Growing up I always heard stories of how I was the cutest little bald- headed baby my mom had ever seen. That was until my oldest daughter was born. Then she was the cutest.
Back to the story. She would always talk about how people would think I was a little boy cause I didn’t have bows and barrettes in. The reason for that is because they had no hair to hold onto. And I still don’t understand that because she always had me in dresses, pink, and ruffles. There are lots of ruffles in my pictures.
Hearing how I never really had hair gave me somewhat of a hair trauma. I wouldn’t get my hair cut because I felt my hair never grew. I didn’t really understand that what I was doing to my hair was the reason it seemed like it didn’t grow.
As time went on I learned what products were best to use, how to properly execute hairstyles, and I feel in love with braids. I started practicing doing hair on myself, my sisters, mom, and grandma. I know what you are thinking, but Porscha this is suppose to be a story about your hair journey? And you’re right it is, so let’s get into this story.
My First Natural Journey
My true hair journey started when the black community went on an all natural strike. Every girl and woman around me was cutting their hair off and regrowing it out so that they could see their true hair texture. They dub this the “Big Chop” era. Then women slowly started just transitioning because to most women that was better than chopping off all your hair at one time.
The first time I decided to go natural, I transitioned. Or at least attempted too. I didn’t like it and ultimately put a relaxer on my hair. Which you guessed it made my situation worse because now instead of dealing with 2 (two) different textures, I had to deal with one unruly and stringy texture.
I knew I needed to change something and I needed to do it fast. I wanted to grow my hair long and I wanted it to grow faster. So then I started trying every fast growing hair product I could find. Some worked for a while then my hair started falling out. For the next few years I just wore braids and sew ins, but you guessed it I put a relaxer on around 3 (three) days later.
However I still refused to let my hair be trimmed or cut. I felt I was seeing results in my hair growth. I was but everything else was starting to slowly break off.
My Second Natural Journey
The next time I decided I would take my natural hair journey serious was when I started going to cosmetology school. At first I wasn’t planning on going natural. I just wanted to get my hair back to a healthy state. I felt like being in school was giving me a new found hair confidence.
Little did I realize I would eventually destroy my hair.
What happened?
One day I decided that I wanted to bleach my hair. It was in its natural state and I hadn’t put any color on it in months. But I wanted to go to a lighter brown color and I needed to bleach my hair to achieve it.
Since I was in school I felt like I was in safe hands (I was what ended up happening was my fault). The girl who ended up bleaching my hair did a great job and I was very happy with the results. Especially once we added the color to my hair the next day.
Fast forward I believe a week or two, I wanted finger waves and the finger waves wasn’t waving the way they needed to. So what did I do you ask. I put on a relaxer, not thinking nothing about the fact that I had just bleached my hair. I went to school the next day and ultimately we had to cut my hair off.
I can laugh about it today but that day I was so disappointed in myself because I KNEW BETTER! Never-the-less it was a learning experience and now I got to start over with the knowledge of a hairstylist.
How it’s going
Right now I am proud of where my journey has taken me. I have learned so much about my own curl pattern and porosity level. There are days where I myself want to put on a relaxer, but then I think about how much I love my curls and ultimately decide against it.
My curls have given me a new found confidence that I didn’t realize I needed. I love being able to say that once I learned how to care for my hair, that I am now able to teach others.
Once I learned that an established routine is needed regardless of the texture of your hair, I was unstoppable. My curls have flourished and although the shrinkage is real, so is my growth.
I hope this gives you the courage to keep going in your hair journey. Whether you are a naturalista or a relaxer girly, taking care of your hair is a must. My story is like so many others but all of our journeys and outcomes will be different.
