The History of my "Journey"

So they say the third time's the charm...

My first venture into natural land was in 1997. I was in college and decided to try something new. It was quite convenient, but since I was very slim and had no curves, I thought I looked like a boy from behind. So, in 1999, I decided to perm it.
In 2001, I couldn't take the perm anymore. It was destroying the inside of my hair and between the color and the perm, my hair was so dry. I decided to try the natural thing one more time. Being natural at this time was so much easier. I got used to the poofy ponytails and even learned how to double strand twist my own hair. But, I never wore it short. Once I made the decision to go natural, I kept braids in it until the hair was long enough for a ponytail. I also got my hair pressed a lot. So, if I wanted to feel like having straight hair, I would go right to my hairdresser and she would press it. It pretty much looked like a perm.

Poofy ponytail- getting ready to dance

In 2006, I went to my hairdresser and got a texturizer. It was hard for me to deal with the length of my hair and the the heat was not kind to my natural tresses. Presses were not working. I loved the idea that with a texturizer I could have the straightness of a perm and beautiful loose curls. I also went blonde..lol

Well, in 2007, I needed a touch-up. Needless to say, the "wonderful" hair stylists in Maryland had no clue how to texturize my hair and I would up getting a perm....again. I loved how beautiful my hair looked, but it started to break again in the middle and the constant touch-ups were getting expensive. So...in 2009, I gave up on the creamy crack and never looked back.

July 2009- made the decision and wore headbands in the summer to hide the "kinky" edges

August- started wearing braids to help the perm grow out. Loved my braids for the convenience of not doing my hair.

August- October and October -December- wore braids. Took out my hair in October and December to let it breathe. This is what I call the half/ half phase. The edges were so dry and the ends were so straight. My hair looked so weird.

December- February- Braids.

Then on February 11, 2010, in the midst of boredom, cabin fever, and anxiety from the Big Storm of 2010, I took out my braids and did the....

Big Chop!

Once the snow cleared up a little, I drove home to NY and got kinky twists. I decided to watch a tutorial on line of how to do my own kinky twists. This saved me money from getting them re-done. I was able to keep them in a whole three months.

In May, I got braids with the hopes of keeping them in throughout the summer. Yet, they were heavy and annoying and because my hair was natural, the real hair was seeping out through the braids. So they only stayed in for a month. That was cool because I started to love and appreciate my hair for what it is now.

Au naturale, Naturally yours!! :)