My natural hair journey started and ended when I was thirteen year old. I’d just become a teenager when my older sister graduated from high school. My mom asked me what I wanted to do with my hair for the occasion. Not knowing any better, I begged for a hair relaxer. All four of my older sisters had one, all my friends has one, my mom had one, everyone had one but me, so, naturally, I thought I should get one too.
The day I got my first and last relaxer was both quite painful and exciting. That stuff burned out every last curl on my head, burned my scalp, but I stuck with it. The end results were amazing! I could not stop touching my roots! They were silkier and softer than they had ever been and I loved it. And get this, I could actually toss my hair over my shoulder! Over the next couple of days I discovered that I was allergic to one or more of the ingredients in a hair relaxer, because it made my scalp inch, my hair thin, and the overall look was giving the wolf man a run for his money.
Well, that was three years ago. Since then I successfully transitioned over to being natural again, thanks to the help of my absolutely amazing mom. And get this, all my sisters AND my mom transitioned too, so now we’re all natural! Plus my brothers have been growing their hair out, so we all wear cornrows or fros on any given day. I love it!
Through trial and error, I’ve learned all about the importance of pH balance, I’ve learned how to cornrow hair, how to do length checks, the secrets of conditioning, and it lead me to create my website. The biggest motivation behind my website is Bunny, my younger sister. I’ve been teaching her the things I know about natural hair and how to care for it because I don’t want her to ever go through all the nightmares that I went through.
Transitioning was really, really hard. I wanted to wear my hair in an afro but my straight ends limited me to what I could do when I wasn’t ready to cut my hair yet. Believe me when I say this, I know it can be hard to go natural. But it’s worth it! I promise. I love my natural hair so much. One of my favorite things is swimming with my hair loose and crazy. Yes, it takes time to detangle afterwards but who cares? I believe you should enjoy your hair and have fun with it! My very favorite thing is the statement that my hair makes. My friends always pull my curls down then let them snap back up. People know me as “the girl with the big hair”. All the hard work, the transitioning, the time I spend educating myself about these curls on my head...
Yep, definitely worth it!
Please check out Dominique-Alexis on her website, blog and facebook page! Isn't she awesome?! I love love to hear stories of young people with a passion.
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HairStory is the history of your hair and the story it tells.
Everybody has one! Would love to hear from all - relaxed, natural, whatever! If you would like to share, please send me an email with "my hair story" in the subject line. Don't forget to include great photos! Tell the history of your coils in your own words or answer a series of questions I will provide.
1 comment:
What a beautiful story and an amazing head full of hair!
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