It Started With a Big Chop
June 11, 2011, that’s the day I big chopped, after transitioning for a year. When I cut off my relaxed hair I had no plan. I came home from work washed my hair and just didn’t feel like dealing with two textures of hair anymore. So I slathered a huge amount of conditioner on my hair, grabbed my shears and started cutting. Initially, I felt great!. Then I started to freak out because I had no idea how to style my natural hair. Lace-front wigs were my go-to style so I decided to keep rocking those until I felt confident enough to start wearing my natural hair.
Eight Year Later
Here I am eight years later and I’ve just started to fully embrace my natural hair. Between 2011 and now I have had about every protective style you can think of. However, my go-to for the last few years has been braids. I also LOVED wearing lace fronts once I figured out how to make them appear natural without actually having to glue them down. But I had become dependant on them and was neglecting to care for my own hair. So I switched over to natural hair protective styles.
Both styles were easy to care for. However, I loved the longevity of box braids so I started wearing them exclusively. While my box braids looked great, there were pros and cons to wearing them. The biggest issue I had was how heavy the braids were and my inability to sleep comfortably with them. Oh and I hated sitting for 12 to 14 hours to get them done (I always opted for the smaller sized braids).
Time for a Change
This past summer after spraining my neck, (don’t ask) and the urgent care doctor advising me my hair was too heavy, I decided it was time to figure out what I was going to with my natural hair. It was time to break my dependency on protective styles for good. I gave myself three options: curly fro (I didn’t even know if my hair was curly), tapered cut, or sister locs. Sister locs seemed the most promising at the time until I came across an Instagram page for a natural hair salon near me. I was intrigued by the before and after pictures, they were posting of clients. I made an appointment not really sure what to expect. However, that one salon visit was all I needed to build up my natural hair confidence.
My curly hair specialist Kurian, discussed the following with me:
- avoiding long term protective styling
- not using oil to moisturize hair
- avoid products that contain oil as the main ingredient
- washing hair weekly to moisturize hair
- three product wash n’ go
Kurian basically untrained me on everything that I have ever known about black hair care. I was hesitant but after seeing the results of my first ever wash n’ go she definitely made me a believer. Since my visit to Hydra Bar Salon last November I’ve been caring for my natural hair at home. I’ve followed all of Kurian’s suggestions and I have noticed my hair improve drastically.
Coily Hair
I had no idea that my hair was beautifully curly and coily. My type 4 hair has so many different curls ranging from tight to loose. From November 2018 to now my hair has transformed so much. They are becoming more defined. It’s been a long journey for me but I have finally fallen in love with my natural hair.
November 2018 
December 2018 
January 2019 
February 2019
Are you natural, if so what are your hair goals? Are you pleased with your hair or do regret going natural? Do you keep it simple like me or are you down with manipulating your curls to get the best results?
10 Comments
I’m so glad to hear someone say something about neck pain while wearing protective styles. I recently took my “vixen” Senegalese twist out after wearing them for a whopping 30 days. I was in PAIN all day and night. I will never get braids that long or heavy again.
I am over wearing heavy styles, they are uncomfortable. There is no way to sleep comfortably with 15 packs of braiding hair on top of your head, which is how I ended up with a sprained neck. I attempted to put all my hair in a bun on top of my hair and if weighed head down my head all night, smh.
Ok so can I just say you were .missed!! I def checked your page many times to see if you were coming back☺️☺️ it’s so nice to see your articles again.
Beautiful curls.
I appreciate you not giving up on me!
Your hair looks GREAT! It’s so YOU!
Thanks for sharing your natural hair journey. What products do you use on your hair?
I rotate through a couple of product but they are all staples,:
Matrix Total Results Mega Sleek Shampoo and Conditioner
Generic Value Products Teas Tree Shampoo
Aphogee Keratin 2 Minute Reconstructor
Hydra Care, Curlformer
I have been pretty consistent with caring for my hair over the past six months.
Thank you!
You look so pretty. I love your natural hair.
I’m a 4c girl still on the hunt to find something that won’t flake. What products do you use to get your wash n go?