This page of the blog is dedicated to sharing my natural hair journey as well as natural hair updates I learn from other Natural Divas!
I began my journey 1 year ago on May 2, 2010 after my flight was cancelled in Washington DC due to the floods in Nashville on May 1, 2010. After returning home on May 2 I was tired and frustrated so I decided to wash my hair. It was a warm muggy day and I was taking the day off so I decided not to straighten my hair or put back on the lace front. When my husband saw me, he loved my hair and suggested I rock my fro!
OF course I was hesitant because I hadn't even contemplated that notion before. I was a strong "no afro for me" kind of girl growing up.....you can reference my father the retired barber on that one. Now, up to this point, I had already made the decision not to relax my hair anymore a year before when I got my last relaxer June 25, 2009. That decision came as a result of the voice of my oldest daughter who had taken the same stand 1 year prior to that. I also experienced some serious over processing because I was coloring and sowing in weave at the same time. My hair was hollering for a break!
Fast forward to May 2, 2010, I listened to my supportive adorable husband and started rocking my fro. It wasn't an immediate embracing for me as I had to gain the confidence to show my natural beauty and not be bogged down with rather or not people would accept the change in my brand. As a motivational speaker, career coach and music production specialist I was secretly hoping that the world would embrace me. Schools, colleges, churches, companies and the like would begin to see me differently. Surprisingly most people accepted my change just fine. The biggest transformation came when I accepted my own beauty for myself.
It is a different type of beauty. I was used to wearing braids or weave and have longer straight tresses. Now I had opted for a short bushy auburn fro that had multiple textures and drank moisturizer like it thought there was a shortage! It took me 2 months to really come to the conclusion like India Irie says " I am not my hair" and "I am not your expectation" That was especially true when facing people closest to me.
To really start the process I waited until August 2010 to do the big chop! Back to the drawing board of growing my hair! Now, after one year I'm loving my hair. It still hasn't grown to where I want it to be but it has grown out a lot. I'm learning how to take care of it and how to wear it in different styles. I have a great mentor in Amber Akins with Expressivebeauty.com who also blogs under (Legalgrindingwifey). I've learned a lot from youtube videos and even made my own conditioner once. So as I continue on the self-love journey with my hair I'll be sharing even more of what I've learned. Hopefully it will inspire someone to ROCK their FRO!
Stay tuned!
I love it.You are beautiful inside and out Meichelle!! Rock the fro.....
ReplyDeleteThe last relaxer I had was July 2009.I did the big chop after a year. My hair is so healthy and soft. I still where sew-in and braids depending on my mood but I love my fro!!!! It took my family time to embrace it but now when I wear extensions they're screaming where the fro!!!!!!!!! I will post pics of my hair journey on my facebook page.
I love the natural look. I keep my hair short and semi-natural lol. I am working on becoming totally natural. I like playing with color. Work it Chelly! Its cute....
ReplyDeleteSo exciting to recount our natural journeys. Its so sweet how the men in our lives tell us "You have the right to remain curly!" Lets keep educating ourselves on healthy hair care. I am definitely still learning. i.e no more permanent color for me. There is this more healthy color called demi-permanent color gloss.
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