Like many women of color, my decision to ‘go natural’ was born out of necessity. I moved to Chicago from Milwaukee in 2007 and quickly settled into my new apartment, new job, and new life. My hair at the time, however, was old; the same old, bone straight strands I’d been maintaining since I was six years old.
Finding a new beautician was a daunting task. Hair was an investment for me, an investment I had spent decades and thousands of dollars financing. I asked around and searched Yelp for weeks before trying more than a few credible and not so credible beauty shops. After some (ahem) disappointing experiences, my hair looked tired. I felt tired. Visits back home solely for the purpose of a ‘touch-up’ quickly became expensive and time-consuming. I needed a permanent answer to the question of what I would do with my hair for the rest of my life.
I wasn’t dating at the time. My coworkers couldn’t have cared less what I did with my hair. The time seemed right so I ‘BIG CHOPPED’. This, for a natural, is a somewhat monumental moment of self-liberation. I took a pair of scissors and cut my hair down to an inch high. That was over five years ago.
Looking back, I have no idea why for years I spent thousands of dollars chemically processing my hair. All the vacations I could’ve taken. All the shoes I could’ve purchased. All the money I could’ve saved.
I’d like to say that after cutting my hair Bart Simpson short I accepted each curl and found my natural self to be beautiful or whatever but that didn’t happen. I began wearing braids almost immediately and then kinky twists. Why? Because they’re easy! Over the span of 4 years, I would sit in a chair for 4-8 hours every other month for the benefit of not having to do my hair for weeks – and it was worth it! That is, until my beautician informed me that my ends were scarcer than a quarter in a Chicago parking meter (see what I did there?).
So, after marrying my best friend and being laid off by the company from which I expected to retire, I big chopped yet again.
This time I think I’m doing things the right way. Unlike wearing braids, it’s not easy to work with my kinks in their natural state. There are days I wake up and hate my short hair. Other days I’m amazed at how versatile it is. It can go from shoulder length to Bart Simpson with just a few squirts of water. Amazing! Still, I’m learning to feel like myself with the hair I was born with and I’m having fun. So, in a way, my natural story is just beginning.
For great natural hair tips visit Chicago bloggers Afrobella and Black Girl with Long Hair.
Featured image by Precious-Curls Tumbler