licensing requirements, and hearing about one little girl’s questions about her natura hair, I thought about how Black women’s hair has been a conversation for so long in this country. I have been fully natural for almost 2 ½ years and at first having shorter hair after having longer relaxed hair was an adjustment, but now I’m loving it all. The shrinkage, the stretching, the braids, the coils, the silk press, the ponytail, and the afro are a few of the styles I rock, and I love the change that happens with my styles just like when I was a young girl.

I asked my mother for my first relaxer at 8 years old and my purpose was not to change my texture but to make the pain go away when getting my hair done including when grandma gets the “kitchens” when running a hot comb through my hair for a short lived style as we all know. After having the relaxer for many years your braids don’t hold as long because your hair is softer than before and for me when adding extension braids my hair would break off a lot, so I stopped getting these styles from the age of 12 until I went natural again.

For many years as the natural hair movement began again, my statement was always, “I don’t think I can do it, I remember the pain.” Now, fast forward to 2020 when the Covid pandemic happened; salons were closed and there was no visiting family. I never did my own relaxer, so not being able to get this done during this time, I was forced to learn to manage the new growth the best way I could. What I realized in the end was, “It’s not too bad, the pain was more manageable as a grown up.” So, once the salons opened again, I decided to stay natural; I did a half chop for almost 1 year before I did my big chop to take off all the rest of my relaxed ends.

In between professional styling I often practice working on my own hair; it’s still a work in progress so sometimes it’s a hit and other times is a miss but I’m learning to love my natural hair in the process. Some of the lessons learned during my journey are:

Accept your hair for its texture
Find a professional who knows how to treat hair in its natural state to help with growth
Find products that work for your hair because not all natural hair products are good for your hair type
Treat your hair like a garden because water is often the missing ingredient when detangling and keeping your hair juicy
Find a community for inspiration whether that includes friends or online groups and Pinterest
Know, your hair is the most versatile texture out there

So, now that I’m fully natural, gone are the days of only having products such as Dax Hair Grease and Luster’s Moisture Max and Pink Lotion as we now enter a time where there is unlimited access to products with some of them being from Black owned companies and others having Black executives/chemist to assist in designing products that are for our hair. In my journey of freedom in embracing my natural Type 4 hair texture, I can say, I LOVE MY HAIR FOR ALL IT IS!

I enjoy using Cantu Deep Conditioner Treatment, ORS Olive Oil Wrap/Set Mousse, Aunt Jackie’s Curl La La, Pantene Gold Series Curl Awakening Spray, Mizani 25 Miracle Milk Leave in Conditioner, and in honor of Black Business Month, a few Black-owned products as shown below. So, whether in it’s natural state or chemically treated, what’s you Afro Hair story?