A Special Man
For those who don't know, or are sort of blind to the picture to the right, I am Black. As a Black woman for all of my life I had relaxed hair. It's what I did, it is pretty much always what I did (except for that short time in elementary/middle school where I had a Jheri curl.. we don't talk about those days).
(I am sorry I don't have any up loaded decent shots of me natural. I will get to it I promise!)
My husband, being white, does not know much about African American hair care. Why should he? When we have kids I am sure it will be different.
However, he knows what he likes. He didn't like the fact that I never would let him touch my hair when it was relaxed. He would see women with Afros and natural hair and ask me why didn't I do that? It seemed to him it would be like less hassle and I would be running around a lot of times with my hair looking like I just got out of a windstorm.
I half listened to him because... I half listen to everyone.
My big chop came not as a statement, but as a necessity. I had my hair in micros and it just matted it all up. Ugh. I know a lot of spouses would not be supportive of their wife having natural hair. They prefer the smooth silkiness of relaxed hair. Not my husband. He couldn't be happier.
He loves touching and rubbing my hair. I think the happiest he ever was (Other than our wedding day, or when our tax return came) was when I told him that I was not going back to a relaxer.
Today is my husband's birthday. I love him a little more each and every day. I thank him for being the wonderful special man that he is. Happy Birthday Jeff, I love you!!!
In the beginning there was me.
Natural? What is Natural. For me Natural wasn't a well thought out plan, a choice, or a dare. I didn't weigh pros and cons, think about my big chop daily, or ask friends about it. It came about in a rather matter-of-fact type of way.
I had micro braids put in my hair. My relaxed hair. When it came time to take them out, I discovered that the girl who put them in wasn't as compentent as I originally though. I had mass clumpy tangled hair, that was in noway going to untangle. My hair dresser suggested I go natural. I am glad that I did. She cut my hair so that an inch or two was maybe left around. She put it in little divided curls and sent me on my way.
I am a product of my upbringing. That is to say, that I always thought in order to be pretty, Long hair must be had. For example:
I was always taught I had "bad hair" That I needed to straighten it within an inch of its life for it to be okay.
That is not the case any longer.
I love being natural. There is an ease with it, that I have never experienced in my life with my hair. I get up, wash my hair, pick it out and go.
The reason why I started this blog is that, I want to show other girls out there, that it is okay to be natural, while discovering new tricks and secrets along the way. For right now, I use olive oil to moisturise my hair, and Suave conditioner in the shower. I want to learn how to do new things weith my hair, and learn to love and completely accept it. I still have my days where I miss the length and the straightness, But I am not giving up.
Espionage Cosmetics
