I have been "Natch" (lol) for 11 months now.... I've always wanted to be natural for the past 5 years but I was too afraid of my natural state (WHIMP lol). I had always been told that my hair was too thick and that I "needed" a relaxer because without it my hair was too uncontrollable. (I'm a 4b/c-h,i,j,k,l,m,n,o,p!) But I felt like I was being a slave to the salon! Granted, I love being pampered and the girl talk that comes with being around other women in the salon, BUT ALL DAY AND A BURNING SCALP? 9 in the morning til 3 in the afternoon... and broken ends, brittle hair, that can only be "bouncified" by the beautician. Try to re-create the bounce at home if you want to... FORGET IT!!!!!
In my opinion, we as women get so attached to our hair and the significance or lack thereof that it may hold... I felt like my hair defined me. If my hair wasn't on point or the weave wasn't whippin', then I wasn't pretty! (Crazy, I know)... We all have insecurities that we must face or that we mask in the form of something else... Mine being my bone straight hair since I was told that "nappy" wasn't cute....
Moving to Atlanta, I have been surrounded by so many beautiful, confident, natural women... They, in turn, gave me the confidence to do the Nike... JUST DO IT! Granted, I wore my sew-in for 10 months before actually wearing my hair out (I've been wearing my hair out for 3 weeks now.. YAY ME!)
The natural hair community is such a warm and supportive circle of people that I never had the chance to know in my life's travels...
I feel so relieved... I feel more confident now than ever before... This is my "Take me as I am, You don't like it, oh well, you can kiss it, free for all" attitude! I always told myself I didn't want to be one of those "I'm going natural because I'm trying to find myself" people (no offense to anyone at all. All love&hugs here). But, in going natural, I found strength, I found calm, I found power, I found me....
CharriseRenee
"girl!!! this letter had me cracking up!! i do not miss the hairdressers!!! or the burning scalp! ha ha ha ha"
keep your letters and hair journeys coming,
also submit for natural belle of the week and ask belle !!!