Curly-Centric, ContributorAt 25 years old, Anna has had her hair processed (relaxed) since she was about 10 years old.
Her hair isn't in the best shape, but she has grown to live with it. Relaxing your hair was just the thing to do. A rite of passage into womanhood right? Her mother and older sister did it and she followed suit without a second thought.
But she had never been really happy with it. Her hair went through cycles of damage - looking and feeling great for a while before breaking, becoming thin and losing its lustre.
She has done everything to it - braided it, wore weaves, coloured it, cut it. Her hair had been through it all and she wasn't sure if it ever fully recovered from all the 'drama' she has put it through over the years.
Lately, Anna has been considering something new. She has been thinking about returning to her natural hair.
Going natural
Anna hardly remembers her natural hair. All she remembers is a childhood of intense crying and combs breaking whenever she shampooed and tried to detangle her hair. She was now very curious about seeing how healthy her hair could truly be.
But where to start? How would she get rid of the relaxed hair? Would she have to cut it all off and start all over again? How could she make the transition? And if she did get back her natural hair how would she style it? Plaits and bubbles were definitely out of the question.
Many black women are like Anna. They have relaxed hair and are curious about the long, winding road to natural hair. They are afraid that natural hair may be too time-consuming to wear or just afraid to part with how they have seen and accepted themselves all their lives. Whatever your fears, if you're like Anna, this column is intended to make your natural hair journey a lot easier with information on natural hair treatment, styling and real life experiences to encourage you to embrace and rock your natural mane.
Check the Flair Magazine fortnightly for our new feature - 'At the root of it.' In our next issue, we will look at how you can make the transition. Until then! Remember to love yourself, respect yourself and take care of you.
Curly-Centric Jamaica is a natural hair community hosting meet-ups which explore styling, care and maintenance of natural hair and black hair overall. Like us on facebook at facebook.com/curlycentric! Do you have comments, stories or question on natural hair? Ask us at lifestyle@gleanerjm.com.