A bit into my life: My name’s Ariel, (yes like the little mermaid) and I’m a 25 year old ½ Puerto Rican, ½ WASP (i.e. white American). I like to think of myself as an avid traveler, traveling for almost two years now, and currently in Verona Italy. Well I go home soon to the good ole US of A, but I hope to be on the road again before many realize I’m back in the first place. Alas, this is another story for another time. Now I’m here to talk about hair!
15 years of relaxers. You heard me right. I’ve been damaging my hair for 15 years of my life, and it is time to call it quits. Chemical relaxing, or texturizing, or whatever unnatural treatment you are putting in your hair is like…like a drug. You become addicted. Addicted to the way it transforms your hair, making it silky and smooth and best of all straight. I know the feeling- I can see my damaged hair and tell myself “Ok this is the last time for relaxers. I’m serious!!” But 3 months roll around and I’m back putting the same white crap on my hair. And for what? I guess for the immediate pleasure of having straight hair again. But at what cost? As with any drug you can see the negative affects that begin occur before long. The dryness that occurs, the brittle, easily breakable ends. And for me the most frustrating, is the cease in growth. Sure my hair is growing from the roots, but breaking off at the ends. I get a trim every 2-3 months, and am constantly on the lookout for new products, but still my hair stays at the same length- just past my shoulders.
I’ve had times when the hair stylist has burnt me- I’m not joking! This isn’t a heat burn, this is a chemical burn, and it is not pleasant in the least. Once, she left the relaxer on the nape of my neck too long and it literally burnt me, almost three weeks of scabbing and peeling! I mean, come on! It was so blatantly obvious that I was doing an incredible amount of damage to my hair, and hurting myself, but until now I haven’t had the courage to say ‘enough is enough.’
But now enough is enough.
This all started around the age of 11. My mom took my younger sister, Melanie, and me into get our first relaxing. I remember feeling excited, sure! At last I was going to have some beautiful straight hair! Prior to this I had long, curly hair, at one point to my butt (mind you I was probably six at the time). It was always a challenge to brush through and manage, but my mom did her best to style and maintain our hair.
I’m sure my mom had good intentions getting our hair relaxed, easier to manage, straight, silky. All sounds good right?? But what they don’t tell you at the hair saloon is how extremely, incredibly, insanely damaging those chemicals actually are. The smell alone, I’m sure you all know it well, makes you want to turn and run in the opposite direction. It’s horrible.
Sure you look good directly after, and feel elated at finally having straight hair again. “Wow I look so white!” I remember always thinking this…but guess what? I’m not white! I’m Puerto Rican dammit and more Puerto Rican than anything else! I need to embrace this side of me, but I’ve never had the courage. I’ve been afraid that it will become too much of an afro- too hard to manage and I’ll hate it. But really what have I got to lose? I’ve watched many youtube videos of other girls who have gone through the transformation from relaxed hair to natural. And I love the results- each is a bit unique and different in their own way, but beautiful and perfectly fitting for them. I want this, and I know my hair needs this. These videos have inspired me to finally make the change.
Why am I writing this blog? A few reasons!
From everything I’ve researched I’ve yet to find a blog/youtube video that actually starts from the beginning of a hair transformation to the end. I assume (and logically so) it is because the hair process takes years to complete. But I’ve decided to create this blog in hopes to show you a month-by-month progression of my journey to healthy, natural hair.
In this month-by-month blog I will post pictures of my hair growth, tell you about products I’m using, new findings for healthier hair, deep conditioning and protein treatments, and daily struggles, …you name it I’ll probably say it! I want this blog to give you as much information as possible, and hopefully encourage others to make the change. In my favorite song, “Everybody’s Free (to Wear Sunscreen)” by Baz Luhrmann it says, “Don’t mess too much with your hair, or by the time you’re 40 it will look 85.” Think about that. How damaged will your hair look 10, 20, 30 years down the road if you continue to add heat and chemicals to your hair? Not very good I can guarantee you.
Embrace your natural hair ladies, and join me on my hair journey J
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