Where do I begin…
Well, when I last wrote, I had decided that I would not relax my hair any more. My last relaxer was March 23, 2012. I decided then that I would "transition" to natural hair but I didn't think that I could handle a big chop. I also decided that I wanted to wear my hair straight so I was going to be a "straight natural". I decided to get a keratin treatment from Steven Deer. It was cool. My hair would get as straight as a relaxer but, when it was wet, then it would get "curly" again. I thought that was going to be it for me! I would let it grow but I would keep it straight. Here are some of the pictures from that phase:
So I have to laugh at these pics because they look a little bit like Dutch boy shots! I don't recall when the top picture was taken but the bottom one was taken the summer of 2013. I was enjoying those styles but wanted the versatility of being natural. And Steven was a little high but very good. I suspect that the heat that he used was a little high but, if you're going for straight, then it may be okay. Hm, no. Too much heat is never okay.
Any who, I will show you some of the styles that I started doing on my own. Thank God for YouTube and Facebook. And for the natural hair chicks like MahoganyCurls, Naptural85, CharyJay, NaturallyGG, etc. I learned how to do a flat twist out and it worked! I got so many compliments on it!
These are the stages from the early attempts in 2013 to the "mastery" of the look in 2014. Since I was doing the look myself, I saved money by not going to the hair salon so much and also saved my locks by not getting another keratin treatment. But what I forgot was that I was still transitioning and the longer I went with two different textures (natural and relaxed/keratined), the more fragile my hair became. Notice the first twist outs vs the latest ones. Not much difference in length. Not as much as there should have been, at least. My hair was breaking off as fast as it was growing.
Oh, my salon issues. I stopped going to Steve because I was wearing more natural styles. I decided to find someone who would do natural hair in both straight and curly styles. Thus, Tasheara Neshell at Huetiful Salon in Chicago. She is the sweetest young lady and is very knowledgable about hair. Here are a couple of the looks that she gave me, both curly and straight.
My hair felt so soft. She didn't use a lot of heat. As you can see, it was hitting my shoulders.
But…
I found that I was missing something and I couldn't quite put my finger on it. I was not going so often and it may have been because it was hard to book her. I shouldn't say it past tense because I'm not saying that I'm not going to go to Tasheara any more. She cares for the hair, has a beautiful spirit and her salon is not too far from home. But I decided to do something different.
My hair was talking to me and showing out by knotting! LOL! I kid you not, It was as if my hair was saying "You've had this perm/keratin on your ends long enough. The "real" stuff is ready to go wild!" I could shampoo my hair and have a lot in the drain. Then, lately, I had taken to keeping scissors with me because my ends looked like they had little balls on them. I knew it was time to let go. After all, don't we have to lose something to gain something at times?
I had been following a young lady named Aeleise Jana who owns Hair Love Art Salon. My friend/sister/soror Cheryl Buckingham first told me about her. Well, I saw a picture of someone who's hair looked like a bird's nest but, after Aeleise got to it, it was curly and beautiful. I kept on looking at other persons' hair that she did and it looked great. What really impressed me, though, was when she was talking about hair care. She mentioned how so many people overloaded their hair with products, which only created more problems for them. I decided then that I would go to see her to let her do what she needed to do and I would deal with it one way or another.
I went yesterday. May 4, 2014. I shared my hair journey with her. I thought that I had been transitioning for two years but it was probably more like one because of the keratin. She advised that some people experience permanent straightening from it. Of course. Something that straightens your hair with the amount of heat that's needed for it can't be that far off from a relaxer. Especially if you've been doing it for a while. She also told me that my hair was dehydrated. I need more conditioning hydration and I need to drink more water (Operation Hydration - inside and out). I was impressed with several things - 1) her incredible knowledge, 2) her warmth, 3) her timeliness, 4) her willingness not to have to sell everything. She referred me to Ulta for my hair care products (Deva Curl). She'll color my hair to cover the gray but won't give me the highlights that I like until she feels that my hair is in better condition. She told me to have my hair trimmed again to shape it in 90 days. I love her!
So, here it is…
No manipulation from a twist out. Natural from the products. Nothing heavy. I'm going to let the hair grow but without the heavy products. Can't wait to see what it will do!
My lessons learned with this journey:
1) If you're going natural, commit to going natural. No things to help in between like a keratin treatment.
2) I know it's hard to consider a big chop but just do it. Or don't wait as long as I did to get rid of the permed ends. It will save your hair from a lot of breakage and shedding.
3) Find someone who takes care of natural hair. They will know what products to use and how to cut and shape it in it's natural stage. At least, they should know how to do that.
4) Drink water - lots of it! Our hair, skin and bodies need it.
That's it for now! I hope to show you how it's growing out in a few months. I don't plan on waiting another year but it will take months to see some results so I have to be patient.
Thanks for sharing my journey with me! It's been fun!
Jill
