My hair was permed when I was pretty young, so I do not remember the type of texture I had. However, I remember the struggle of slicking my hair down with jell because otherwise, my ponytail wouldn’t look “right” without it. For some reason, stray hairs are unacceptable, especially in the black community. If you have stray hairs from your ponytail or braids, it’s considered raggedy. This was part of the reason I used to wish I had “white girl hair”, as I occasionally found myself saying. I also often wished that the Hispanic genes my father told me so much about, would dominate and take the wheel. It seemed to never happen. The other reasons I was so fed up with my hair were because it was not draping down my back, it would get nappy and dry if I did not sleep with a scarf, it shriveled up when it got wet, and it only seemed to be silky smooth after my perms every 6 weeks.
I recall taking my hair out of my neatly done ponytails to “play in it”, as my mother called it. All the girls at school with long hair wore their hair out. They always ran their fingers through their velvety hair at least a million times a day. I wanted to do the same. My hair just not what I wanted it to be.
Coming into college, I noticed that almost all of the African girls are natural, but they often wear weaves, braids, or wigs; or regularly alternate between those three and their natural styles. A few of the West Indian girls wear weaves but are natural too. My second year, I began my transition because my hair was severely damaged due to different heat sources and failing to get my perms regularly. I spent a lot of time researching different curling and twist out methods. They often worked. But I was ready for all the damaged hair to be GONE! I began chopping last summer and have not stopped since.
Spring 2015 - Trasitioning; No perm in 1 Year
Fall 2015 - Two Years w/o Perm
Winter 2016 - Cut into Bob &Two Years & some months w/o Perm; (Straightened)
Spring 2016 - Two & a half years natural
I committed the BIG CHOP on July 14th, and really do not want to look back. Granted, my natural hair can be annoying sometimes but it is because I compare it to the “good” natural hair I’ve seen on Instagram, Tumblr, and Pinterest. I haven’t quite figured out my hair and what works, but I will admit it’s fun “playing in my hair”.
In a way, I feel like I am getting to know myself just by learning my hair type and texture. I am growing to love my natural, nappy, sometimes dry, shriveled up hair. It’s wonderful!
