(ThySistas.com) “I hate my real hair. I just don’t like the in between look at all if I don’t get my hair done I am always tempted to cut it and relax it. I just really hate my short hair.” The statement I have made many times regarding my hair. I never had long hair it has always been short and thick. It has never passed my ear my entire life. I hated my hair. I hated to look in the mirror at myself with myself with my real hair showing when it was not done. I would spend my last dollars to pay someone to do my hair. I didn’t like going in public with my real hair at all. I didn’t want to be at work and I would avoid walking by mirrors and if I did come across a mirror I would walk right past it.
I had my hair braided for a month and because I am natural now my new growth was starting to come out. I would feel my new growth
and something clicked in me. I wanted to wear my real hair. I wanted to see my natural hair. That one decision greatly affected my life in a positive way.
I am NOT my Hair
I didn’t do this for you. I did it for me. The first step to loving myself is loving all the naturals God gave me. Starting with my hair. My natural short and kinky hair. When I comb it out after a tangle you can literally hear it. The hair that must sleep under a satin cap every night and must stay moisturized to grow out. The hair that must be washed and maintained daily for the maintenance. The hair I hated for many many years because it refused to grow.
I will no longer allow myself to be defined by my hair. I will not allow offensive comments to make me hide my true self. So what if my bush isn’t as big as hers or my twist are not long as the others. So what if my hair poofs up at the drop of whatever.
I am DONE giving society what it wants. Now is the time I do this for me. I will love me. I will love everything about me. When I walk past a mirror I will smile because I love me. Often times, I allow others to change the way I view myself. Because people didn’t like my hair well I didn’t like it either. Wearing my natural hair has really taught me a lot about myself and my hair.
My hair doesn’t really hold onto moisturizer well and my face takes the fall for it because I sweat from hair. When I am twisting my hair it does not cooperate with me, it does its own thing back there. And there are some strands in my hair that don’t like to lay down they stand up. I can put as many clips as I want to in my head and that will not lie my hair down. The truth of the matter is I now love my hair.
Staff Writer; Sha’Nelle V. Harris
One may also connect with this sister via Facebook; S. Harris.