Just kinda putting my story out there....

Hello World!!!!!!!!!!! My name is Alana aka biracial beauty. I guess the best way to describe my journey is long and bumpy.

As a child my hair was always natural. My mom is white and refused to put a perm in my hair for the longest time. When I was in 3rd grade I think the peer pressure got to her and I recieved my 1st perm. I was so excited....but my mom hated it. My hair was breaking off at an alarmingly fast rate. She vowed never to put my hair through that again.

All through middle school my hair was always in 2strand twists. I hated it...hated my hair and wanted it to be anything but what it was. My mom tried very hard to get me to embrace my curls and I was mad at her for not understanding why I hated my hair so much. By highschool I was wearing my hair in a puff everyday. It kinda became part of my identity. To make a very long story short...when Iwas 18 I got my hair relaxed. I was excited and couldn't keep my hands out of it. My mom didn't say anything but she had that look in her eyes.....needless to say my hair was breaking off very fast from all of the heat and product I was using everyday. So I got micros. When I took those out I couldn't believe what I was seeing...the weave actually demolished almost all of my permed hair. All I had was like 2inches of new growth and some scraggally sick lookin ends. I wanted to shave it all off and start over but my brother refused to watch me do that. Not knowing what to do...I permed it again. This time I completly burned my scalp. No water or comb could touch my scalp for almost 3 weeks. If it did my head felt like it was on fire. I was litterally pulling out clumps of hair and scabs...gross. After about 6 months of flat ironing....sewin and glue in weaves and lack of moisture my hair was brittle and terrible. I had my cousin cut all my hair in a bob. I looked like Dora the Explorer and I hated my decision to ever get a perm. By the time I was 21 I could say that all of the perm was out of my hair and I was finally free!!!!!!!!! But I had no knowledge of my hair or the products that would work for me and got a texturizer....grrr terrible move. Once again I was struggling with 2 textures. My hair was breaking and was so unhealthy. Age 23 and I was almost completly free from chemicals. I've never actually ever done a BC. I just trimmed the processed hair out slowly. I kept my hair in weave so often that my now fiance had no idea what my natural hair looked like. It was actully kinda funny when he went with me to the hair store. He was appalled at how much money I spent to get new weave. That night was the first time he ever saw my natural unrelaxed hair. The first thing out of his mouth was "why don't you leave your hair like this all the time? It looks better" And this I feel is the moment my journey to natural healthy hair began.

I thought if he could love me and my hair....why couldn't I? That statement set the foundation for this journey i've been on. I thank him everytime I do my hair and see all my curls in their glory. I know he thinks I'm crazy for saying thank you all the time but I don't think he fully understands the impact he's made on me.

As of right now my hair for the most part is healthy but this past year I must admit I've treated it horribly and it does have some very dry sections. But I feel with a little TLC and patience I will reach all goals I have for my hair.....

Thanx 4 reading my story...ne feedback would be very helpful. I have no idea what texture hair I have and I usually have it in a puff or braidout. I will post more pics soon!

~Live Laugh Love~

That was a great story, thanks for sharing! The good thing is that our hair is super resilient and bounces back from whatever damage we inflict on it.

The best thing to do at this point is to come up with a regimen for your hair and stick to it. Wash and deep condition at least once a week and your hair will be just fine. Moisturize it once a day, or less if your hair gets greasy easily.

If you have any other questions do not hesitate to ask. We are here to help you!

Co-signing everything Latoya just wrote. You've been through some rough times with your hair, but they pushed you towards one of best decisions you could have done for it. Welcome to the board. Jump into discussions and don't be afraid to ask for help. Good luck.

One more thing, I had Dora the Explorer cut, too! Just thank goodness that we had enough hair to look like Dora and not like Boots.

Good luck , and do what Toya said ... also moisture moisture moisture the key to natural hair

@biracialbeauty...
omg lol couldn't read it all....i'm sure you will find this site verrrrrry helpful b/c alot of different topics are covered on this site and majority of ppl are willing to help u if u need help...good luck~

Thank you to all you wonderful ladies for all your advice! My journey has been a bumpy ride but I think with all of the support from you will help me to resist the temptation of Creamy Crack. Right now i'm prepping my hair for a braidout I will be sure to post pictures of the results. Thanx again! And @ Fluer...lol I know ur right at least I didn't look like Boots!!!!!!!!!

this is why I love this forum!! Welcome!!