Natural Intervention 101: What to Do When the Perm Box is Calling | Clutch Magazine: The Digital Magazine for the Young, Contemporary Woman of Color

Natural Intervention 101: What to Do When the Perm Box is Calling Clutch Magazine: The Digital Magazine for the Young, Contemporary Woman of Color

As I sat here and read this article, I began to let my mind wander on the many times I have thought about going back to getting a relaxer-those times when I didn't feel like doing my hair or I was having a bad hair day or I saw somebody with a really cute straight hairstyle or when it wasn't fun anymore. I think all of us natural girls go through a period when we second guess ourselves and say "Did I make the right decision?". Don't fret, girls; you're not alone. Thankfully, I can say I haven't had this thought (of getting a perm) since my last hair appointment! My hair is still straight and shiny, even in this gloomy weather. One thing I definitely agree with the author of the article is getting together a support group. When I lived in FL and had just made the decision to go natural a co-worker invited me to join a natural hair group. All of the women were natural (or going natural) and we shared hair stories over drinks and food. It was a great way for me, someone at the time who was transitioning, to hear from other women who were natural and loved it. They even had product and style suggestions. It was perfect for me! At the last meeting before I moved we even took pictures so the host could add them to her blog to document all of our hair journeys. I'm definitely thinking about starting a natural hair group in the DMV area. There are so many resources that we don't take advantage of. So...when you get that feeling of going back to the perm, call your interventionist! :) She'll remind you of the joys and freedom that only we natural girls can feel.

A Little Old Sprinkled with a Little New...

So after talking with a fellow blogger and someone whose opinion I value dearly (you know who you are!), I decided to switch up the blog a little bit. As almost 4 years of stuff is a lot to catch up on and to ensure that I stay current with pertinent hair stories, I have decided to write about my current hair stories, and where appropriate, mix in a little old hair stories.

Beginning Summer 2009 I decided to wear my straight. So I asked co-workers and friends for a salon that presses hair. I found a salon and began going to get my hair pressed every 2 weeks. My hair didn't always stay the straightest, even after I had been going for a few months and the humid summer months had passed. So after listening to a few other friends I decided to go to a Dominican salon, which are notoriously known for getting a sista's hair straight, no matter how tight her curl! :) But by the time I decided to go, I had stopped going to the salon to get my hair pressed and had started to do it myself. I figured it couldn't be that hard, and I had been doing a pretty good job of "touching up my roots" so far so actually doing my own hair shouldn't be a problem, right??? Yeah, I was wrong. For the most part I did a pretty good job, except my hair had broken off... :( I went to the Dominican salon, had a consultation with...I'll call her Luisa, and then made an appointment. At the first appointment, I got some treatment (I don't remember the name), got a hair chop, and voila! walked out of the salon. I did like how straight and shiny my hair was, and it looked like it was on the right track to being healthy again. In subsequent appointments I was satisfied and happy with the end results.

But I went a month without going to see Luisa. I made an appointment to see her this past Monday. All I can say is I will NEVER wait that long again to get my hair done. My hair didn't seem to retain moisture, the roots were a mess since I couldn't press them like I normally could when my hair was longer, and as she was doing my hair I jumped, squirmed, and wished I had a relaxer!! (Sidenote: My wishing for a relaxer is nothing new; that thought goes through my head at least 2-3 times a week.) Even the first time I went to her I wasn't as uncomfortable as I was sitting in that chair on Monday. But I was happy with the end result...straight hair. I've never really liked how stylists style my hair, so even though I didn't really like the style, it didn't matter because I had STRAIGHT hair!!! And my hair is still growing, so I consider that a big plus. Going through that experience made me realize that I will NEVER go that long without getting my hair done... at least until my hair grows a little longer and I can get to my roots myself! :)

The Process

Hey, people! Since I want to share my entire natural haircare journey with you, this post will focus on how I went natural. I do have almost 4 years of stories to share so you're in for a ride! But I promise to break them up and still keep things interesting!

So, after telling my stylist that I wanted to go natural I had to decide how I wanted to go natural. Did I want to grow out my relaxer or chop off all of my relaxed hair and start over? My stylist suggested I cut it all off...but if you know me you know I wasn't having that! I decided to grow my hair out. This process took a year. But for that year, in an effort to reduce breakage and making sure my head didn't look crazy with half natural/half permed hair, I wore braids and sew-ins.

In September 2007, I finally decided to wear "my hair". It was a really traumatic experience for me. I only had a few strands of processed hair left, which my stylist cut off, she styled my hair, and VOILA! I was officially natural! To be honest, I wasn't that excited about it... I HATED the way she styled my hair. At first, it looked good. She braided it, put me under the dryer, and when my hair was dry took the braids out. It had this wavy, funky look to it. Then...she pulled out the curling iron and proceeded to curl my hair!! When I left, I felt like a big sponge. And to make matters worse, I was going to hang out with a friend (which I tried to get out of since my hair looked crazy)...so I was VERY self-conscious about my look. She made me feel better when I got to her door, but I know I looked a hot mess.

I tried to salvage my hair the next day, and I think I did a pretty good job. But it would be an interesting journey to find a style that suited me just right and one that I felt comfortable wearing...

The Beginning...

About 3 1/2 years ago I decided to go natural; for those of you that don't understand that means I decided to stop getting my hair chemically relaxed. I did this for two main reasons. One, after seeing multiple friends with their natural hair styles I began to wonder what my hair would look like it in its natural state. They had all styles from straight/sleek to curly to fro'd out. I love the versatility that I saw my natural friends having, and I wanted to experience it for myself. The second reason I wanted to go natural was because I saw the damage that getting your hair relaxed on a regular basis could do to your scalp...not on the OUTSIDE but on the INSIDE. I saw a picture of a woman's scalp who had been getting relaxers for 20 years. It was VERY black and looked unhealthy. This picture was next to a woman who had not had relaxers in a number of years; her scalp was a healthy, pink color. After I saw that picture, and two of my linesisters at the Atlanta Classic in 2006, I officially stopped getting my hair relaxed.
Needless to say, this has been a tumultuous journey, from finding what products to use, finding styles for my hair, and finding a stylist who knows how to do natural hair, but I'm still on it! This blog will serve as a way for me to share my feelings and stories of dealing with my natural hair and as a way for all of us natural girls to share our resources and suggestions. This can also serve as motivation or a swift kick for those girls who are thinking about going natural and need some encouragement, guidance, etc. So, happy reading, and stay truly napptural...