Why My Hair Needs A Blog

My natural hair journey happened to me. 

I was pregnant with my first son and I was surprised and amazed at the amazing length and texture my hair inherited without me trying very hard. I was kind of like: “Wow, it can do that? It can hold up like that? I can braid it and undo the braids the net day and it actually coils so beautifully?”

I was seriously amazed! I was not aware of any natural hair blogs back then (It was 2011) and blogging in itself was so not as ‘glorified’ as it is now. So I relied on my salon close by to maintain my mane. Like i said I knew nothing about the natural hair. For as long as i could remember when you spoke of natural hair, you were referring to your relaxed and un-weaved hair.

My mother relaxed our hair when we were young (perhaps from the age of 6/7 years of age) and that was the normality i had known. In her defence, getting us ready for church was not pretty and fun. Two teary and tear stained girls arriving at church every week wasn’t working out for her. Then there was the excruciating tugging on my hair while combing – this was a task painfully but beautifully executed by my father. When the comb would fail to run from the front of the hair line to the back of the head, it was time for a retouch. That was how our relaxer schedules worked.

I remember from time to time the burning of the relaxer on my scalp because the hairdresser skipped the basing of the scalp phase before applying the relaxer chemical. I also remember the combing of the hair over and over until the hair was straight and slick. (The effect would result in kids at school used to say I looked like a ke a cow had lick my head in my sleep). Thats when you knew it was time to wash out the chemical – not when the scalp burnt. The scalp burning meant the chemical was actually working. I laugh when i think about the times when i actually believed that scalp scabs now and again were normal – Gosh do I laugh!

Fast forward to high school – I was in boarding school so most of my high school years were spent in braids, plaits and twisting of my natural hair. My mom had lush, long dreadlocks i envied but had commitment phobia towards, so I opted for the twisting, braiding and the occasional weave but definitely no relaxer. *Phew*

Fast forward once again to pregnancy. Here I am with this lush, full natural hair and I’m thinking, I can surely do this!

Since i have maintained an afro, gone for the big chop, went ‘Blonde Bold’ and regrown it again. Thank you to the assistance of the frequent (70% of the time) protective styling.

3 words to describe my journey now? FUN. SORE. MYSTERIOUS.

Thank God for the blogs out there now and the products coming onto the market for natural hair. I shall share my own journey, tricks and tips with you guys. So will you join me? But i do feel my hair journey deserves a blog too.

The thing about rocking my heritage as a crown is that no two days is the same and the versatility… I mean the things my hair can do makes it crazy and fun! (Some days frustrating… lol)

XO

Olwethu