My Hair Update

It has been eight months since the "big chop" and my hair has truly grown. I am very happy with the results I have gotten from my natural. I had no idea how curly my hair would be when I first began. I am still shocked when I look in the mirror and when I wash my hair. I am very happy with the choice I have made. 


In August, it will be two years since my last relaxer, however; it have been natural for eight months. You are probably wondering how is that so and if I haven't had a relaxer in two years that should mean I have been natural for two years. Actually, I decided to let my hair grow out for a year and after that year, i was finally ready to cut the relaxed hair. Unfortunately, I haven't taken many pictures of my hair and the length of it now but for my next entry, I will definitely post some pictures of my hair now. 

Natural Hair will be Televised!!!

Maybe it's just me, but I have noticed that commercials are starting to used more natural hair women. Of course, I think it's great. I love the fact that the natural hair movement is spreading to television. Even shows and movies are using women with natural hair. What do you guys think of this? 

I noticed on the McDonald's commercial for the happy meal, they used both woman and child with natural hair. 

 Well, I couldn't find the original commercial I was referring to, but this one works just as good. My point is that it seems to me that the message of going natural is spreading not just by word of word and videos on Youtube, but companies are starting to advertise it by using a kind of subliminal messaging through these commercials. What do you guys think? Or am I reading too much into this?

How Can I Style This Hair?

For those of you who are wondering how can I style my hair with it being so short and curly. Well, here is a video of a few ways I style it. Some of you have probably seen this video, but if you haven't I hope you enjoy.

http://youtu.be/GSG8wwwMj7s

The World's Largest Afro

I was wandering around on Youtube, as usual, and I stumbled onto this video of a woman that has been put in the Guinness Book of World Records for having the largest afro in the world. This woman has inspired me to continue my natural hair journey. 

I just thought this was awesome.

My Hair Journey

It has been 6 months since the "BIG CHOP" and I can tell my hair has grown quite a bit. I have used multiple products since then but the best products I have used are the Shea Moisture hair line. I love the results I have gotten from the Shea Moisture products I bought about a month ago. These products have made my hair extremely soft and more manageable than it has been. it has even helped my hair to grow faster than its original rate. I would recommend these products to any natural hair women. The line has different product lines depending on the type and texture of one's hair. 

This set is for curly hair.

This set is for thin and fine hair.

This set is for dry and damaged hair.

This set is for itchy and flaky scalp. It also treats dandruff, eczema and psoriasis.   

The best thing about this product line is that women can mix and match the products that works best for them. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE that I can customize the products for my hair. These products are great for natural hair. They don't strip moisture from the hair like most shampoos do, it constantly adds moisture to the hair no matter what product is being used and you never have to worrying about rather or not your hair is dry. For me, my hair stays moisturized all day and it adds so much body and shine to it. This product line is wonder. I would tell anyone with natural hair to at least try it.

The Movement Continues

I want to continue speaking on the same topic I spoke about in my last entry. The natural hair movement is making a big impact in the black hair community. It has also brought up a little controversy about what hair is good hair to grow it out in its natural state. Honestly, it doesn't matter what texture a woman's hair is as long as it is healthy. That's all people of any race wants is healthy hair. For some women, their hair is best relaxed but others might do better with natural hair. All that matters is healthy hair is the best hair.

Anyway, this movement is not just nation wide but world wide. Black women from the U.S. to Europe to Africa are making the decision to go natural and are loving it. Besides my blog, their are multiple blogs websites, and plenty of videos about the movement. Although I do not know what brought on this change in the hair community, I do know that this movement is to better black women in terms of empowerment, encouragement, and confidence as well as getting back to our natural roots. 

The New Movement

The natural hair is an official movement for black woman all around the world that are tired of having all those chemicals and processes in their hair. Some women would say that what influenced them to make the change was a Chris Rock documentary known as Good Hair encourage them to make the change. For those of you that haven't watched the movie, it is about hair in the black community and the products and other things black woman do to their hair. Some of it may seem extreme and even absurd but what he captures in this documentary is true (unfortunately). A quote from the movie said by the black comedian Paul Mooney, "If your hair is relaxed the white are relaxed, but if your hair is nappy their not happy." That statement alone indicates that as a community, black people have been brainwashed in thinking that we have to blend i with society being that the majority of society is white, we have to look as close to them as we can. Even my Mom is guilty of this. Here is a preview of the documentary:

I recommend anyone from any background watch this documentary. It is very enlightening.  

Does natural mean ALL natural?

 By looking at the title of this entry, your probably thinking that I am speaking of natural hair again. This time it's not about natural hair but about natural products. I am pretty sure you have all seen those commercials saying that their shampoo has no sulfates and/or phosphates. For those of you who do not know, sulfates and phosphates are agents companies put in their shampoo that makes it lather; however, these agents dry out the hair by stripping it of its natural oil. In other words, it's bad for your hair. These are just some of the products that you might be familiar with that are advertised as being sulfate free.

I have experienced the frustration this weekend of trying to choose the right sulfate free product for my hair. For about six months now, I thought the product I was using was great, but as I continued to use to product, I noticed that my hair was constantly getting dry. It didn't matter how much leave in conditioner or moisturizer I put in it, my hair would be right back dry within two hours of me putting the moisturizer in it. So what am I suppose to do? I have tried putting oil in it, but the oil just sinks down in my scrap and that is not where I need the moisture. The ends of my hair tend to be dry, brittle and break off causing me to have split ends. This occurred before I made the decision to go natural. Then, it was manageable but now it is apparent to me that my hair is dry which is causing breakage. So once again I ask the question of what am I suppose to do?


Well, while shopping in Walgreens with my boyfriend for a few things, I stumbled over this unfamiliar hair brand simply named Shea Moisture. Immediately it caught my eye, mainly because the name of the brand had the word moisture in it. My interest was peeked. I wanted to try this product but I had already brought the entire product line of the product I was currently using. So, I decided to consult my friend who is currently in beauty school for advice. 

I told her the problem I was having with my hair and she told me that she was having the same problem with her hair. She said the best thing to do is to change the brand of the product or switch to a product line that is all natural (organic). With that advice, I then decided it was time to change from that product to Shea Moisture. As far as how good the product is, I will let you know in a month or two how it goes. 

The Bad Hair Days

Going through my natural hair journey, I have quickly learned that bad hair days come with the territory. There are multiple days when I don't have a clue what to do with my hair. It is definitely a huge transition from having relaxed hair to having very curly thick hair. I have gotten so accustomed to being able tie my hair up in a ponytail when it was relaxed that it is a little frustrating not being able to do that with my hair now, mainly because it is shorter than what I am used to.

When I first started growing my hair out, I had so many bad hair days I tired anything possible to make my hair look at least halfway presentable. Having two different textures was a hassle to work with. I tried straightening it, but it was a loss cause when I stepped outside in the summer. All the moisture from the air and the fact that my scrap would sweat was a horrible combination. Within five minutes my hair went from sleek and straight to puffy and curly (at least at the roots). I tried putting hair gel, oil, edge control, even water but nothing helped. It was no use, my hair wouldn't cooperate. The summer, which was once my favorite time of the year, became my worse enemy. Those were rough times. Definitely.

In September, when I finally got all that relaxed hair cut, I was so happy to finally be able to wear my naturally curly hair; however, the happiness I once felt turned to frustration and sadness quite quickly. I had no clue how to style this new hair. The women I knew that were natural only wore their hair in an afro, but I didn't want to wear my hair like that all the time. I wanted to do different styles. So I quickly turned to my best friend, Youtube, for some guidance. Youtube helped me so much with my hair. That is my go-to guidance for natural hair styles. So, Youtube saved my hair, so to speak.

More Negativity!!!

Hi everyone,

This week, I decided to do a video post instead of writing my post. I hope you all enjoy this post. Thanks for following me.

Nappy Headed Girl

On my previous posts, I have talked about myself and my journey of going natural. In my introduction, I would be also be talking about the criticisms about being natural, the time has come for me to mention some of the criticisms that I have received since I have been natural.


From just the title of this entry, you can probably guess what one of the criticisms I have gotten. I have been asked; Why would you want your hair to look nappy? Sounds very encouraging, right. And that comment actually came from my mother. Yes, my mother. When I first made the decision of going natural, my mom didn't take it very well. To put it simply, she exploded when I told her. She told me that it is unhealthy for me to go natural. Now, if anybody out there knows even a little bit about hair knows that that statement is completely absurd. She really upset me when she told me, especially since I had already talked to my beautician about being natural and she told me that my grade of hair would do well growing it out. I think my mom might have slightly panicked when I broke the news to her. My dad, on the other hand, wasn't exactly supportive either. However, he thought I didn't want to get my hair done anymore because I didn't want him to have to pay for it. Of course, he thinks it money issues. Typically dad. My dad was always proud that his baby girl had long pretty hair so to see his baby girl lose all of that hair hurt him as well. But more than anything he just wanted me to be happy, so he just told me; Just be happy with whatever decision you make. After he told me that, he left the topic alone, but my mom just couldn't. My mom and I had multiple arguments about her hurtful comments she had about the look of my hair. One of my favorites was (sarcasm), Kunta, meaning that my hair nappy. For those who don't know what nappy means; it means that your hair is so course and thick that a comb nor brush can smooth it out. And Kunta was a slave character from the movie and television series Roots. Now that comment sounds very hurtful now that I have explained it, right. Yea, well imagine hearing that for about three months, continuously. It gets old quite quickly. I love my mom, don't it me wrong. I am very close to my mom, but when it came to my hair, just as my dad, she was very proud to have a daughter with such beautiful hair. But now that I am 5 months natural they have both come to accept my decision. 

All Naturale

I have only been natural for 5 months, since the Big Chop that I had in September, however; it took me about a year to grow my hair to a comfortable length before I got my relaxed hair cut. For those of you who don’t know what the Big Chop is, it is an event (I guess you could refer to it as that) when a woman cuts off all her relaxed hair. This is big deal for those who have the courage to start their hair growth from scratch. For me, I didn’t feel comfortable growing my hair from scratch, so I waited until my natural hair was half the length of the relaxed. Once I got my hair cut, it took me awhile to get use to my hair being short. Actually I am still getting use to it. The only thing I liked at the time was that washing my hair and feeling through those curls. I took a big risk growing out my hair and not even knowing what grade of hair I naturally had. So it was a big relief to see that I had a soft and curly grade of hair. 

This is what my hair looks like when I get through washing it. 


I still haven't gotten the hang of my hair as far as what is the best products for it and how to style my natural hair but I'm taking it one day at a time. I am always watching Youtube videos to learn more and get some insight on my new look, but at the of the day I love the decision I made and I LOVE my hair.

Why the Change?

When I was 8 years old, I received my first relaxer. For those that do not know what a relaxer is; it is a chemical that straightens curly, kinky hair for up to 6 weeks or longer depending on the rate of a person's hair growth. My mom took me to her beautician and told her to give me a light kiddie relaxer. My mom was tired of having to find ways to straighten my hair with flat irons or having to pay for her beautician to hot comb my hair. Just in case your wondering what a hot comb is; it is exactly what it is called a "hot comb". A comb made of some type of metal that is heated by a stove (old school) or there is an electric one that basically acts like a curling iron. Anyway, I had a relaxer for 11 years and my hair was beautiful. My hair was constantly mistaken for weave (extensions). It was soft, silky, and long. I loved my hair. 

This is me at 15. I just left the salon with a fresh relaxer. 

I am in the brown/caramel looking dress. My hair was done the day of my senior prom. 

My sophomore year of college, I started to see a change in my hair one night while I was putting the finishing touches on my hair. It was still long, soft, and silky but it was thinning in the middle. I had never had that problem before. My hair isn't thick but it isn't very thin either. At that moment I knew I had to make a change before it got worse. 

After talking to my clustermate, who has been natural for about a year at the time, told me that it would be good for me to go natural. She told me that my hair texture didn't necessarily need tons of chemicals. She convinced me that I could go natural plus I have always wanted curly hair so I decided that I would take  the big step and go natural.

Intro. to My Hair Journey

I am new to the blogging game, but I hope to learn more about it in the coming days and hopefully I will become a better writing as well as a better blogger. My blog is about natural versus relaxed hair as you can probably tell from the title. I decided to do such blog because my friend and I were talking one night and she help me make the decision the do this type of blog. I plan to talk about the different critiques concerning this topic as well as give a little bit of my personal history concerning my hair.

This is close to my heart because at the end of 2010 (October to be exact) I decided to go natural and eliminate the chemicals that I had been using in my hair since I was approximately 7 years of age. If you ask most black women that are currently natural, they will most likely tell you that it is a hard and difficult process, and it takes a strong, confident woman to do it. However, in the end they are able to find themselves and become stronger from it.

Now the journey begins.......