NeoRoots- New Awareness

Before I went natural my hair was so unhealthy and I hardly knew what it looked or felt to wear it au naturale. I had a hard time seeing the beauty in my hair, sad but true, however that was my reality growing up. My hair always never left in its natural state long enough for me to appreciate it. And I don't blame my mom for that because she didn't know any better. 

I came across natural hair journey videos on YouTube of beautiful women who nurtured their beautiful kinks and curls, and wore it proudly and I was instantly inspired. 

Now I know that my inability to see the beauty in my hair stems from lack of knowledge and that's why it was easier to chemically treat it and keep it hidden. I came to realize that when I learn to nurture it, I inevitably start to love and appreciate my kinky and nappy roots. I'm definitely embracing this new awareness I have gained about my roots.

The video below features Kathleen Cleaver of the Black Panther Party explaining why they chose to wear their hair in its natural state. Although the Black Panthers were a political party, there were no political intent behind wearing afros except to promote natural beauty among black people. I feel like her words definitely hits home amongst the growing number of black women who are naturalistas.

Stay tuned for more, I have some exciting news coming by the end of this week. You don't want to miss it!

Love Always,

Yaya

I couldn't take it anymore..

My ends were a Hot. Mess. Split ends and single strand knots everywhere. I couldn't take it anymore, so I cut it all of!!

Okay not all of it, I did get kinda scissor happy and cut about 3-4 cm (1 1/2 inch) and about 6 cm in the back. I went from almost shoulder length to right under my ears. 

I washed and deep conditioned my hair the night before and then braided my hair in cornrows. The day after I blow dried my hair on low heat and then continued to trim my horrible ends.

I just had to get rid of that dead weight, start fresh and I'm LOVING it. It looks and feels so healthy again. I've done this before when I've avoided trimming because I wanted to retain length but that didn't help because my hair kept breaking off. I'm gonna start trimming probably every 2-3 months, stick to my hair regim and hopefully I'll see some length and thickness by summertime.

It feels great running my fingers through my hair!! 

Stay tuned for more!

Love Always,

Yaya

Coils and Kinks

Wavy. Curly. Kinky. Nappy. Coily. These attributes are used to describe the natural pattern of textured hair. Some attributes more controversial than others. Celebrity hair stylist Andre Walker created a hair typing system to better understand the behavior and needs of our hair.
My understanding is that there was controversy surrounding the idea creating a division within natural hair community. Wavy and Curly vs. Kinky, Nappy and Coily. The latter not being portrayed for its own beauty and diversity, while defined and bouncy curls were considered the ideal texture. Again, this is just my assumption. 

*Disclaimer: I haven't read much about the whole "controversy" therefore, I cannot really speak on it. My opinion is basically, there's no such thing as good versus bad hair.*

Personally, the hair typing system has been helpful because it identified the characteristics that were similar to my hair. According to Mr. Walker's system, my kinky coils can be identified as both Type 4b and c hair. However, you can't rely on the chart alone since there are other accountable factors, such as porosity, density and multiple textures. I felt that the classification system was a good starting point and it made my expectations more realistic. For instance, I know that I can't do a certain hairstyle and expect the same results as someone who has Type 3b. But that does not mean that my Coils and Kinks aren't just as Good.

www.NaturallyCurly.com gives this description for Type 4b hair:

Type 4b has a "Z" pattern, less of a defined curl pattern. Instead of curling or coiling, the hair bends in sharp angles like the letter "Z". Type 4 hair has a cotton-like feel. The hair is very wiry, very tightly coiled or bent and very, very fragile; you must take great care when working with it. Type 4 hair can range from fine/thin to wiry/coarse with lots and lots of strands densely packed together. Type 4b hair often shrinks up to 75% of the actual hair length.

   

This is my 4b hair slightly streched 

This is my hair soaked with a mixture of water and Herbal Essence Hello Hydration

Stay tuned for more!

Love Always,

Yaya

My Hair & I- Past, Present and Future

As I wrote in my first post, I pretty much stumbled upon this natural hair journey. It wasn't anything I planned but I don't regret a thing!

Here's a little backstory about my hair. 

My mom used the "Just For Me" relaxer on me from the age of 7 to 15 years. It was easier to manage and style because I was so tender headed. I used to get my hopes up Every. Single. Time. because I legit thought my hair would come out looking like the little girls' on the box. I was equally as disappointed every time to see that my hair was still defying gravity. However, my hair was always kept in protective styles, box braids and cornrows. In the later years, I started relaxing my own hair, every 4-6 weeks, and it just grew thinner and brittle. One day, I was literally too tired to relax my hair, weeks and months followed after that and I don't miss the creamy crack to this day. 

Today, I've been natural for 4 years now.
Despite the fact that my hair is a lot thicker, I'm still experiencing some breakage. My hair is softer and easy manage because I know what products and techniques works.

I didn't know my hair when I first started on the journey, I know better now and I'm still learning. I'm enjoying my natural hair journey because I've learned to love and appreciate my natural curl pattern, it's diversity and the patience I've gained. 

Hair hopes and dreams.

My problem has been that I don't have a daily and weekly hair regimen. I basically have periods when I'm really dedicated to a product or technique. I want to be more consistent. 

When I first started telling people that I stopped relaxing and wanted grow my hair healthy, thick and long, I got both positive and negative reactions. I was surprised at the negative reaction because it came from friends and family that shared the hair texture as myself. That only motivated me more because now I want to prove to them that black girls can grow long hair with the proper care. My goal is to be living proof to my peers, that Afro hair is Good hair and there is really no such thing as bad hair.

I hope that this blog will help me commit to my goal and that I can motivate other black girls out there.

                       Then & Now

Stay tuned for more :-)

Love Always,

Yaya