As most natural hair girls out there, i grew up hating my curls. As a child my mum spent hours plaiting and taking care of it, i had beautiful ringlets and would get lots of attention from others because of the texture. As i got older, i was left to take care of my own hair and i just didn't know where to start.. what did i do with it? I couldn't wear it the same way my friends did... so i grew to hate it. I was very influenced by the people around me who all had straight hair that was easy to run your hands through, it was just easy and wished mine was the same. I remember feeling so frustrated with my hair and didn't think there was any other way to cope with it unless it was straight.
The picture on the left represents my natural curl but even here it was dry and brittle as i wasn't very good at basic maintenance, i use to straighten my fringe (as you can see) and straighten the whole head which caused a lot of damage but at the time i didn't care, i just wanted straight hair. When i was around the age of 16 i relaxed (chemically straightened) my hair for the first time, i was thrilled with the result, it was easier to straighten as the curls were more like loose waves. For a long time i went on like this straightening it, i even use to wear extensions which i could easily blend my natural hair with. I carried on doing this for a while, but eventually because of using no protective products and the continuous straightening the heat damage was very noticeable; my ends would just break off (i even had bleached ends at one point, stupid i know!) and my hair was just a mess.
After having my son Corben, i didn't have the time to straighten my hair at all so i just accepted that i'd have to wash n go and wear it natural. I'd keep on top of it by relaxing the roots and put coconut oil in it every now and then, i couldn't be bothered to style it so i'd just pretty much ignore how it looked. All this is down to mostly lazy-ness, i couldn't accept that i needed to do more to it, it wouldn't look after itself!
But just recently, something changed; i had a shift in my perspective, it was the day after i DIY relaxed my roots with a shop bought tub of harmful chemical relaxer. For the first time, i was conscious of how harmful and damaging doing this was, not just for my hair but for my body too. What if it went wrong one day and my hair fell out? What if i became ill because of all the chemicals that have seeped into my body through my scalp? What if my own daughter (if i were to ever have one) would make the same mistakes i have, what if she hates her curls too? I see Corben who has beautiful blonde locks which are curling into ringlets at the ends and i'm in love with them, i must lead by example and show him that there's nothing wrong with that. I made the decision there and then that i wasn't to deny myself of my NATURAL BEAUTY anymore. I had curls, big thick beautiful curls and there was no way i could get rid of them and believe me i tried!
Overnight, i was a woman on a mission, i wanted to embrace what i was born with, what my mum always loved and tried to make me appreciate. I spent days 'hair-ducating' myself. I found this documentary on YouTube and felt empowered after watching.
I began watching all the natural hair videos i could find and asked people for their tips and advice. I researched products and ingredients that have been rated highly and invested in hair care... for the first time. This was about 2/3 weeks ago and since then i've been very strict with myself, i've started weekly treatments. I've been using 2-3 products every day to keep the moisture in that i know my dry hair needs. Already i can see a difference and feel much happier within myself. I know with TLC and consistency i can have big bouncy curls, i'm hoping that one day i can have boob length curls or even waist length.. this never seemed possible to me before but now i know it can be achieved as long as i look after it.
So i guess this is the beginning of my natural hair journey, like anything else i need to invest effort and time into and set goals that i want to achieve and work towards them. I use the same ethos in my business and life and i'm sure this is no different. I know it's going to be a journey but i feel so accomplished already just for making this decision. I can't wait to share my tips and styles that i grow to love and other things i'll learn along the way.
