Why I decided to Go Natural

I am on a mission to grow my hair as long as it will grow in the healthiest way possible. This is why I made the decision to go natural! 

Previously to being natural, my hair was relaxed. (A relaxer, for those of you who may not know, is a chemical that permanently straightens curly hair).

My hair was relaxed from the age of 11 to the age of 17. I remember begging my mother to give me a relaxer because I hated getting my hair combed.

I thought a relaxer would be easier. I also thought I was supposed to get a relaxer because everyone else had one.

I was so happy with my relaxed hair. My hair could finally flow in the breeze like I always wanted it to. My hair was always long and I loved it.

As I got older I began to take care of it myself. One day I noticed it wasn’t growing past a curtain length. It stayed between armpit length and shoulder length.

Frustrated, one day I decided to search on the internet “how to grow African American hair long”. Sadly I was one of those people who believed African American hair couldn’t grow long unless you were lucky.

To my surprise I actually found some helpful information!

When I realized that I could learn how to grow my hair long from people on the internet, a whole new world opened up for me.

I later discovered YouTube where I could actually see what people where doing and use their examples. I was so excited!

A few months into my journey I had already noticed a difference in my hair. I joined a social networking site that was dedicated to helping people grow their hair and I began to document my growth.

I learned about protective styling and I stopped using so much heat and my hair stopped breaking off and it began to grow! At this time I had not had a relaxer in a while so I decided to let my mother give me one.

It was a disaster!

My hair didn’t take the relaxer. I had puffy roots and straight ends (another way of saying under-processed hair). I hated it.

On the hair boards I saw plenty of women who were on a natural hair journey and I had always said that I would never go natural but after the experience with my last relaxer I decided to learn about it.

I thought about my hair in its relaxed state and I realized that it could be a lot healthier and stronger. I was amazed at what I saw when I started to learn more about natural hair.

There were women with gorgeous heads of hair. I didn’t even realize that natural hair was curly hair. I always thought it was just a mass of big hair.

I also never realized the many different textures of natural hair. From thick to fine and tightly coiled to wavy, it was all different and beautiful.

At this point I wish I had never begged my mom for that relaxer.

After learning all I could about how to go natural, I decided totransition. My transition lasted for one year even though I planned on transitioning for 2 years.

It was a long and hard process but I wouldn’t change it for the world. During my transition, I was able to grow my hair to bra strap length.

That was the longest I have ever managed grown my hair. I am confident that if I had not done the big chop so soon I could have made it to waist length which is my goal.

Today I it has been 2 years since my last relaxer and I have gotten 10 inches of growth. In 2 more years, I am expecting my hair to be at bra strap length or mid back length.

I am excited to see what the future holds. You can check out my hair journey on myfotki.

I love my hair and I am so glad I made to decision to go natural. My hair is healthier and stronger than it ever would have been if I had a relaxer.

Don’t get me wrong, it is still possible to grow hair long with a relaxer but the hair can’t be as healthy as it would be if it were in its natural state.

My passion is to help people take care of their natural hair and one day I hope to create my own line of 100% natural products.

Thanks for reading!