They say your hair is your crowning glory, and as long as I can remember I’ve had long relaxed hair that I’ve never given much thought. I never thought too much of my hair because it was always there and it always did what I wanted it to. I never really complained about my hair other than to say that it was time for a relaxer again, and off I would go to the salon to see my favorite stylist, and I would walk out 2.5 hours later pleased with my hair back to its normal and manageable state.
Like most young girls and young women, I liked to experiment with different looks, and over the years my hair has been through just about every style imaginable — from a jerry curl in elementary school, to finger waves in high school, to a long 18″ weave post-undergrad, to a hair cut post-grad in February 2008, which, for a very short time, was similar to that of superstar Rihanna. Since the trendy chop off in early 2008, I’ve let my hair grow and it went back to its lovely shoulder length relaxed state, but only to go through yet another evolution.
As I’ve stated earlier, I’ve never given my hair much thought before, that is until sometime last year. For some reason, I started to grow weary of having to go to the salon and have a relaxer put in just to complain the same day (and for weeks) that my hair is too flat, as I really like my hair to look full bodied and not be flat to my head. I would then wait a couple of weeks and eventually wave my hair with a wave iron or I would wash and braid my hair and let the braids out for a ‘crinkle’ look, (which, by the way, is one of my favorite looks on myself). But then I would run to the salon 8-10 weeks later to start the cycle all over again.
Yet, somehow the cycle came to an end and I haven’t had a relaxer since Mid-November 2008. The lack of a relaxer wasn’t done purposefully, it just happened because I wasn’t able to make it to my hair appointment. Once again I decided to wash and braid my hair and wear my favorite ‘crinkle’ look until I was able to make to the salon for a relaxer. But instead of counting down the weeks until my next appointment, I spent the past several months thinking about my hair as I’ve never truly thought about it before.
I decided many months ago that I would really consider going natural once I move to California as it would better suit my lifestyle and truly reflect my style preference and overall personality — but being without a relaxer since the fall made me question my decision to wait until the spring. I began to educate myself regarding natural hair, and the more I read and the more I was taught, the more excited, empowered, and confident I was in my decision to let go of the Lye, and just last week, I made my decision to end the vicious Lye cycle. Finally, I am letting my hair, in all of its glory, do what it is naturally meant to do and I’m eagerly anticipating the journey.
