Happy To Be Nappy

by IslandPrincess 23rd February 2010, 8:19 pm

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]I have been natural, without a perm/relaxer for the past 8 yrs, but that was due to staying braided, weaved, or hot combing/flat ironing my hair. Then my 30^th birthday came at the end of 2009, and something happened to me- I woke up and realized that I was really tired of wearing my hair braided and needed something fresh, but still represented who I am. I just knew that I didn’t want to go into 2010 carrying the same baggage from 2009 and that included my issues with my hair. The only problem was I didn’t know exactly what this “something new” was going to be. I am absolutely clueless when it comes to hair care and styling, plus I am VERY low maintenance when it comes to my hair. The closest I can get to get up and go, the better, which is why I stayed braided for so long. Then I was hit with this bright idea- *ding*why don’t you figure out a way to wear your own natural hair. *Ahhhhhhh* It was like an epiphany, I heard the angels singing and everything…LOL

So, I began my journey to gather as much information as possible on wearing “natural” hair, which eventually landed me on this site. This site was a God-sent, literally. I was getting frustrated at what I was finding online and sent up a quick prayer and then landed here. All the product information, how to’s, and personal stories was what I really needed restore my faith in my decision. After spending over an hour on the site I finally committed to the idea of going “natural”. To solidify my decision I told my friends (homegirls) what I planned on doing, because I knew they would be my biggest critics, as well as hold me accountable to my decision. There was some skeptism, but they said they had my back, and my best friend said she would do whatever she could to hold me to it, because she was tired of seeing me in the braids as well.

My first dive into the land of natural hair came the first weekend of this month (Feb 6^th). I wanted to do a rough draft/trial run of what my hair would look like. I had ordered my products- Jamila henna, Mendi shampoo bar, Jessicurl weekly deep conditioner, and unrefined shea butter, but of course none of them had arrived yet, so I improvised and worked with what I had- Herbal Essences Hello Hydration shampoo and conditioner, Giovanni Direct Leave-In conditioner, Palmers Shea Butter, and a bag of sponge rollers. That Friday I washed and conditioned my hair, put the Giovanni leave-in on, and since my best friend said she was committed to helping, I asked her to help me twist my hair. So we sat there in the living room twisting my hair and putting the Palmers Shea butter on the whole twist. After we were done we rolled the twist with the sponge rollers (3 twist per roller). Then I tied my hair up with a satin scarf.

Since Sat was a lazy day that gave my hair all day to dry and set, but that night my friends and I had planned on painting the town red and I was going to debut my “natural” hair. Feeling a little anxious as to the possible outcome I took one of the rollers out and undid one of the 3 twist. It bounced right back up to the top of my head. I got a little nervous and called my best friend and told her I think tonight I’m going to end up looking like Annie. Needless to say the evening rolled around, my friends had gathered at my place, and we were gearing up to go out. I started to take my hair down and after undoing all the twist and a little fluffing I fell completely in LOVE WITH MY HAIR!! Yes, MY hair. The hair that God gave me that grows freely from my hair follicles. Not the hair I had dyed, fried, and laid to the side for years. When we went out I got so many compliments I felt like I was saying thank you all night long. I didn’t care if I danced so hard I worked up a sweat because it wouldn’t have mattered. The icing on the cake, or the cherry on top was that night it was raining and I didn’t even care if my hair got wet or that it was humid outside because it only made my hair look even better. Why? Because I was Happy to Be Nappy. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

These are pics of some of the stages in my hair’s life from braided, flat ironed, and now natural