As a result of Hurricane Katrina, I moved from the extremely humid climate of New Orleans to the dryness of Denver. Although my hands were full with relocating with my husband and small children, I decided to go natural. Hair was not priority at the time, and I regret that because my hair suffered.
When we moved in September 2005 I stopped perming and just knew it would be a breeze. Well, it was a nightmare! I started damaging my hair by wearing wigs, weaves, and braids with no concern for my own tresses. I know it seems strange to say my hair suffered when I stopped relaxing, but I took better care of my hair while it was relaxed. Later it dawned on me that the chemicals weren’t good for my hair. I realized that because my hair would never retain length past my shoulders.
In the late 90’s I began wearing long box braids for months at a time. I would only taking them out to have them put back in and I wouldn’t relax my hair during those stints. My hair would thrive and finally grow past my shoulders. It was my trick to grow my hair out, but it never clicked that I needed to steer clear of the chemicals. So when we moved to Denver I figured I would do the chemical-free approach all the time and my hair would be down to my butt in no time. Ah, who knew I needed to actually take care of my hair for that to happen.
Read the rest of my journey and my article over at Naturallycurly.com
How To Be Happy While You Transition
