Epiphany Moment

Going natural was not an immediate process for me. I took me a while to even consider it as an option. I went natural a year after moving away from San Diego for school in San Francisco. My hair stylist recommended her friend up here to do (relax) my hair so I thought that I was set. But after the move, I started having an unnatural amount of shedding. Every time I combed my hair, a handful came out, I was devasted. After seeing a physician that told me I was completely healthy, and spending countless of phone conversations with my stylist from San Diego who kept telling me things like (oh maybe you need to go in sooner for a relaxer) I just became fed up, and decided enough was enough! I initially thought I was just going to wait until my hair was healthy again to relax again, but then I read this really good book by Tulani Kinnard (I don't know if I'm spelling the name right lol I don't have the book in front of me) "No Lye", where she presented how stupid it was to get your hair healthy to relax it again. She also mentioned how with a relaxer, getting your hair cut will be your signature style, and I completely related to that, and decided that under no circumstances would I relax my hair again.
Still it took me forever, I mean really forever, to fully prepare my mind for going natural. I would always think I looked awful, and that I wouldn't get a job with a head full of coarse hair. But eventually after reading blogs and doing my research, I warmed up to the idea. Very long story, lol...but what started out as a panicked attempt to stop my shedding turned into a passion for natural hair, and all things natural really. I'm now way more conscious of what I put in my body too.

My stylist made the decision for me. I moved to Atlanta from Detroit and would often go back to my stylist in Detroit when I went back for a visit. On one particular visit, I had this cute pixie cut I wanted. I cut the picture out of Essence magazine and showed it to him. He said sure and proceeded to cut. All along I kept saying "remember, I need a touch up, don't forget to give me a touch up". When he finished cutting, he said "let's see how it would look wet" and took me to the bowl and wet it. He then put some product in it and played in it. I wasn't particularly fond of it but he said "try to get used to it, if you don't like it, I'll relax it later. I even tried to pull the "that's not what I'm paying you for". He just took my hand, led me out the chair and said "this one's on the house". That was 4 years ago. It's been a learning experience and I'm still learning what my hair likes and doesn't like as well as styles.
I don't miss being relaxed at all and will never go back.

Melyvette32

I was just TIRED of worrying about the weather, the club, my sweetie touchin' my do, not being able to go to the pool, snoozing on both arms with my head and hair carefully cocked to the side after a trip from the salon, losing my hair line to a helmet hair and tightly pulled pony tail...I could go on I am sure, but MOST importantly I wanted to learn to LOVE ALL OF ME MORE!!!

I went natural because even though I am only fifteen, I know that I have a GORGEOUS head of natural 4a/b hair on my head. My relaxed hair was nice, and naturally thick, but it was BORING and quite generic. I got tired of conforming; after crying endlessly to my mom, begging her for a relaxer, and finally getting one, I realized (after three years) that the hair I had in the first place was the hair that was perfect for me alllll along. From the versatility to the authentic pizazz *she says as she twinkles her jazz fingers*, I LOVE what Im workin' with.
Natural hair has character [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] ....just like I do [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
So why should I be ashamed of my beauty?

What sparked your decision to go natural? Was there a light bulb moment for you, or was it more of a gradual process

Well just a few months ago I was 17 and a senior in high school. I went to a predominantly black high school and I noticed that all the girls had straight hair. Even my hair was straight. Everyone in my family also has straight hair. My decision to go Natural really was more of a light bulb moment than a gradual process. One day I wondered what my hair looked like NOT straight, without the chemicals in my relaxer. I had gotten the relaxer against my mother's wishes once I turned 14. I questioned why I even got it in the first place and the only answer I could come up with was Peer pressure. You were accepted in my high school if you had straight hair, and anyone with non-straight hair was made fun of. I started to research more using google, about how relaxers work. My hair was thinner than it used to be and I learned why, and what the cons and pros of it are. The Pros of being natural greatly outweighed the pros of having a relaxer..and the sheer curiosity of my own hair without any straightening tools. I was afraid of being poked fun at, since I already had low self esteem. I joined Nappturality for that purpose and with the support there, I did the big chop a week after! I was not comfortable at first, the insults came flying as I knew they would. But there was nothing I could do to make my hair different, it was all gone and I had to deal with what I did. Eventually, I just stopped caring about the insults of being the only natural head in school (Thank you NP). Everyone knew I was different in my personality, so why not my hair?

What sparked my decision or at least began the slow burn was on 8/22/09 while I was at a friend's wedding. For some reason I looked at my 2 week old perm head which looked good but I began to realize that my hair was actually dying ever time I permed my hair. Then as the weeks went on I began to feel the new growth and I just loved the way it felt! I liked getting back to my roots you could say - it was exciting to feel it becoming more and more full as the perm is growing out. I also got tierd of hearing sisters in the gym say how they can't work out too hard or even go to the gym becuase our hair is sooooo hard to deal with -Please ! If God crowned us with this hair than it has to be good! I decided at that moment I am going to love my hair and show even my caucasion sisters that my hair is beautiful when its straight or curly.

I love me I just have to see who the me is underneath this perm : ) Its interesting isn't it that most sisters don't really know what they look like because most of us had straight hair since we could walk.

My transition is still unveiling itself not sure when the BC date will be - Im thinking Valentines day seems appropriate don't you think? [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

I decided to go natural because the perm was simply not working for me. My edges were falling out and my hair refused to grow. As a natural, I have growth and my hair is in great shape. I also was interested in the texture of my natural hair since I have permed my hair since I was 10. I am never turning back.

I decide to go natural senior year of high school. My sister had an "accidental" transition and I loved how her hair looked. I always wondered what my natural texture looked like and I was a huge fan of big hair. I got my last relaxer in May 2004 and next looked back. For me transitioning was a gradual process. I didn't really know anything about transitioning so I just kept my hair in braids for 2 years until all the relax hair had broke off. It was a year later that I learned from a fellow curly about resources on how to care for my natural hair. I appreciate my hair the more I learn and I am happy to be nappy [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

When I found out three years ago that I was pregnant with a baby girl, I was promted to go natural, I wanted my little girl to grow up seeing that mommy had hair just like hers. I also wanted her to embrace her african roots and to be able to know and feel beautiful just as she was. I've learned so much about my hair and myself since I embarked on this journey, and both me and my daughter love our cotton candy hair. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

My decision to go natural was based on a prompt from my stylist. I always dyed my hair in light colors and had to wait a little longer for a perm. One day while she was doing my hair she told me that I had a nice texture and should just give up perms. I looked at her like she was crazy. She challenged me to try it. After I started checking out natural hair blogs and figured out what i could do with my hair besides flat ironing, I was sold! I recently celebrated 4 mos natural!

My decision to go natural was based on a prompt from my stylist. I always dyed my hair in light colors and had to wait a little longer for a perm. One day while she was doing my hair she told me that I had a nice texture and should just give up perms. I looked at her like she was crazy. She challenged me to try it. After I started checking out natural hair blogs and figured out what i could do with my hair besides flat ironing, I was sold! I recently celebrated 4 mos natural!

When I was in my third year of college, my hair started falling out. When I ran my fingers through my hair, chunks of hair would come out. It was like I was undergoing chemo, I am not exagerating. I found a stylists and he prompted me to cut my hair. I did and loved how my face looked. I then stayed natural for almost two years and then my father convinced me that he would pay for me to get a texturizer, that was the biggest mistake EVER! Then I had to get a perm because it looked awful. I did the perm thing and all of a sudden, my hair started falling out but this time I couldn't blame finals. So, last July before I went on a mission trip to Mexico, I cut it to could hardly get an pinch TWA. I was foolish and colored it, it was cute but it made my hair very dry. Last May, I cut all the color out and started again with a 2 inch TWA. I will NEVER EVER go back to creamy crack. I'm so proud of myself and the best part is that my mom after seeing my "fierce Friday" photos with my husband on our honeymoon called me and has decided to go natural. She thought my hair was so beautiful. I have always been the one with the "bad" hair in my family and for my mom to say my hair inspired her just makes me feel wonderful. I have an 11yr old sister who is also natural but is often tempted to get some of the creamy crack but I think seeing my mom jumping into the natural world as well will encourage her to stay natural. Thank you ladies for your ideas, thoughts and encouragement. Have a great night! :O)

My decision to go natural was kind of a combination of a light bulb moment and a gradual process for me. I am biracial, my mother is white and my father black. Growing up my mother never put chemicals in my hair at first. My hair was usually kept in two pony tails or in a couple of braids. I had very long thick hair. I don't know what happened between 3rd and 5th grade, but at some point I ended up with my hair just being pulled back in a puffy ponytail everday with the hair at the front of my head not even neatly slicked back. It just looked like a wild mess. In 6th grade the kids used to make fun of my hair and say push push in my bush. It was so embarrassing. So I asked my mother to perm my hair in 7th or 8th grade i believe. Little did I know all I needed was a flat iron to get my hair straight. In high school I continued with my perms every couple of months and started using flat irons. I also started getting my hair braided with extenstions. I loved it I finally had the long hair I always wanted. In the summers I would leave my hair curly but with out product in it so it would get dry, but everyone told me my hair did look nice natural, but to me it was okay. I thought straight silky long hair was what I needed to fit in and look nice. My hair had been down to the middle of my back but when I was in tenth or eleventh grade someone came up to me and said "your hair looks nice cut into that style, did you get the rachel look from friends". I said I didn't cut my hair, so I went to the bathroom looked in the mirror and than realized my hair was falling out and in layers. One side was shorter than the other but I still got compliments for some odd reason of people telling they like the style I cut my hair in. So I figured oh well at least my hair looks nice. That was however my last perm and I started straightening it with my flat iron. My hair did grow back, but it did burn off a few times from putting the flat iron to hot. And my hair was always shedding. In college my hair never grew much past my shoulders but I didn't dare go anywhere without my hair straight or crimped with a three barrel iron. In college I kept my natural hair cornrowed in a different design every two weeks. I received compliments on my hair everywhere I went but I also had terrible bumps on my head around my edges and my hair was thinning at my edges. Than I moved to FL from NY and realized this weather was not the move and my pretty silky hair just looked like a frizzy mess. I also could not find anyone who knew how to do the braided styles I wanted. So I started leaving it natural with gels from time to time, which caused my hair to break off as well. I also found a hair dresser I trusted whose hair was similar to mine. But I still wanted it straight. I soon realized I counld't afford going to a hair dresser every two weeks to get my hair washed and set straight. While my hair grew I decided to invest in a high powered ceramic iron. The first couple of times my hair looked nice but than it slowly started falling out more and more and was becoming thin. It hit me maybe I just need to leave my hair alone. I went vegetarian and started eating natural foods and felt great. So I decided I needed to give my hair the same treatment so I started researching natural hair care products that would work well on black or biracial hair. And I fell in love with Aubrey Organics. I used AO with Jojoba oil and left my hair natural for about three months and my hair started to grow back and stopped shedding. It was phenominal, but than an urge came over me and I got my hair braided with extensions. I thought what is one time gonna hurt. Boy did it hurt [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] . I went to a salon and decided to let the hair dresser wash my hair. She rushed and used commercial products and I would say the third day in I realized my scalp was itchy from her not washing it properly and she had also braided my hair to tightly. However I left it in because my son was having surgery and I felt this was an easy low maintenance style. I took it out after two weeks and was left with a scab filled scalp and thin hair again. It was terrible and this time the AO did not seem to be working. I did more research and around the beginning of this year I believe, I found Teri's website biracialhaircare.org. It was a blessing I followed everything she said and never looked back. My hair has gotten healthier and has grown to the middle of my back again. I love doing different styles though and would get bored from time to time with the wash and go. I found a link to Curlynikki's site a couple of months ago and can't get off of it. Now I usually do a braid and curl(still working on the tnc I cant seem to get it right) and finally feel completely happy with my hair. After reading Curlynikki's about me section that is when It actually hit me that I will never ever straighten my hair again. Her site has also showed me that there are styles I can use to go to work or on interviews with my hair in its natural state and be alright cause I was always told my hair needs to be straight and sleek for an interview. So thank you Curlynikki for helping me become 100% happy with my hair and showing me that there are other women who went through the same things i've been through with my hair.

My sister going natural and sharing her experience with me is what sparked my decision for going matural. She educated me about all the chemicals we were putting in our hair and how it wasn't healthy. I'm so thankful for her because I didn't know how to take care of my hair and she was willing to listen and guide me.

My decision to become natural is probably different from many...I am somewhat of a "forced" natural..You see, in November 2006, I was diagnosed with Stage 2 Breast cancer (3 year anniversary next week!) At the time that I was diagnosed, I had not had a relaxer in 25 weeks, but upon receiving my diagnosis, having natural hair did not seen "fun" anymore. I immediately went to my stylist and got a relaxer and a cut. I hated it! But it didn't matter because after beginning chemo on 1/24/07, exactly two weeks later (the weekend before Valentine's Day), I didn't have ANY hair anyway !! At that point I made the decision that however my hair grew back would be the way that it would stay. Plus, I pleaded with God that if he took my hair, and let me keep my eyebrows, that I would truly give the natural thing a try...He kept his part of the deal, so I thought it best to keep mine [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] When it first started growing back, my hair was very straight, almost like a caucasian person, however as the months grew on, my hair started getting curlier and curlier!! I realized that natural LaTanya was waaay more interesting that relaxed LaTanya (and got more attention), so I decided to keep with what I'd said I would do and let my hair grow the way that God intended it to grow. Over two years later, and I haven't looked back [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] .

For me it was just a spur of the moment thing. I literally said "I think I'll be natural" one day and that was it. In the back of my mind I thought that if I didn't like it I would just get another relaxer, but never had the desire/urge to get another one. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

It was a gradual thought process for me, but once I finally made up my mind it was a wrap.

I wanted to go natural when I got pregnant with my first child. I was trying to take on a healthier lifestyle and wanted to reduce chemical exposure and whatnot. Problem was a good friend talked me out of it! She convinced me that I didn't need to do all that, "Pregnant women have been getting relaxers all this time and nothing has happened..." blah, blah, blah.

So I didn't go natural then, but when my second bundle of love came along I couldn't be swayed. But because I didn't even want to hear it [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] I told only my husband this time around, lest anyone be tempted to try to talk me out of it again! LOL! So I simply stopped relaxing, not even having a real transition plan (or knowing what that was! ). After about 3 months I cut it into a bob and 5 months later my husband gave me the big chop. Haven't looked back since!

In late 2005 I was generally unhappy with the condition of my hair. My scalp was really dry and flaky and I was sooo bored with straight hair. Relaxing my hair just started making less sense to me. So I kept putting off getting a relaxer and I started researching natural hair, but I still wasn't sure what I was going to do. Then in Feb. 2006, I saw Something New. And this is going to sound cheesy, but when Sanaa Lathan's character had her hair epiphany, I had one too and everything just clicked. I knew from that point on that I was committed to discovering this hidden part of myself.

My now two year old daughter sparked my decision to go natural. My desire is to keep her natural so I felt like a hypocrite telling her, her natural hair was beautiful while I continued to fry mine with chemicals. My going natural also marked the time in my life when I felt confident in my own skin.