Natural Hair Beginnings

My first curly perm /Jheri curl was at the grand old age of 14, yes, 14 years old, an age where most had already experienced years of chemically processing their hair. I had to beg my Mum to perm my hair when I was in school.  She didn't allow me to put any chemicals on my hair until I was 14 years old, and even then she only gave in because I asked my Auntie to persuade her.   My Mum was right but when everyone was rocking a curly perm and Jheri Curl I felt foolish with an Afro puff and cornrows. After the curly perm it was the relaxer, then I cut my hair and put in a texturiser and after that went back to the relaxer.  I remember the super strength Revlon tub, very popular in those days, oh what a burn!

Fast forward a few years........ I decided to go natural  in 2004,  I walked into a hairdressers and asked them to cut off my shoulder length perm to my 1 inch of new, rich, natural growth.  The other customers gasped, which I thought was quite funny, I loved the freedom of natural hair and learning how to care for it and style it.  Unfortunately, I once again got caught up in the straight hair look and permed my hair in 2008. 

In November 2009 I was heavily pregnant and my hair was 4 months overdue for a relaxer.  I made a final decision to cut off the perm and stay natural.   Although my hair had thickness and length even with a relaxer, it was constantly brittle, breaking and extremely dry.  I needed a strong relaxer but have always had a sensitive scalp, so you can imagine the type of burns I experienced. The constant battle with sensitive scalp and thick hair made me tired of subjecting myself to this process and I confidently made the decision to go natural and stay natural.  I am now on a locks  journey that started on 22nd April 2010.  I will post regular updates on my journey with pictures.