As promised, here’s the continuation of my natural hair journey following part 1.

So, it can’t all be roses, right? The negative aspects – actually I’ll just call them the nuances because nothing about this should or could be negative – is how OTHER people react to my hair. I get people, including perfect strangers, who offer to relax and/or straighten my hair. The best are those who try to convince me of how much prettier my hair will be if I straighten it. As little as three years ago, those comments might have swayed my decision. I would have become insecure about my “attractiveness” with my hair this way. However, I actually find these remarks funny. My response is “No, I want my hair to look like this” right after I laugh out loud. Whether it’s a look of confusion or disappoint that comes next, I’m still convinced that my hair is beautiful.

Here’s what I’m working with now…

And I love it! Almost 3 years after deciding one day that relaxers were no longer the “easiest” method for me, I am still learning about what works for me and how to style my hair. Thank goodness Youtube has an abundance of natural hair tutorials from simple people like myself, otherwise I’d still be lost. I probably have a while to go before I would consider myself a pro when it comes my hair, but I’m in for the long haul. I am so happy with the decision that I made, even though initially it may not have been for the right reasons. It still amazes me that liking my hair the way it grows out of my head is considered radical as opposed to letting sodium hydroxide sit on my head every 6-8 weeks.

What started out as a way to manage my hair with limited options has turned into a self-discovery that I am not willing to negotiate because of what makes other people comfortable. Quite frankly, I’m okay with their discomfort. As a matter of fact, altering my hair by adding harsh chemicals to it now makes ME uncomfortable and that is NOT okay.

Tags: Culture, Natural Hair journey, Self Image, type 4b hair

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 6th, 2013 at 7:42 AM and is filed under Culture, Self Image, Thoughts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.