go natural!

I’m so scared! I never realized how deep this issue flows. I guess it’s one of those things that until something focuses your attention on it, you don’t recognize the weight it carries. I’m 22, I just graduated college, and think it’s time. Going natural is something I’ve always thought about and I’ve always thought long natural hair was so beautiful. But there is some really strong – what almost seems implicit – aversion within me towards doing it. And I don’t like that..! There’s something really wrong with being so afraid to take the steps to be who you naturally are. I hate that I’ve been brain washed and never even knew it.. lol! I don’t want to sound too “political” about my decision to do it because it’s mostly about asthetics for me, but it also just makes sense. Pray for me, ya’ll. :-)

I havent had a relaxer in like two months so I have quite a bit of new growth. My relaxed hair is soo horrible and is breaking and falling off like crazy. After watching many videos about natural hair on youtube I cut my hair. I cut all of my relaxed hair up to the new growth apart from the front. I did this because I want to wear half wigs and full head wigs until my hair grows long enough to wear micro braids. My haed feels so free and I dont have to deal with all the stupid breakage. I cant wait to go and buy some natural products for my hair and a new wig. I had a big smile on my face while cutting my hair. It was soooo fun. I am ready to start a new chapter in my life for reals.

I’ve decided to make my “go natural” goal unspecific meaning I don’t it to just be about my hair. I’ve noticed that a lot of the “bad” ingredients that are in some hair products are also in skin care products as well. These ingredients are bad for your skin for the same reason they are bad for your hair. If I refuse to put these ingredients on my hair I don’t think I should be hypocritical and use them on my skin.

My solution: Unrefined shea butter. Ya’ll…this stuff is the business. It has SO many different uses. I already know that my hair cannot live without shea butter but refined shea butter goes through so many processes that it is stripped of all its miraculous properties. All but moisturizing of course.

All I know is that many of us have too many products (product junkies) or plain spend too much on too many products. I’m the latter. I’m not a product junkie but getting different products for specific areas or needs can get expensive.

Unrefined shea butter for me is a blessing, I use it on my hair and on my skin. Actually the only thing I use on my skin is Unrefined shea butter and sometimes a little Bio-oil. Thats it. USB can be used as a shaving cream as well si I no longer buy shaving cream (But really because most shaving creams irritate my skin)

I don’t use it on my face, because I have naturally oily skin. Instead I use some sort of Ambi cream depending on my needs at the time.

But to sum this up right quick I have the top 10 uses for USB:

1. Moisturizer for dry skin
2. Eczema cream
3. Blemish cream
4. For softer smoother skin
5. For burns
6. Wrinkle reduction cream
7. Moisturizer for dry hair
8. Shaving cream
9. Anti-itch cream
10. Stretch mark prevention cream

http://www.theorganicsheabutter.com/shea101.htm

(I do not buy shea butter from them)

The only thing that is hard for me, in doing this is how to deal with the two textures and how to deal with my hair constantly breaking because of them. Its funny that I didn’t really care about the breakage when my hair was fully relaxed it was just like an everyday thing and I took it as shedding. It truly never really bothered me, but now it just makes me so sad.

Another thing thats hard, is that I’m afraid of getting a BC. Like really. I’m actually willing to deal with the two textures long enough to avoid getting one and trimming my relaxed ends little by little. The issue is that I want BSL hair by my graduation in 2012 and I wonder if I’ll make that goal. I think I will survive if its only APL but I WILL be disappointed.

Now people are telling me to do mircobraids or kinky twists to deal with the two textures, but I absolutely despise weave and all fake hair. So for me, thats an “absolutely not”.

Also, since I’ve started doing this, I haven’t worn my hair straight for 3 months. I recently straightened it to discover I don’t know how to work with straight hair anymore!!! haha its crazy. I’m WAY more comfortable with my natural hair texture.

I’ve learned that I absolutely cannot live without my shea butter or my hair oils. I’m on vacation for 2 weeks and I left my shea behind and now I’m crying because I can’t do anything without it.

Its funny how things change. : )

I am wearing braids right now. I’m thinking about wearing braids for a few months until I get enough new growth to do the big chop. We’ll see.

I stopped trying to be natural about a year ago after growing out my relaxer for two years. I put a texturizer on my hair way to soon in that two years which resulted in my hair being natural in some parts and over-processed in others. So I just relaxed my hair ( well my last relaxer was. Feb 7th).This time I am just going to do the big chop. I have braids right now so as soon as I take these out I am just going to cut my hair where its still easy to braid but where I am basically cutting off as much relaxer as possoble. And hopefully ill have enough new growth to just cut off all my relaxer right then and there. Okay I am rambling…I guess ill just have to see how it goes.

I am a 29 year old minister and mother of 3. I have been perming my hair since I was 12 years old but I am not the type of woman that loves to deal with my hair. So it breaks off at times and mostly I just keep it short for simplicity. I am embracing a life devoted to God and my family and with that, I want a stress free lifestyle. This includes no worries about hair! I believe that going natural will be good for me physically and spiritually.

I have been trying to do this off and on for the past few years. Now that I’ve graduated from college and I have a few months to sit around, I’m going to work on it. I just want to be free. I want to see what I really look like…without all the chemicals.

Hello world

I would like to go natural but i’m scared. My hair isn’t healthy at all…so i wanna try the natural look. I’ve had a perm in about a month an half. so my hair is starting to get real nappy and im trying to stay away from a prem. So could yall please give me any suggestion on what to do with my hair now???

Thanks

This February I will be two years into my goal of going completely natural! (I’m counting from my last relaxer.) It was kind of a spontaneous decision. After having my hair chemically straightened since I was a kid, I suddenly had two horrible experiences. Just before Christmas ‘06, my scalp was burned really badly, then, that February, a chunk of my hair mysteriously disappeared after using a relaxer. It wasn’t a bald spot; one section of my hair was just noticeably shorter than the rest, like it was beginning to fall out.

Even after that I still planned to keep straightening my hair – I just vowed to be even more careful the next time. But six weeks later, when it was time for another perm, I got cold feet and just said no. Since then, I’ve ditched the chemicals and am slowly trimming away the ends of my hair until nothing remains but my natural coils! It’s been frustrating at times, but I’m learning new styling techniques and falling more in love every day!