Au Naturale

A while back I did a post about how I started my journey to healthy natural hair. Well next month will be my fourth year being natural.

For those of you who don't really understand that statement basically anyone who has afro-textured hair (the term used for those who have African heritage, although those who have kinky, coily, curly hair and don't have African heritage face the same issues) usually wear their hair in two states. One being relaxed which is when a chemical process is used to straighten the hair permanently, which is why some people call it a perm. This term can confuse some people because a perm for non-afro textured hair actually causes curls/waves to form. The other state is natural, when no chemicals are applied to the hair and it is worn in it's natural state be it curly, kinky, or coily. Still with me? Great, moving on.

There is a big movement for more people with afro-textured hair to embrace their kinks and curls. For the longest time going natural meant growing locks or such, allowing the hair to grow in a bound state. As seen here on the beautiful Valerie June (if you like sultry blues check out her music.)

There's nothing wrong with this hairstyle but the reason why it was so popular among naturals is because the belief was that afro-textured hair was impossible to maintain and care for if it wasn't relaxed or in locks. There was a moved to using texturizers, which is basically a mild form of a relaxer. As I said in the other post, there is a growing community of naturals that are disproving this belief. Showing that through a thought out regiment, natural afro textured hair can grow long and healthy and can be maintained and cared for without chemically changing the hair.

As I've said before when I first went natural it wasn't a pre-planned idea so I went into it not knowing what I've learned. I remembered the first time I washed my hair and allowed it to air dry. I squealed with joy as the baby curls took place. These last four years have been a long journey learning my hair. Noticing the changes and the seeing the growth take place.

Recently I've noticed my curls are starting to loosen as they grow longer. In the last year I've seen marked growth because of applying the knowledge that I've gained from YouTube gurus. I'll do a follow up post about my hair care regimen and such.

Some of the ladies I subscribe to are: kimmaytube; LeiLei08; LongHairDontCare2011; Naptural85;and Nikkimae2003.

I try to reframe from naming hair inspirations because hair is soooo subject and even the hair types might look similar they aren't. Your hair is part of your DNA and it's unique as you are. But I do like see what others are doing and try to adapt it to my hair. It's not easy being natural but it's not easy having healthy hair that grows for any hair type. With the harsh environments we live in today and the lifestyles we lead, our hair is often neglected. If you want your hair to be healthy and grow you have to take the commitment to care for it.

For the last year I've purposely ended using heat on my hair so that I could learn how to take care of my curls. At the end of the this month or next month probably I will put heat to it so that I can see how much it's grown (it's easier to do it on straight hair as with curls you have to deal with a lot of shrinkage).

So this post is long enough I'll end it here, but I'm curious to know if anyone else is as crazy about their hair as I am? Until next time, good luck.

+photos of Valerie found on her personal website.