I had seen a picture of my hair on my phone from 5 months earlier, from where my hair was straightened, by heat and there was still a little bit of my hair that had perm in it.
It was thin and lifeless (i.e. unhealthy).
It was then, when I decided - no more perms/relaxers for me.
I was going natural.
Being a good black girl, I knew I had to do something with my hair for the time being.
Say it with me: "braids are a black girl's good friend."
So at the end of November 2014, I started the transition back to natural.
I kept my braids until about April 2015. I took them out, and did a final perm chop. That picture is the first time I had not had any chemicals in my hair in a long time.
And I loved it. It looked HEALTHY.
It's still that way today. I've cut it, braided it, weaved it, crocheted it, etc. But it was still my hair with very little or no heat at all.
And to me it is beautiful.
"Well, where is all of this coming from?" You might be wondering.
Glad you asked.
I had, about year or so earlier from this picture, watched this movie called Good Hair, which was hosted and produced by Chris Rock. In the movie, he discusses the extent that black women have gone through to embrace the so-called "European" look (weave, perms, relaxers, wigs, blowouts, etc) all with one purpose in mind: to be beautiful by the world's terms.
If you know me, I don't even KNOW HOW TO DO WHAT THE WORLD DOES! The Sheila E. timbali drummer that beats Motherland solo in my head is loud, and I can do my own dance to her rhythm. Not a follower.
Beauty is in the eye of the Beholder. And truth be told, I think brothers of all colors would appreciate the feel of soft hair, whether curly, kinky or straight.
But the most disturbing thing about the need to have "straight" (read: GOOD) hair is the chemical process to get it that way. Scientists are now finding out that the chemicals being used to get our hair "straight" has been the main cause of fibroids and tumors, which are especially prevalent in: African-American women.
The mere fact that there were chemical burns and scabs on my scalp after the process told me: "sumthin' bout this process isn't healthy" - not anymore. So I stopped. I haven't had the "headache" (ladies, you know what I mean) since getting my last perm over 2 years ago. And then when I realized I had BALD SPOTS from where the scabs from the burns were, I said: that's it. I'm done with this nonsense.
Good hair, to me, means healthy hair. Who says "bone straight" hair is best for African-American women? I think my natural sisters look too cute: kinky, curly, twisted, blowout. And the babies?? OMG - the babies are too cute!!!
My personal opinion is this: do what makes you feel good, but not at the sake of your health. Find other options (and, yes, they are out there!) to get the straight look, without frying your hair! But most important: find something that makes you look and FEEL good!
Just my two cents for the day!!
P.S. - if you thought this was going to be a comment/rant about "Becky with the good hair" - I couldn't care less - all Imma say on that is: Beyonce is GREAT at marketing! IJS
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