My Natural Hair Anniversary

It’s been about a year since I decided to give up wearing protective styles and learned to care for my natural hair. I’ve been natural since 2010 but I only started to wear my curls last year. I had so many excuses why I couldn’t let my hair out…

First, it was “my hair is too short, I’ll let it grow out”

Then it was “I’m too busy to learn how to take care of my natural hair”

And my favorite excuse “my hair isn’t curly, it won’t be pretty”

Natural Hair Anxiety

Curly hair was uncharted territory and it scared me. I use to spend hours searching hashtags on Instagram and watching YouTube videos. Hoping to find someone with my exact texture of hair. That had the perfect “formula” I could mimic and produce perfect results for me.

Instead of continuing down the black hole of YouTube videos, I took action. I found a natural hair salon and made an appointment. The plan was to try my hand at rocking a curly fro.  If the curly fro didn’t work out I’d move on to sister locs. Finally, if all else failed, I’d cut it all off and rock a baldie.

The Transition

From the moment I sat in Kurian’s chair at Hydra Bar Salon, she began schooling me. She transformed my attitude towards my hair and taught me a simple method to achieve an amazing wash n’ go. Here I am, a year later happy that I stopped being scared of my hair and figured out what worked for me.

I won’t lie, it was touch and go at the beginning because I kept looking for shortcuts on my wash day. I learned very quickly there are no shortcuts. Which meant washing, conditioning, styling and drying my hair every week. In addition to having the proper combs, brushes, clips and spray bottles. Using a misting spray bottle and alligator clips has changed my life!

Unlearning Bad Habits

Once I committed to taking care of my natural hair, I wanted it to thrive. Which meant unlearning a lot of bad habits. Which led to me realize there are a lot of myths in the natural hair community that hinder growth progression. Many of them we’ve been practicing since childhood or have been influenced into believing. Below are just a few that I’ve noticed over the past year.

Myth – You Need an Arsenal of Products for your Hair to Thrive

Reality – I have only used about four products to style my hair for the past year. Which are: clarifying shampoo, moisturizing shampoo, conditioner and a styler (gel). It’s been hard but I didn’t allow myself to fall into the trap of buying a ton of products. I have switched up my gel on occasions but I’ve had the most consistent results with Hydra Hair Care Curlformer Gel. My wash n’ go’s last at a week or more without me having to do anything to my hair in-between washes. Expect fluff my curls in the morning.

Myth – You Can Go Weeks Without Washing Your Hair

Reality – Washing my hair every week has been the biggest game-changer. Your hair needs moisture and what’s better than water? I know, most natural hair products say they are moisturizing. Check your labels, is the first ingredient water? Have you looked up the actual ingredients listed on these products?

Myth – Wash N’ Go’s Aren’t for Everyone

Reality – I never thought my go-to hairstyle would be a wash n’ go. Granted, it didn’t look like this at my first appointment. However, my hair improved with consistency. The fact that I walked out of the salon with curls after my first appointment with Kurian was amazing to me.

Myth – Shrinkage is Bad

Reality – Shrinkage doesn’t bother me. I love when my hair shrinks around day three of my wash n’ go and gets big and fluffy. Shrinkage is an indicator of hair health and elasticity. The natural hair community will have you believe that shrinkage is bad and unattractive when it isn’t.

Myth – Oil Moisturizes Your Hair

Reality – My mom trained me to grease my scalp which I transitioned to oiling my scalp when I started doing my own hair. This was the very first thing I was told to stop doing during my appointment at Hydra Bar Salon. This was probably the hardest thing for me to grasp. However, I listened and it has been one year since I used oil on my hair. I have even stayed away from oil-based products. Guess who doesn’t have a flaky scalp anymore!

Of course, these myths and realities are based on my own personal experience but I hope by me sharing they can be helpful. Now that I have figured out my “formula” I am itching to do something with new my hair.

Are you natural? If so how long did it take for you to figure out your formula? Also, is there a trend or technique that you’ve seen other naturals do that didn’t work for you?