Over the past year I’ve been going through a sort of metamorphosis, mostly where my hair is concerned. Sometime last summer, I made a subconscious decision to eschew relaxer treatments in favor of letting my hair grow out naturally. In the natural community, this process is called ‘transitioning’. I’m still not sure how I arrived at that decision but even when I have difficulty taming my mane, I am confident that I made the right one. For me. Through the doubts and confusions of where I am in the process, what my hair will look like or feel like when I get to the end of it and what I can do next, I am also excited at the possibilities.I’ve been fortunate in the sense that I know that I am not alone in my transition from relaxed to natural. As I have opened up about my experience, I have discovered several friends who have taken different routes but who are essentially going through the same thing. Some went directly for ‘the big chop’ to immediately rid themselves of all of their chemically treated hair while others took a more gradual route, getting regular blowouts and cuts over a period of time. I am doing neither. I haven’t yet decided which route I want to take. But as I work on figuring out my next steps, I have to say a big ‘thank you’ to my friend and natural hair guru, C., who offers advice, answers any questions that I may have, helps me to pick out products, and who featured my hair experience in this post on her site, Back to Curly, which goes into details about everything having to do with natural hair. I have found that in the process of documenting my hair journey, I am learning a lot about myself and about my hair. Happy Friday!
In the DC area, there is a huge "movement" of women going natural. It's really inspiring! If I wasn't so tenderheaded, I'd definitely be amongst the natural community.
ReplyDeleteWith that said, best wishes with your transition! Have you tried going to a stylist to try different things out? My sister has been transitioning for a while now, too and she just recently started experimenting with her natural options. There are so many of them! You should treat yourself to a natural salon experience and see if that can help you in your hair journey!
Thanks, I'm inspired by those around me. I went to a poetry event last week and I noticed that at least half the ladies there were rocking the natural look. I loved it!
ReplyDeleteI've been looking around to find a stylist but I haven't been to see one yet, partially because I haven't gotten rid of all of my relaxed hair yet. I'm planning to make salon experience an occassional treat, starting with the chop.