So last weekend my family came to visit me and I was amazed to see how much my mother's hair had grown.
I thought it only right to update you on her progress over the past eighteen months.
Started from the bottom:
Pixie cut wig:
Now we're here:
Since Autumn last year she's been keeping her hair braided under a wig, much to my dissatisfaction. I've always felt my Mom looked more youthful and fresh with a curly fro so the straight pixie cut was out with me but nonetheless it seems to have worked wonders as a protective style and even she was impressed with the growth as I insisted she have here hair out for the weekend.
She explained that her main reason for sporting the wig was essentially for convenience. After 6 months of being natural her hair had grown to a point where it took twice as long to maintain and style than here previous re-laxers and I have to agree. As if committing to cornrows every night and picking it out every morning wasn't enough she also had to endure the hour long process of de-tangling, washing, conditioning, deep conditioning and restyling along side her already busy lifestyle.
The reality of natural, especially at the in between stage beyond a twa, is that you have to make extra time to care for your hair if you want to wear it out. Which is why so many naturals wear wigs, sew-ins or extensions while they wait for their hair to grow.
All that aside her hair is currently in the best condition is has been in for several years. She no longer suffers with wispy, floppy hair as we've discovered here natural texture is a fluffy coil that's wonderfully thick and full.
Hello everyone, do you remember my earlier summer post mentioning my mom's decision to go natural? Check it out here. It's been around 3½ months since she big chopped (BC) and she's enjoyed every minute.
We've since learnt that it's easy to get caught up in some of the common misconceptions surrounding the desire to go natural:
❝Natural hair will be easy❞
A twa certainly looks and feels easy but it doesn't stay low maintenance for long.
As the length comes in and the styling options increase,
hair maintence becomes a little more complex
requiring more time, effort and patience.
❝I'll have one set regime❞
In the weeks following your natural decision you'll
become a custom to a particular regime that your hair responds well
to but as it grows out things might not work as well as they once did.
Your hair will be exposed to the change in seasons
as well as your lifestyle choices which require some getting used to as
you go through your first year as a natural.
❝I'll have my true hair texture straight away❞
Don't get caught out by the textural changes afro hair
can go through as it grows. It may increase in density
and exhibit a tighter or more defined coil pattern.
This often leads to drier hair that needs to be cared for in different ways.
❝I can't do anything with my short hair❞
You can! Grow out your hair just 3" and you'll have styling options.
Because of shrinkage my mom didn't think much was going
on hair-wise until we tried an easy
two strand twist style a few weeks ago:
using olive oil and water
they stayed in with ease
My mother experienced most of the issues above. First she had to deal with the hair care products she possessed. Things like; holding sprays, setting lotions and creamy leave in conditioners. Having found that they didn't give her soft, manageable hair, she has since opted for simpler ingredients such as almond oil, water and herb infused deep conditioners. She had to wait a few weeks to see positive results.
less of this
We then came to the issue of styling tools: At first there was little she could do with a 2" fro but lately she's felt the need to comb through and pick it out each morning and she suddenly started to experience breakage. After getting in on YouTube's natural hair world we soon learnt from our mistakes. So it's out with the hot irons, afros picks and hair grips and in with a wide tooth comb and detangler.
more of this
She also learnt that even on short hair there is still a "root" and a "tip". Barely distinguishable when you leave the salon chair with something closer to a fade than an afro but as it grows out, even a couple of inches, it's important to comb from the ends first by hand stretching sections of hair and working towards the root.
YouTube gave us a TON of styling ideas for various hair lengths and textures. We had a lot of fun watching the magic hands of some of these brilliant women, all doing their own hair in their own homes. I'd like to share a video from my mom's favourite natural hair Youtuber - SimplYounique:
Peace
-NaturaLocs
**Photography ownership is held with the blog account holder. DONOT use without permission. All other material is publicly available on the world wide web.**
Hurray for the first wash. I decided to wash my hair last night for a few reasons. One, the flaking was showing more and more and moving from the scalp to the hair, two, I'd been to the gym for the second night running and three, my coils just felt plain gross.
I wanted to wait it out for another week at the least and until the end of the month at the most but with the recent perspiration activities and going back to work in a few days I just had to rescue the situation.
In preparation for this journey toward healthy beautiful dreadlocks I've been patiently growing my little afro for just under 3 months. After returning to a local salon we decided that my hair was in an ideal condition for loc'ing and that I had just enough length to begin my journey.
Last night I washed, conditioned and dried my hair ready to be "loc'd" for the foreseeable future! It's a weird feeling knowing this may be the last time I'll comb through my loose hair and I'm more than looking forward to it...I even have plans, hopes and dreams for my future locs.
Dreadlock aspirations:
I have about a year and a half until I start a new life chapter as a university student and at that point I hope to have -
Healthy hair.
A pony tail . . . of any sort!
A genuine fondness for my hair.
A better understanding of locs and how to grow them.
texture closeup
three months growth (picked out)
ready to say goodbye to the fro
This morning marks the beginning of my dreadlocking journey. I'll be having coils installed by professional hands and I must say I'm more than a little excited and all too curious about my eventual reaction. I think I'm generally prepared to adjust to whatever the out come will be. After all they'll grow and change and I just might love them right away.
I'll be reporting on the essential stages I go through with my hair and I'll try to give an honest view of what it really feels like.
DREADLOCKS ARE...
**Photography ownership is held with the blog account holder. DO NOT use without permission,**
