HerStory

My first step into this journey began during the summer of 2001—one year after my mother’s passing. Actually, that’s not true! The seed was probably planted by my mother—decades earlier. As a little girl, my mother always styled my hair in plaits or naturally tight curly styles. As I grew into my teen years, she would occasionally press my hair straight, but NEVER put any type of chemical relaxer in it (the “popular” thing for black girls to do). That is, until my aunt (licensed cosmetologist) convinced her that thioglycolate (the softening agent in the jhery curl) was not as harsh as the sodium hydroxide (straightening agent in permanent relaxers). What a “lye” (pun definitely intended)! So, I went from having tight bushy natural curls to slightly-less-tight shiny-greasy-drippy curls. This was my segue into a permanent relaxer, at the end of my senior year of high school—which kept unhealthy chemicals entering my body, by way of my hair and scalp for the better part of the next three decades.

During the later of the three decades mentioned above—as societal influences began to change (ever so slightly)—I began to dream of getting back the beautiful healthy bushy (coily, nappy, or whatever you want to call it) hair that I was born with (well, sort of— I was practically bald until the age of two or three).

So, in 2001, I did the “BIG CHOP”—leaving me with a TWA (teenie weenie afro). “Societal influences” weren't quite as prepared as I thought, so after a few months, when I had enough growth to supplement my hair, I started wearing extended cornrows. After almost a year, I went back to the creamy crack, and had relaxer put back into my shoulder-length hair.

The clock ticked on for more than another decade. During which time, I went back and forth from long flowy locks to short and spikey locks—until finally—whether society accepted or not—I was confident enough to make my final decision to take the natural plunge—again—this time for good!