Same Girl…Different Hair: My Natural Hair Journey

I think this may be a first, I don’t believe I’ve ever talked about my love for my natural hair on Confessions. Actually, I know that this is a first because it’s my new found love! I can not recall ever being this crazy about wearing my real hair because I never had a chance to really enjoy the natural beauty of it. Let me explain. For as far back as I can remember, I’ve always had thick hair. I remember sitting in my Bigma’s kitchen for hours as my Auntie put in hard work washing and pressing my hair like it was a full time job. After so long she got tired of the struggle and I got my first Just For Me relaxer in the 4th grade…

The picture above is me in the 3rd grade, the last time I ever remember my hair being big, thick and long. It’s never been that way since. It has always TRIED to remain thick, but it just wasn’t the same. Even with a relaxer, hair stylists would still complain about how much hair I had LOL When I began to do my own hair, it became an absolute disaster! I would relax and style my own hair, have my little niece do my sew-ins, do a different hair style every two weeks…just a MESS honey! I didn’t care about how unhealthy my hair was underneath, all I cared about was how cute my weave looked on the outside…BIG MISTAKE!

(Sorry for the terrible pics!)

2007: I still had a relaxer and my hair looked pretty healthy with it, but it just never seemed to grow past this length.

2009: I had been doing my own hair for the past two years. At this point it was so broke off and damaged that people thought I had actually cut my hair into this style LOL I didn’t have any edges and of course I couldn’t even pull my hair into a ponytail. This was the last year I used a relaxer.

2010: I started going to Khabirah (www.justanaijagirl.com) in March 2010. The picture above was taken in July 2010. My fullness had began to come back and I could notice the difference in my texture… but not a major difference. Back then I considered my hair to be a lot more “nappier”, not knowing that it was transitioning back into it’s natural state. I still couldn’t pull it back into a ponytail.

2011: This is when it hit me. I couldn’t remember the last time I was able to pull my hair into a ponytail and actually have a little “hang time”! LOL I just really couldn’t believe it. For the entire year I consistently wore sew-ins and quickweaves, with proper installation and removal.

Now let’s fast forward to 2012. I’d had my box braids for over a month and I just recently took them out last week. I decided not to get a new weave and to wear my natural hair instead. Boy was I in for a surprise! The last time my hair was straightened was 31 weeks ago and it came right past my shoulders. When Khabirah flat-ironed it and trimmed my ends on Thursday, it stops slightly above my bra strap. I couldn’t believe it! I didn’t know because I never see it, it’s always braided up into a sew-in.

The left side that I shaved off in February is back. The last time I got it cut down was in April but it’s back now…like it never left. Even the hair that I leave out during sew-ins has grown. I believe that comes from not using flat irons on it daily, since wearing the box braids and before that wearing my Shop Madelyn closure.

I don’t really care about the length, I’m crazy about how HEALTHY my hair is. I posted these pictures on my Instagram and the questions came rolling in! I don’t have any magic tricks to make my hair grow…I JUST DON’T TOUCH IT! I don’t bother my natural hair without the assistance of a great hairstylist. No special products or routines are used when I get home from the salon. I don’t own any hair care products (yet), that I apply to my natural hair because I never wear it. As you can see, it was 31 weeks ago since the last time I’d seen my real hair.

In conclusion, I’ve learned that if you are good to your hair…it will be good to you 🙂

Signed,

The Same Girl…Different Hair