Epiphany Moment

Hola Chicas,

Welcome to the Jessicurl Giveaway thread! For your chance to be entered in the drawing to win the Full Rich Collection from Jessicurl.com all you have to do is respond to the following prompt:

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

Good luck ladies!
nik

Come back here on Thursday, November 12th after 5pm, to see if you won! [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

What sparked your decision to go natural?
I went natural,because I was inspired by the naturals on YouTube. I waned my thick hair back and I wanted to learn to take care of it on my own. I saw that natural hair could grow very long and since I wasn't having any luck with relaxers... I decided to give natural a try.
I had been natural before (for five years), but I didn't know how to take care of my hair. I realized that there was a wealth of information out there that would help me to get the long (and healthy) hair that I had always wanted. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

I didn't make one....my mother made it for me. The only chemicals that ever went on my head was dye

Me deciding to become natural was a gradual realization. I have always loved natural hair and how thick, beautiful and curly it was. I would always stare at women with afros and their big hair and only wish I could do that with my hair. i tried to get the curly look before with "white people" products but it never worked and looked like my african sisters.

Slowly as I continued to battle with my hair, what to do with it, how to maintain it and what it likes I kept putting relaxers in it. I figured that the burning scalp and the scars are battle wounds. Cute Kills, right.

In July of 2009 I noticed that my shoulder length hair was not shoulder length. it was at my neck.. then in August... it was at the top of my neck. I couldn't believe that my hair that short. it wasn't like i cut it or anything.

My sister in law has always been on me for not taking care of my hair and she was always telling things and showing me products but i never actually understood.

Then one day while i was surfing the net I finally looked on youtube and watched some videos, then i went to the sights she showed me (curlynikki.com, nc.com and nappturality.com) and i read and read and looked and awed about all these beautiful women with all these different textures of hair who embraced it.. I fell in love. Thats when I decided... Im going natural. I want to be able to manipulate my hair and do cool things like they are.

So Oct. 14th, I went to the store and bought my 1st shampoo, condition, rollers and satin head bonnett... washed, deep conditioned and rollerset my hair... and here i am today! almost 1 month into consciously going natural.

This is my second attempt at becoming natural, and for me it's much sweeter the second time around! The first time my ex encouraged me, however, I didn't have the knowledge of the you tube videos and blogs to help with my journey. All this while I was still working as a professional model and continued to conform to make that $$$$ cash...I hated conforming, I felt like I was cheating myself and not accepting who I was. This was the most important reason, and other factors of my hair thinning out; plus I've never been a fan of silky straight hair the relaxer gives you. I stopped relaxing May 2008, I don't model that much anymore, but if they happen to call me they will take me as I am-cute, curly, and fabulous. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Me going natural was a gradual process. I actually went natural with the help of a fellow co-worker, who joined me on my natural journey. I grew tired of relaxers, and only started to get them out of habit, or I figured it was my only option. I always stretched my perms because I hated limp hair...I love hair with some volume!! Anywho, I talked with my co-worker, telling her her I didn't know what I wanted to do with my hair...I was tired of my wrap. So she told me another co-worker of ours decided to go natural. The first thing I thought was, ok she got got a good grade of hair she can do that! But, she introduced me to fotki and blogs, and I was hooked! I transitioned for 11 months( the 12th month wasn't comin quick enough lol) and BC'd August 10, 2009. It's the best decision I ever made!

For me it was moving to a new city and not being comfortable enough to trust anyone with my hair. I tried a couple places unsuccessfully and then decided that I would go natural and take care of my own hair. Its been 3.5 years now and its one of the best decisions of my life.

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

I was inspired by two friends, Andrea and Brittany. When I moved to the Chicago area 2 years ago I had zero knowledge of natural hair and I was clueless. I admired these two girls and had so many questions but I was afraid to ask them! So I turned to youtube and did so much research, as we got closer as friends I became open with them and they encouraged me to ask them whatever I wanted to know about natural hair. I guess you could say I had a light bulb moment when I realized that my hair is more versatile in it's natural state versus with a relaxer. When I think about that moment, 2 years ago, I kind of feel silly that I didn't ask these girls more questions sooner. I was also tired of dealing with breakage due to low maintenance with relaxers. I could not afford the routine care that comes along with the process. I am extremely happy with my natural hair!

Good luck to all the ladies entering this contest.

I have been toying with the idea of being natural for about 2 years. My best friend did the plunge without me and she is now one of my hair idols. I just wasn't ready. Every six weeks I would feel like a failure when I would go back to my stylist and beg for a relaxer. However, everytime she did it I felt disappointed that I just couldn't commit to being natural. I was so scared about what everyone would say and what people would think about me. I had some negative people in my ear telling me that my idea of going natural was crazy. How I didn't have the hair for it...or how I would miss my hair. Then last month I found your website! I fell in love with your hair and your site I called everyone I know to tell them check out this site. CurlyNikki...you are an inspiration and such an awesome vessel of knowledge. Every day I now go on your site to see what's going on in your world. I really think you and your site gave me the push I needed. So two weeks ago....I just decided to just do it already. To stop letting other people control my view of me and what I should do. I walked in to my hair stylist and I made a declaration...no more creamy crack. I was sick of the addiction. I was going to get off of it once and for all. That day I did it! Good bye blonde bob length hair and hello my short natural. I BC'd!!! I am so happy I did. I think if I didn't just cut it I would have never done it. The only problem is I haven't found the right products yet for my hair. I so would love to try Jessicurl and had actually researched it but I can't keep dumping money into products right now. Regardless of whether or not I win, I just want to say thank you CurlyNikki you really changed my life.

I've always wondered what my natural texture looked like. About 3 years ago I moved to Chicago for grad school and decided since no one knew me it was time to try something new (and having a professional relax my hair was not in the budget), thus I began growing it out. Haven't looked back yet!

I had a friend transitioning so I got intrigued. In July I started asking her questions and instead of answering some she said "I'll send you a website, and from there you will find a wealth of information and plenty of other websites." She emailed me a link to www.curlynikki.com. I read the entire site, start to finish on a Sunday morning.

I BC'd on 8/29/09

The rest is HISTORY.

~Skeeta

me going natural was a way for me to grown my hair thick again, and ensure that my hair would be safe during my college days...i knew some grl on campus would be doing my hair, and i figured that if they didnt have to slap a perm in my hair, then i would be better off...

gradually grew my hair out but i struggled with taking care of two drastic textures...and i eventually chopped the ends...6 yrs strong now...

My A-Ha moment wasn't really a moment it was a A-Ha 3 months. I have always LOVED hair and I thought the longer and straighter the better...WRONG! I am currently almost done transitioning and am in love with my "new" hair. Around March 08 I found a new beautician with this beautiful huge hair and one day I would go in and it would be straight and the next time a funky fro and I loved it. I was having issues with my edges breaking off and I was just so frustrated that I told her and asked her if relaxing it had anything to do with it and she said possibly, I asked her what were my options and she told me her secret...she's natural!!!!! She told me how versitle it is and ALL the up's and I was hooked. I started researching and seeing all of the possiblities and my decision was made. My last relaxer was May 2008 and I haven't touched the "creamy crack" since. In fact, I am doing my BC next week and I can't wait to be able to wash, twist, and go! I've straightened once and I can see the difference of how healthy my natural hair is compared to the permed ends, it's so much shinier and beautiful. With the help of my beloved beautician and curlynikki.com my transition wasn't as bad as I thought. I did have those days where I thought I needed to head to the beauty supply but, I didn't go! My journey has been so painless I've even convinced my mom to stop relaxing her hair. We got another one!!!!!!!!!!!YAY! [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

For me it was just growing tired of dry, damaged hair and not being able to come in contact with a hair dresser that I trusted or had confidence in. I decided I wasn't going to put anymore chemicals in my hair after my last relaxer in March 2007. My hair is naturally fine, delicate, fragile, etc., so it didn't make sense to me to put something on my hair that left sores on my scalp.

I hadn't yet discovered the wealth of information and various communities on the Internet that supported healthy hair practices. I just knew I didn't want to hurt my hair with chemicals anymore. I decided to wear phony ponies, wigs, braids, and the like while growing out the chemicals. I had no idea what I was doing or what I was going to do. I was never taught to wear my in it's natural state...never taught healthy hair practices. All the while, every week, every month, hubby hounding me about wearing my hair. He doesn't care too much for wigs, weaves, etc. Every once in a while he doesn't mind but he would have been totally satisfied with me wearing the hair that grew from my scalp, which really helped with my decision to stick with staying natural.

Somehow around August/September of 2008 I discovered LHCF and then came BHM, and then Fotkis, and so on and so on. At that time I learned the term 'Big Chop' and cut the remainder of chemicals off at the beginning of Sept 2008. And I've been going (growing) strong ever since!

My extreme love for my hair has grown tremendously and I have gained a self worth that I didn't have before (or it was just lying dormant). Taking care of my hair in a healthy way and seeing it grow like never before gives me unexplainable and overwhelming feelings. I feel special...set a part. A feeling I know only my natural sisters feel. I'll never go back to the way things were. Going natural was one of the BEST decisions I have ever made in my entire life...and it's for life! [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Kristy

I've been entertaining the thought of going natural for over 5 years. Five years ago, I transitioned for 9 months and then broke down and permed my hair because at the time, I had an event to go to and didn't know what to do with my hair. This time around, it's been about 6 months of transitioning and I'm holding strong. I always hated perming my hair. After years of chemical abuse, my hair lost all of its vitality and no matter what efforts I take to bring it back to life, my hair still always looks dead. Therefore, I'm done with all chemicals whatsoever. No perms, no color, just natural curls!!!

Hello!!

i lived in los angeles, california until the age of 10. while living in Los Angeles, we lived in a Belizean community because of our Belizean heritage. Most of the Belizean girls never really got our hair relaxed because our hair(and thus, our heritage) was always celebrated for it being THICKER than a forest, long and varied grades of textures. (HOWEVER, perms, weaves, wigs, etc are an interesting situation for alot of older Belizean women that i shall touch on some other time due to the complicated dynamics). My beautician would always say that I never needed a perm.

My father's job relocated us to Raleigh, North Carolina when I was 10, and this is where my logic became askew. I was teased by some of the Black girls for my hair. I remember they used to yank my hair when I used to have it out. I just wanted to be accepted, especially since I had moved, and I had no friends that looked like me. Regardless, my parents did tell me that my hair was so pretty, but peer pressure is motha... Although my mother would press my hair as the years passed, I still wanted to gain full acceptance amongst most of the Black students in my all-white high school. I had white friends, but I wanted to feel the camaraderie with other Black female students. Sadly, my low self esteem caved into the notion that most of the popular Black female students had straight, relaxed hair. No matter how my hair looked healthy when pressed, I was just determined to have the relaxed hair because i thought it was better than having pressed hair. I begged and begged my parents for the relaxer. They were totally against it, especially my father. My mother finally caved in. She did tell me an old Belizean/Caribbean saying, "that i had an ear to hear, but an a@@ to feel." So, I got my first relaxer at the age of 16. I was still NOT miss popularity, though. (side note: i know this logic sounds crazy, but that was my logic).

It was more of a gradual process to get off of the creamy crack. I got my last perm October of 2003(when i was 21). Initially, I wasn't thinking about going natural to reclaim my roots (no pun intended?). instead, it was because of a perm that had gone bad!! my hair didn't do what it was supposed to do. so, i just said, "F this. i am going to not perm my hair every again!". so, i just grew it out over a 2 year period. i wore braidouts(via cornrows) and clipped gradually. i didn't realize i was 'going natural' (i know, am slow...am just weird like that). eventually, i realized that i was going natural, but i didn't realize there was a proper way of taking care of natural hair. i just washed, conditioned and used the same pink lotion for my cornrows (gasp) that was used to maintain my natural hair when i was younger. i realized natural hair needs a conducive regime earlier this year. so since, i have been on a quest in finding the right regime for my hair. during my journey, i realized the ramifications of going natural on our minds, body and spirits within and out side the black Diaspora are infinitely boundless.

SO, WHAT IS THE MORAL OF MY STORY: DON'T MIND WHAT OTHER PEOPLE ARE DOING, BUT DO THE YOU THAT GOD INTENDED YOU TO BE

What sparked my decision: When won of my caucasian classmates asked if my hair was naturally straight, LOL. I kinda stared at her, like is she serious, then I realized she was. I explained that I flat iron/straighten my hair like she does or it's big and curly...
Lightbulb moment: I realized that big and curly is amazing. That night I stayed up for hours on youtube devising a way to style my multi-textured, flat-iron damaged wet hair! I bc'ed a month later to get rid of damaged ends.

My classmates were shocked when I came to school (as the only black girl) with this huge curly hair... They loved it, more than I did almost, LOL. For my last 2 months of nursing school I had to answer questions from classmates and professors about my hair!

There were a couple premature sparks that lead to the final big spark. The first was arriving to college and seeing so many beautiful textures - some permed some not but all beautiful. It made me curious about my own hair and why we even needed perms in the first place. The second was also related to arriving to college: in Memphis it costs me $50 to get a relaxer. In DC it costs $75 plus I had to pay extra just to get a deep condition! Sooo... I began stretching. The final spark came the last time I got a relaxer - I didn't really want to get it in the first place but then when I got it and my hair was so slick straight and so think I IMMEDIATELY regretted it and haven't gotten another one since....

And this wasn't a spark but it was like adding wood to the fire - my little sister is 10 and I do NOT want her to get a relaxer in her hair but how could I tell her not to if I'm still doing it... So there goes my journey to my love affair with my curls!

It never occurred to me that natural hair was even an option. My mother and grandmother were both beauticians so that creamy crack was always around. I got my hair permed at an early age and my mom would always say that if i went too long without a touch up my hair would break off. Of course no one wants that so I just relaxed. I've always liked big hair and hated the "flat" look relaxers left me for a couple of weeks. My favorite part of the process was when my new growth would begin to peek through. So it would only make sense that I would eventually want my entire head this way. lol One day one of my girlfriends told me her plans to transition and it was a wrap. Now our entire group of friends are natural or in the transition to natural.

What sparked your decision to go natural?
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IT'S A HORROR FULL STORY...

Well, I never had it in my mind to go natural at all. It was never in my train of thought and I never thought about ending my relaxer. However, one day my ex-boyfriend and I were taking a walk, and my hair was curly(rollers) and at the time we were just dating and hanging out getting to know each other better and he asked:
"Is this your hair naturally?" - which I thought was a dumb question, but people tend to assume that I am mixed with asian, when I am not... so I guess it made some sort of sense. I replied "No, my hair is really thick. It's nice, natural, however if you put your hand in my fro, you may never see it again.". So he nodded his head and laughed and asked "if it's nice why do you perm it?". I replied, "I always break my combs, and taking care of it is a hassle. So a perm is absolutely necessary." He gave me a disappointed look as if what I had just said was degrading or something. He gave me a mini lecture about nothing being wrong with natural black hair.

I felt like poop after that conversation, however I wasn't stopping my relaxer.

It was until one afternoon I headed to the salon for a relaxer session, I was too busy to get a touch up for a month and a half almost. So I was OVERDUE. I went in the chair and I already knew the deal, so I sat in the chair and let the magic hands do their duty on my head. Now mind you.. I learn from all my mistakes so I never scratched my head or did anything to it that would cause my scalp to burn during the relaxing process. However, after a minute of her putting it in it started to BURN LIKE A REALL MOTHA(shutyomouth)!!!
So i asked her kindly if she could rinse it out or something, instead she sprayed my scalp with Olive Oil Sheen. It worked for a minute, however it was burning EVERYWHERE as she finished and all i wanted to do was WASH IT THE EFF OUT!!
I asked her kindly if she could rinse me, since I was in SO MUCH PAIN. She said "let it sit for a while"
I did as she said and it burned and burned until I STARTED CRYING from the pain, it was endless I tell you. ENDLESS!

She finally noticed I was BALLING MY EYES OUT and she rinsed me.
Rinsed - still burned.
Shampooed - still burning
Rinse 2 - burning
Condition - burning
rinse 3 - burning
rinse 4 - burning
rinse with cold water 5 - burning.
Under the dryer - burning
Getting it styled - burning
Going Home - burning
FOR THREE WEEKS MY SCALP WAS STILL ON FIRE.
Until one day I said "screw it, i am never perming my hair EVER AGAIN!!" But before I officially made that decision I called m mother to notify her, she said "go ahead, as long as you don't chop off everything, wait for it to grow first.". I did as she said after rinsing my hair at home. First thing I did was search youtube and research info on how to take care of my natural hair as it grew. I got knowledge and even made a blog.
It was kind of tough, since I am surrounded by highschool peers who may start talking smack, however everyone ended up loving my BC. I thought, maybe I was too young (i was 16yrs old), and maybe I should wait... but I couldn't bare thinking about the pain again.

Since then I never want to see or smell another relaxer EVER! it's like traumatic.

THE END

I went natural back in 1993 after I realized I couldn't afford the beauty shop on my measly salary (WDC). At first I tried to do it at home, than I tried to texturize my hair but finally realized my hair is healthy and looks thicker when natural. My hair is lank and straight and very thin so it 'takes' a perm easy since I don't have much hair!

I at times get frustrated that my hair doesn't look like the models or even my sisters but after finding your site it has been a huge help. I learned about henna, that the products didn't have enough moisture and just how to care for my hair!