Why Natural?

Since my BC (big chop) I have gotten so many questions about why I cut all my hair off.  Now, most of these questions come from work where I am one of 3 black teachers in the building.  So, I know that I am confusing my coworkers with curly hair growing out of my head.  I actually have had several people ask me why I am perming my hair.  I have learned to not look at them with a puzzled look on my face.  They just believed that I had naturally straight hair and now they are wondering why I now have curly hair.

Well, to begin with my last relaxer in March 2011 left a very bad and rather large burn on the back of my head.  I also had a lot of hair loss!  I mean the kind of hair loss where you run your fingers through your hair and large amounts of hair are now threaded through your fingers.  I kinda freaked out!  I had my husband inspect my hair to see if I had any bald spots.  This was very scary!

From that day on I decided that I was NOT going to relax my hair again.  Now, I hadn't decided to go natural quite yet, but I was NEVER going to relax my hair again!

So, I started doing some research.  I looked at braids (which I wore when I was pregnant), weaves, wigs, and cornrows.  Everything I looked at would cost me a lot of money to get and maintain!  My husband and I are both teachers and our salary can't support me becoming a salon addict.  I also wasn't willing to give up my Saturdays to sit in a hair salon.  My time with my son is very precious to me and I protect my family time fiercely!

So, I had happened to come across some natural hair blogs and saw some lovely ladies rocking some seriously kinky, curly, coily hair.  I mean they not only wore cute hair styles, but they rocked it!  I fell in love with curls and started thinking, hey maybe I could do that?

I started reading and researching and found out that a VERY LARGE community of black women are deciding to go against society norms and not just wear nappy hair, but celebrate nappy hair!

May 20, 2011 I decided that I would officially start my transition.  My husband kissed me and said "Finally, thank you!".  He never understood why I relaxed my hair.  He told me that he wanted me to go natural because he" loves" the way kinky hair looks. 

For 30 years of my life I had relaxed hair because I was told straight was prettier and easier to manage.  My mother relaxed my hair when I was 5 years old and I never questioned relaxing my hair.  Why would I?  My grandmother relaxed her hair.  My aunts and cousins relaxed their hair.  This was normal and if I went too long between the relaxers I was called "nappy headed" by my nappy headed brothers.

Now I proudly wear my "nappy head" in public.  In fact when I see other colored girls at school with the broken brittle relaxed hair I want to tell them "you don't have to live like that!".

August 8, 2011 I made an appointment to see my stylist and told her to "cut it all off".  I was tired of trying to make my relaxed hair look curly and I just wanted to see what my curls would look like.  So, off it all went and I have never regretted that decision.  I feel so free and for the first time in my life I am actually looking at me!  I was created in HIS image, so the least I can do is honor and respect the beauty HE has granted me in this short amount of time called my life!

Blessings!