Beauty and makeup aside, I am just as excited for hair! I namely wear wigs 99.9% of the time as a protective style and box braids during that .1% of the year when the weather is warm and comfortable for it. However, I’ve never given my natural hair that much though over the last couple of years and that is about to change!

The start of my hair journey

In 2011, I decided to start my natural hair journey. The movement for African American women to embrace their god-given coils took hold of the world and ultimately, I joined in. At the time my hair had been dyed, fried and blow dried so many times, along with withstanding damages from chemicals and badly done glued in extensions. I wasn’t bald or having hair loss, but I am sure I would have been headed there if I kept up the unhealthy habits. Ultimately, I wanted to know what my natural hair was like and at the time, my only goal was to have a huge puff afro. 😆 So I cut off all of my hair, leaving about 1/4 of an inch behind. At the time of my big chop, I had ear-length hair.

Naturally, (no pun intended) my hair grew. In fact, it grew faster than I ever thought it could. The first six months to a year I was all about healthy hair regimens, products and such. The moment my hair got long enough to braid/corn row, though..I completely fell off the wagon. There’s one thing you should know about me when it comes to hair styles. I get bored very quickly. I think I enjoy wearing wigs so much because its easy to switch up the style and color as often as you want! So, for the most part, wearing wigs was my protective style. I’ve done that for the past 4-5 years straight.

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My current state of hair

Just this month though, I have started to take a new interest in my natural hair; especially since I am noticing changes. Changes in my hair as well as changes in the products I leaned so heavily on using. When searching through hair care products online I came across an article that talked about how Cantu had changed their ingredients. I was greatly saddened by this; thinking my horrible split ends and dry/brittle hair was due to my lack of attention, but honestly I think the products played a part in my hair damage as well. A year ago, my hair was at it’s longest and fullest! I wished I’d embraced it more back then and worn it out. 🙁

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That brings me to today…January 27, 2020. I am giving this week a test run in how my hair holds up as well as trying to style my natural hair. Of all my talents with art and makeup, styling any kind of hair has never been my strong point. I’ve been watching as many haircare videos as I can to learn styles that I can manage, since ya girl cannot braid or flat twist (yet!) to save my life. Soon, I’ll be on the hunt for new hair products that don’t contain h armful ingredients, so I can regain healthier and longer hair again. Wish me luck!