I AM NOT MY HAIR!!

I DID IT!!!!!

Today is the day, MY DAY FOR FREEDOM! I quickly twisted the cords around my blow dryer, flat iron, and curling iron… and put them away. I placed my comb and shears on the bathroom counter, turned on the video camera, lifted up a lock of hair and made the first cut. After the first snip, I knew there was no turning back. All the months of dealing with new growth, relaxed hair and the drudgery (for me) of having to work through different transition styles are now behind me. Armed with my new found freedom, I continued to cut. I thought about making a big production of the whole thing; you know, have a stylist cut it while my daughter videotaped. But at the end of the day I realized that this was journey I needed to take alone. There were only two people in the bathroom… me and the woman staring back at me in the mirror.

I can’t tell you how liberating this is. Not so much that I’ve embraced my natural hair, but the freedom from the bondage of the process. The process of chemicals, and chemical burns. Freedom from the blow dry fry and the searing heat or irons.

It’s kind of funny though…this time I did not say “Why did you do this, AGAIN?” I mean it didn't even cross my mind. I really like the way I look, and I really like the way I feel.

Today is a good day! Thank you Mahoghany Curls for all of your videos.

The video from this leg of my journey will be posted soon.

I CAN’T TAKE IT ANYMORE!

Ok, I really thought I would have the patience to transition from relaxed to natural without doing the BC. I DON’T!! I need to be free of this in-between, trying to figure out how to style my hair while I wait for it to grow out stage. I don’t have the patience for Bantu Knots, twist outs, or roller sets. I’ve been doing the air dry and flat iron with curling iron touch ups, but I have to do this every day in order to maintain a presentable style, and I just can’t do it anymore! I have been doing some research on methods and products. I’ve decided to use the Curly Girl Method, and I’m going sulfate and “cone” (silicone) free.

This week I’m going to make a decision on my initial hair care system and then I’m off to the beauty supply store.

I've got to find me a BC theme-song. I think I like "I Am Not My Hair" by India Arie.

Stay tuned....

Random Facts

I was on the phone with my daughter the other day, and she mentioned that her friends always wonder why she knows so many random facts. She reminded me that when she was young and asked a question, I wouldn't just give her the answer, I would say, "Go look it up!" This was no easy feat. You see, we did not have Google, Bing, Yahoo, Dogpile, Webcrawler, Altavista, Wikipedia, or Ask.com. Truth be told, we didn't even have internet back then! All we had was a huge World Book Encyclopedia set, and I made sure she got good use out of every volume. Well, I now have a young son at home, and he is always asking random questions about random things...like, "What is a runtime error?" Or, "How do I download this mod?" The difference is, I usually knew the answer to my daughter's question, I just wanted her to learn how to do her own research. When my son asks a question, I don't have a clue! I can't figure out why he always asks me instead of his father, but that's another story. I usually say, "Look it up! Why do you think we got you a laptop!" That being said, I thought I would share some "Random Facts" periodcally on this blog, just because...

The Damaging Effects of Heat

I read an article recently on the damaging effects of curling irons and blow dryers on African American hair. The article began by discussing the cuticle, which is the outer-most layer of the hair shaft. Apparently, when left unprotected or exposed to excessive heat, it becomes irreversibly damaged and cannot be repaired. The article went on to say that once the cuticle is damaged, the hair shaft becomes more porous thereby making the hair prone to dryness. When the hair shaft is dry, breakage is almost inevitable. If the cuticle is worn away at the end of a hair strand, the cortex, --- the shaft's middle layer --- begins to unravel and split. Split ends cannot be repaired and must be cut to prevent further splitting. Granted, there are ways to make those ends “appear” to be mended. But once, the damage is done, it’s done!

So, as I continue to explore transition options, it appears that any style that requires heat is off the table.

Want to know if you have split ends?

Visit: http://blacknaps.org/2011/03/25/how-to-spot-split-ends/

Transition Stages - Trimming My Ends…

Ok, so my last post was my first video email on my journey back to natural. I tried a transition style that turned out great on the first day, but my bright idea for maintaining the style for the next day was a complete FAIL. I don’t see how I can maintain this style for more than a couple of days without having to wash my hair and start over. Maybe I’ll run across a video or two on maintaining it.

I concluded by saying that I would start by trimming my ends.

So, here is a before and after.

I think the style is cute, but the problem is, I have to blow dry and fry (flat iron), or air dry and fry in order to get this look (which includes frying my new growth). In order to maintain this style, I would have to wrap my hair, and I hate wrapping my hair (I have sensory issues and I get a headache trying to sleep with a scarf wrapped around my head). With the humidity in our area, I end up with my new growth returning to its natural state and the relaxed hair dropping down to a floppy mess in a matter of minutes, which completely ruins the style. I think I’m getting closer to a BC. I mentioned it to my husband who said I would just go back to perming my hair when I got tired of the natural look. As I said, I've been here before. I start by taking off two inches, and then another two, and then another two, and the next thing you know, I've done MY OWN BC. Then I'm running around looking for a barber to clean up MY mess! I'm sure my husband will continue to remind me of this fact as I continue this journey.

I think I'll take off a another inch or two next week.

My First Natural Hair Journey Video

This is my first natural hair journey video.  This journey is going to be interesting, to say the least.

Enjoy!

I’ve Been This Way Before

Ok, I admit it.  I have been here before.  I did a BC in 2002.  I’m sure I was going through a momentous life event and when that happens my hair is usually the first thing I change.  Well, after that BC I REALLY didn’t like the way I looked.  I didn’t like the way my hair looked.  I stood in front of the bathroom mirror and said to myself “Remember how you look and remember how this feels.  Listen, don’t EVER do this again!”  So, I grew my hair out and wore several nice styles over the course of four years.  Then I did it again.  Somehow I convinced myself that I didn’t really mean what I said six years prior.  I forgot how I looked and how I felt.  So I had to look in the mirror and remind myself AGAIN…“   Well, things have changed.  I have changed.  My reason for wanting to be relaxer free has changed.  The products available for natural hair have changed.  The way we care for natural hair has changed.  So, I think I’m ready to make a change.  In preparation for this journey, I stopped relaxing months ago and I have about two inches of new growth. 

I have also spent a considerable amount of time on You Tube checking out BC videos, tutorials on transition, and natural hair care.  I have become familiar with the language of the “naturals,” like BC, co-wash and the curly girl method. 

So, what’s the next step for me on this journey of natural expression?

Hair - The Musical

Gimme head with hair!  Long beautiful hair!
Shining, gleaming, streaming, flaxen, waxen!

Give me down to there hair!  Shoulder length or longer!
Here baby!  There mama!  Everywhere daddy, daddy!

Hair, hair, hair, hair, hair, hair, hair!
Flow it, show it!
Long as God can grow it!
My hair!

(Excerpt from the musical Hair)

My mother began relaxing my hair when I was very young, and back then all we had was sodium hydroxide or "lye" relaxers.  I cringe at the memory of what felt like hot molten lava all over my scalp (especially in my "kitchen") while waiting for the chemicals to straighten my hair.  Not to mention the scabs all over my scalp for the next two weeks!  We performed this ritual every six weeks.  What were we thinking?! Can anyone else relate?

Over the years I have done the BC more than a few times (although we didn't call it that back then), but my "natural" hair phase did not last for more than a few months.  I have been at both extremes. I have been bald (well, almost bald), and have had my relaxed hair grow halfway down my back.   I had a Jheri Curl before the Jheri Curl product was even on the market (remind me to tell you about my experiments with chemicals and perm rods while in cosmetology school in the 1970's).  My hair has been dyed, fried and laid to the side more times that I can count. It has been been blond, blue, red, and a few colors in between including green from a botched color job (tried to apply color over bleached hair and ended up with a green strawlike mess).  I have worn full wigs, falls, pieces, puffs, braids, and weave.  Whew!

Now that I am a "seasoned" sister (another way of saying that I have lived on the planet for over half a century), I have a different outlook on life.  I traded in my "high" heels for a more "sensible" shoe.  I buy clothes for comfort, not so much for looks (although I do my best to find items that are both comfortable and flattering).  I am experiencing core reactor meltdowns (hot flashes), and there are things happening with my hair color and texture that I had not anticipated. Like wiry, unmanageable grey hair, especially around the edges. Even with a relaxer, I have to flat iron my edges on a daily basis with a tiny little flat iron I purchased for just that purpose. Even after that, they still just stick straight out.  So, I have a "stick" for slicking them down, and a gel-like product that is suppose to "control" them.  But my greys are rebellious and defiant! They absolutely REFUSE to conform.   So, if certain sections of my hair are determined to express themselves naturally, who am I to stand in the way of all of my hair's natural expression.

The journey begins...

It Started With A Visit To My Doctor

A couple of definitions:

Natural -- something that occurs in conformity with the ordinary course of nature.  

Expression -- an act, process, or instance of representing oneself. 

Well, that sounds like a good way to start a blog, but what does it really mean to me?

I started on this natural journey for health reasons.  I needed to change my diet in an attempt to prevent a LIFETIME of prescription drugs with some pretty nasty side effects.  So I convinced my doctor, while she was in the middle of writing the prescriptions, to give me 90 days.  I told her I wanted to try a "plant-based" diet to see if I could reverse my condition (I saw this diet on PBS, but more on that later).   As I began to embrace (yes, it was definitely something I had to learn to embrace) this plant-based healthier way of eating food prepared as close to the way it most naturally occurs and expresses itself, I began to look at other areas in my life that needed a "natural expression" overhaul.

So, where do I start?