Sunday, October 31, 2010
Friday, October 29, 2010
In the beginning.....
In the beginning there were naps, and kinks, and curls, and coils. Then came Madame C.J. Walker. Now don't get me wrong. I don't knock Madame Walker for her breakthrough in African American hair. She really helped a lot of ladies. I'm just saying that it isn't for me anymore.
I had my hair relaxed for the first time when I was about 8 years old. My mother did it. It looked nice. I think it was for Easter or something. After it's been relaxed, you have to get it redone every 6-8 weeks. My mother and I were never that consistent with it.
In elementary school, I had hair down to the middle of my back. Once my mother started relaxing it, naturally (no pun intended) it was never the same again. See, that's what a relaxer does. It changes the chemistry of your hair. Now I don't want to get into a lengthy science discussion here b/c that's not what this blog is about.
Anyway: Because my mother and I were not adhering to the 6-8 week rule, my hair started to break off at what I now know to be called the "line of demarcation". Basically that's little short hairs at the edge of your scalp where your hair has broken off. It's where the new growth comes in. New Growth = Your natural hair trying to make a comeback. Some women simply apply a little gel to those stubborn edges to make them lay down with the rest of the hair that's still relaxed. While this trick may be handy in smoothing those stray hairs into submission, it's not all together healthy for your hair. Some of those gels can dry your hair out leading to further breakage.
I did not use the gel method. I let it go. Which, like I mentioned earlier led to further breakage. I was a kid and Tomboy at that! I really wasn't concerned about the nappy edges of my hair. Who was I trying to impress?! NO ONE! There was of course the infrequent relaxer session for holidays and school pictures and such but mostly I wore pigtails with rough edges.
So junior high rolls around and what happens? The girls in my elementary school who faithfully sported those nappy edges with me deserted me! It was 2007, I was 12 and just about every girl I knew was sporting the finger wave style. By this point my hair was a train wreck from not keeping up with the relaxer treatments. My mothers solution: cut it off! UGH. At first I didn't like it but then a week later everyone was getting their hair cut. I was ahead of the game! Sort of. It was short but un-permed (another word for relaxer).
So anyway, this went on all throughout Jr. High and High school with perms, shorter cuts, and various weaves. When I got to college, I got micro braids for the first time and I looked pretty darn fly in my opinion. a friend of mine did them and one or two of them fell out but she just put them back. No harm done. I had several friends on campus who were wearing their hair natural at this point. Mostly they wore locs. I never paid it much attention. There were several more perms throughout my college career.
I got married and my sister in law is a beautician (out of her house). She permed my hair and did different things to it. I got pregnant and stopped relaxing my hair. You know what they say about fetuses and chemicals and whatnot. I ran out of my usual moisturizer and started putting cocoa butter in my hair. Pre-natal pills really make your hair grow! My hair had really grown! What did I do once he was born?? Permed it. Not consistently. It broke off and I had to start all over again. Moved to Arkansas and decided to go natural. I was doing really well. My hair was shoulder length and very healthy. We decided to move back to Texas. We stayed with my mother and father-in-law for a month. She didn't like my natural hair. I got tired of hearing her mouth. I let her perm it so she would shut up, and the cycle started all over again.
Now I'm trying again. NO ONE is going to steer me off my course this time!
This new journey started October 23, 2010. This is day 6. Follow me as I document it.
I had my hair relaxed for the first time when I was about 8 years old. My mother did it. It looked nice. I think it was for Easter or something. After it's been relaxed, you have to get it redone every 6-8 weeks. My mother and I were never that consistent with it.
In elementary school, I had hair down to the middle of my back. Once my mother started relaxing it, naturally (no pun intended) it was never the same again. See, that's what a relaxer does. It changes the chemistry of your hair. Now I don't want to get into a lengthy science discussion here b/c that's not what this blog is about.
Anyway: Because my mother and I were not adhering to the 6-8 week rule, my hair started to break off at what I now know to be called the "line of demarcation". Basically that's little short hairs at the edge of your scalp where your hair has broken off. It's where the new growth comes in. New Growth = Your natural hair trying to make a comeback. Some women simply apply a little gel to those stubborn edges to make them lay down with the rest of the hair that's still relaxed. While this trick may be handy in smoothing those stray hairs into submission, it's not all together healthy for your hair. Some of those gels can dry your hair out leading to further breakage.
I did not use the gel method. I let it go. Which, like I mentioned earlier led to further breakage. I was a kid and Tomboy at that! I really wasn't concerned about the nappy edges of my hair. Who was I trying to impress?! NO ONE! There was of course the infrequent relaxer session for holidays and school pictures and such but mostly I wore pigtails with rough edges.
So junior high rolls around and what happens? The girls in my elementary school who faithfully sported those nappy edges with me deserted me! It was 2007, I was 12 and just about every girl I knew was sporting the finger wave style. By this point my hair was a train wreck from not keeping up with the relaxer treatments. My mothers solution: cut it off! UGH. At first I didn't like it but then a week later everyone was getting their hair cut. I was ahead of the game! Sort of. It was short but un-permed (another word for relaxer).
So anyway, this went on all throughout Jr. High and High school with perms, shorter cuts, and various weaves. When I got to college, I got micro braids for the first time and I looked pretty darn fly in my opinion. a friend of mine did them and one or two of them fell out but she just put them back. No harm done. I had several friends on campus who were wearing their hair natural at this point. Mostly they wore locs. I never paid it much attention. There were several more perms throughout my college career.
I got married and my sister in law is a beautician (out of her house). She permed my hair and did different things to it. I got pregnant and stopped relaxing my hair. You know what they say about fetuses and chemicals and whatnot. I ran out of my usual moisturizer and started putting cocoa butter in my hair. Pre-natal pills really make your hair grow! My hair had really grown! What did I do once he was born?? Permed it. Not consistently. It broke off and I had to start all over again. Moved to Arkansas and decided to go natural. I was doing really well. My hair was shoulder length and very healthy. We decided to move back to Texas. We stayed with my mother and father-in-law for a month. She didn't like my natural hair. I got tired of hearing her mouth. I let her perm it so she would shut up, and the cycle started all over again.
Now I'm trying again. NO ONE is going to steer me off my course this time!
This new journey started October 23, 2010. This is day 6. Follow me as I document it.
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