Pearls & Afro Puffs: Hair and There. My hair journey!

My hair almost 4 years ago

2 years ago

So as many of you know or don't know... I've been natural for the past 3+ years. I had my first relaxer when i was 12 and my last when i was 18. I was very bad when it came to getting my relaxers on time. My hair started out long at first as i maintained it, getting it washed at a salon every week, getting touch ups every 6 weeks. Everything was fine and dandy until i moved to Georgia. It was harder to get to a salon and perm my hair because
you had to drive everywhere (and i didn't have a car when i was 16 like most other girls at my school) and honestly Keeping my hair looking good was such a long drawn out process in general that being in a different state just made it longer and more drawn out. so i'd go 3 months before my hair got a touch up. And I'd wash and straighten it myself, but it wasn't the same. My hair started breaking off. A lot. And it went from past my shoulders to just about above my chin. So I wore it in ponytails all the time. When i was 18 i went back to new york to stay with my sister for the summer (unlike mine-my sisters hair is LONG and relaxed and beautiful). I hadn't had a perm in months. My hair looked terrible! it was super choppy- way shorter in some areas than others. Honestly it was a hot mess. So my sister took a scissor, cut off all the permed parts and said i should grow out my natural hair so then when it gets long enough i can perm it again. To be truthful If it wasn't for braids...I would have died. to me i don't look right with short hair so going natural from the beginning was like death.

I braided my hair for most of the two years. All the while looking up and getting YouTube tutorials (from romie btw) on how to take care of and style short natural hair like the mine so i could be prepared for when it was time to release the beast. And it helped a lot when it was time to take out my braids. There were some things that i didn't like... for instance its really hard to find a natural YouTuber with the same hair texture as mine. I adore people like msvcharlses( a hilarious natural hair guru on the tubes) but her hair has looser curls plus i have thicker hair... whenever she used gel in her hair it slicks down and stays down.

BRAAAIDS!

My hair REFUSES to obey the all mighty gel. I've tried many different types of gel and methods to no avail so slicking my hair down is not an option for me. Although I have to say that not being able to find gurus with my hair type has let me explore my own hair a bit, find what works for me and style it in ways that looks good on me. ( So thanks type 3 youtubers- for having hair not like mine and allowing me to explore my mane)
Something I hated was shrinkage. I was reading deejays blog and she was saying how she cant stand shrinkage and i absolutely agree.Some days i feel like my hair is not growing since you cant see how long it is cause it shrinks so much. But I've learned ways around the hair shrinking, through a crap load of experimenting. (I youtubed different straightening methods...one of which is called banding- and i used rubber bands instead of scrunchies...BIG mistake.)

My fro last year- july 4th

Being natural has really broadened my view on beauty too. I honestly thought ( and don't laugh at my naivety) that only girls with long straight hair were beautiful but now i know better. And it's funny because my older cousin just started going natural, she did her big chop a few months ago and her curls are beautiful. I remember when i went to visit her she told me she noticed that people who are natural have a bigger appreciation for curly hair, and most people who aren't just think that hair like mine and hers are just plain nappy. But its not. It's how my hair is in its wildest most pure state and I am deeply in love with my hair. I wont ever wake up with bone straight hair again and im okay with that. God gave me hair that's more curly than a pigs tail and ive come to accept and appreciate it .