Every Journey Begins with a Single Step

***This was written in January 2013, the first month of my natural hair journey.***

*1 week post-Big Chop*

 

My name is Chinelo. I was born and raised in Nigeria, and I currently live in Pennsylvania, USA. I'm the wife of a wonderful man of God, and the mother of two beautiful babies (ages 2 1/2 and 1). I love kids and I'm a pediatric nurse. I love school and I hope to go back...someday.

My natural hair journey is actually a very long story... This is my second time going natural. The first time was in 2008. My edges were thinning really bad, and my sister suggested I go natural, especially because I have my Mom's hair type. My Mom has been relaxing her hair since she was a teenager, and now in her 50s, she has very thin and scant hair with no edges! When I realized I was headed in the same direction, I decided to stop putting relaxers in my hair. I'm not sure how long I transitioned for, then I went to a natural hair specialist who cut the relaxed ends off. Because I'm such a low maintenance person, I never wore my natural hair out. I didn't know what to do with it, so I ALWAYS had it in weaves or braids.

Two years later, in 2010, after becoming a wife and mother, I started getting my hair straightened by the Dominican hair dressers (you all know how "hot" those are). It looked nice, but lasted for only about two weeks. The following year (2011), I realized I was spending so much time and money on getting my hair straightened, I thought it would be less expensive and less time consuming to start relaxing my hair again (I figured they would last at least 3-4 months). In a year, almost all my hair literally fell out! Inexperienced in-home relaxers and a bad weave experience (done by the same person) left me nearly bald in the middle of by head! To compensate, I cut my hair into a Meagan Good look. Very cute, but very expensive to maintain.

In Aug 2012, while researching for my 2-year-old daughter's hair care, and finding this massive natural hair community on the internet, Facebook and YouTube, I made a decision to go natural again. I was tired of finding ways to "deal" with my hair. I wanted healthy, beautiful hair, and everything I had been doing since was taking me further and further away from that goal. I transitioned for about 4 months with braids, and in December 2012, I did the Big Chop. I first cut off my relaxed ends, and because I didn't get them all and I wanted it even all around (remember, I had a pixie cut), two days later, on Dec 23, 2012, I went down to about 1/2 inch of hair, with the help of my husband and his clippers.

 

It was shocking, and at the same time liberating. I was excited, yet nervous. I got several kinds of reactions ranging from "Omg! You look great!" to "I don't like your hair short" to "You should get a wig." I did eventually get a wig (one with a natural hair look though) mainly for a Christmas family reunion portrait...plus I heard that winter months can be harsh on natural hair. The holidays are over, and I actually love to wear my natural hair out. My husband, who I know likes long hair, is also getting used to it. The other day, we were both sitting on the couch, and he began playing with my hair. It was interesting because I don't really remember him doing that before...probably because of how "sacred" my hair was when it was relaxed or flat ironed (if you've had relaxed hair you know what I mean: you sleep with your head hanging off the edge of the bed, so you don't mess up your hairstyle...lol)

 

As much as I went natural for me, I also did it for my daughter. I want her to grow up loving her God-given hair, and realize she's beautiful just the way she is.

I've heard that you can't really tell what your texture is when it's a really short TWA. All I know right now is that my hair is really thick and full, except my edges, which are really thin & sparse.

 

It has really only been a month since my Big Chop, so I'm still trying to figure out what works for my hair. I use Shea Moisture products (the raw shea butter, and the coconut hibiscus ones): they make my hair feel soft and moisturized. I also have some homemade mixtures I use too: an oil mixture (castor, EVOO & coconut), and a Shea butter mixture (everything in the oil mixture whipped with raw Shea butter). Since my BC, I LCO everyday (water - Shea butter mixture or SM Curl Enhancing Smoothie - oil mixture), I co-wash every 2-3 days (V05), I shampoo once week, and I've deep conditioned once. 

I have only about an inch of hair right now and so far, there are only two styles I can do: a wash-and-go, and "Quick coils" (they look like finger coils, only that they are done with a soft bristle brush). Since my styles are limited, I accessorize as much as I can (make-up, earrings, necklaces, hair accessories), and because I never really did all that before, I'm loving it!

 

I'm looking forward to healthy hair with fuller edges, as mine are pretty much none existent right now...lol. I hope to have my daughter's current hair length (collar bone) by my one-year hair anniversary.

Abbreviations:

 

BC - Big Chop

EVOO - Extra Virgin Olive Oil

LCO - Liquid Cream Oil

SM - Shea Moisture

TWA - Teeny Weeny Afro