Hair Update | I've Gone Natural Again...
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It’s been a long time since I’ve done a hair update, and rightfully so. I haven’t done much to it, BUT some things have changed. I decided to go natural - again. It’s been almost 2 years since I cut my hair. It was a total impulse decision, but I tend to do this often. If I don’t take care of my hair, it breaks off and starts to fall out. I can’t take the shedding and decide to chop it off.
While I enjoyed my relaxed hair, I just didn’t have the ability to maintain it. I’ve slowly realized that when my mental health is in the dumps, my hair suffers. During my last cut, I decided that if I don’t take care of my hair while it’s relaxed, what’s the point in continuing to relax it? So chop chop!
My Big Chop August 2021
The first few months were easy, but as my hair grew out, it felt difficult to maintain, and all of the negative feelings came flooding back to me. When the natural hair movement occurred nearly 10 years ago, many people were reluctant to accept it. They felt that natural black hair wasn’t acceptable. It wasn’t seen as kept or beautiful. Could I really go to work with my hair in an Afro? What would they say? I already get the side eye when I change my hair. That created a new type of anxiety I didn’t want to deal with. Now, we have things like The Crown Act to help change the conversation surrounding black women's hair in the workplace.
On top of that, I didn’t feel like my texture was as nice as others. I didn’t have the cute curls. My hair is kinky and coily - often seen as “bad.” It seems as though only a certain type of natural hair is accepted - even within my family.
Fast forward to now, I feel ready to embrace my natural hair. I want to rock my natural twist, braid outs, and more without feeling like my hair isn’t good enough. I’m constantly teaching my daughters to embrace their natural hair, but I struggle. I want us to love our kinks and coils. We are always taught how difficult our hair is to manage but never how beautiful it is.
It is my belief that if we learn how to care for our hair, we can watch it thrive. My goal is to start checking out a variety of hair care products to see which ones work best for me. I want to learn to style my hair in different ways, and maybe just maybe, I will finally learn how to cornrow. Wish me luck!
If you have any suggestions for products for my 4c hair, please let me know. I’m open to trying things!