I have always had what I, as well as everyone else around me called a healthy head of hair. Having
thick, tightly coiled and lengthy natural black hair, I was often told that my hair would have a lot of "body" if and when I decided to relax. I never gave this much thought because I would never be allowed to do such a thing. I must admit, the thought of having straight bouncy hair was appealing to me, but I loved (and still do love) my natural hair. However, there were some wash days when I LONGED for a relaxer especially when I had to do it on my own, and even when I went to the salon my hair dresser had to flex her arm while detangling my hair.
After much deliberation I texturized my hair which made it more manageable for me. I could easily pin it up or wear it down. I was glad for this reprieve. My touch-up however was not successful and my hair deteriorated as a result. I was tired of seeing my hair fall and after a friend of mine (micro-braided) box-braided my hair for me I took the scissors and cut off as much of the texturized ends that I could without causing my braids to become undone. This took me to temple length at the front and around ear length everywhere else.
I was saddened but not discouraged. I put time and effort into caring for my hair and it grew back in no time.
Cut to April 2010. I had moved to a new area the year before and could not find a salon that specialized in doing natural hair. Even the African salon I frequented to install braids were devastatingly inadequate and unable to properly manage my hair. It was therefore no surprise that I decided to relax my hair. Seeing that it was my first time, my hair was "dark and lovely," I got compliments galore! I thought it would be easier to handle/manage. I had NO idea what was in store for me!
Common sense dictated that I extend my relaxer touch-ups so I was stretching my relaxer, but I was not taking the necessary steps that were needed to ensure that all my new growth were being retained. I have thick hair, and each time my hair grew, the thicker it became which meant that it became increasingly unmanageable, and as a result more susceptible to breakage. Even, though I wanted to stop breakage and reduce the amount of hair I lost each time i combed, I did nothing because my hair was still not in a place that pushed me to be proactive. Even when the left said of my nape fell off due to excessive moisture from my showers I was not proactive in learning how to properly care for my relaxed hair.
It wasn't until I was goofing around on Facebook while wondering where the heck the bus that I was waiting to take me to work was that I was introduced to Lady Key's Natural Hair Page. I became instantly hooked! She made me feel as though I would be able to manage my natural hair. I had not mentioned this earlier, but it is my intention to someday return to my roots. Her blog made me feel like doing it sooner than later. After days of following her and contemplating whether or not I should start transitioning, I realized that I was bombarded with a multitude of natural hair blogs and decided to search for one on relaxed hair. That's when I came across Relaxed Hair Health and a love story was born!
thick, tightly coiled and lengthy natural black hair, I was often told that my hair would have a lot of "body" if and when I decided to relax. I never gave this much thought because I would never be allowed to do such a thing. I must admit, the thought of having straight bouncy hair was appealing to me, but I loved (and still do love) my natural hair. However, there were some wash days when I LONGED for a relaxer especially when I had to do it on my own, and even when I went to the salon my hair dresser had to flex her arm while detangling my hair.
After much deliberation I texturized my hair which made it more manageable for me. I could easily pin it up or wear it down. I was glad for this reprieve. My touch-up however was not successful and my hair deteriorated as a result. I was tired of seeing my hair fall and after a friend of mine (micro-braided) box-braided my hair for me I took the scissors and cut off as much of the texturized ends that I could without causing my braids to become undone. This took me to temple length at the front and around ear length everywhere else.
I was saddened but not discouraged. I put time and effort into caring for my hair and it grew back in no time.
Cut to April 2010. I had moved to a new area the year before and could not find a salon that specialized in doing natural hair. Even the African salon I frequented to install braids were devastatingly inadequate and unable to properly manage my hair. It was therefore no surprise that I decided to relax my hair. Seeing that it was my first time, my hair was "dark and lovely," I got compliments galore! I thought it would be easier to handle/manage. I had NO idea what was in store for me!
Common sense dictated that I extend my relaxer touch-ups so I was stretching my relaxer, but I was not taking the necessary steps that were needed to ensure that all my new growth were being retained. I have thick hair, and each time my hair grew, the thicker it became which meant that it became increasingly unmanageable, and as a result more susceptible to breakage. Even, though I wanted to stop breakage and reduce the amount of hair I lost each time i combed, I did nothing because my hair was still not in a place that pushed me to be proactive. Even when the left said of my nape fell off due to excessive moisture from my showers I was not proactive in learning how to properly care for my relaxed hair.
It wasn't until I was goofing around on Facebook while wondering where the heck the bus that I was waiting to take me to work was that I was introduced to Lady Key's Natural Hair Page. I became instantly hooked! She made me feel as though I would be able to manage my natural hair. I had not mentioned this earlier, but it is my intention to someday return to my roots. Her blog made me feel like doing it sooner than later. After days of following her and contemplating whether or not I should start transitioning, I realized that I was bombarded with a multitude of natural hair blogs and decided to search for one on relaxed hair. That's when I came across Relaxed Hair Health and a love story was born!
Wow Relaxed Hair Health was the first blog that I had stumble upon as well. Then I came across Jeni at justgrowalready.com and I realized that I was introduced to a whole world I never knew existed. There were actually others who proved that having healthy long relaxed hair was possible. I think I was stalking Jeni's blog from that point and then found others to learn from as well. I'll be adding you to my list. I'm at lengtheninglocks.blogspot.com if you want to check out my page. Great hair story btw! Good luck on your journey! :)
ReplyDeleteThat's how it happened for me too, Relaxed Hair Health then Just Grow Already. I stalked them both,and I read every entry. Jeni was the one who pushed me to start trying to retain length, as I had been hovering less than an inch away from armpit length and couldn't for the life of me understand why I couldn't see any progress...Yay! Thank you, and all the best on your journey as well.
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