Be Prepared. The Big Chop Often Comes With The Unexpected Dryness.

                                                             

I remembered how nervous and excited I was about my Big Chop. I wondered what my hair would look like. I was concerned too about the shape  of my head. Nothing however prepared me for the dryness that came with it. It was as if  my hair were sandpaper. Attempts to add moister proved futile. I used Shea  butter, oils and water but only got short lived relief. I read articles and finally in desperation I reached out to a youtuber "Splinta24". I remember posting on her video and some twenty minutes later I got a response. That was the first time I heard about "scabbing" Scabbing is the condition of change that the hair goes through when you are trying to change the molecules. In my case when I cut my hair there was still some straight ends along with my new growth. Because the hair molecule was in a state of change it did react to moisturizers at all. I felt as if I should get a perm. I was full of regret but I had made a commitment to go on this journey a minimum of 3 years to a life time. So I went out and got a  wig. After about two weeks of wigging it I starting to really immerse myself into training my hair. After a while "She" started behaving herself. As we got to know each other I became ecstatic. Each day was unpredictable as sometimes she yielded and sometimes we fought. These days we are at peace!

I write because I believe that going natural has some unexpected bumps along the way. You have to commit to spending some time with your hair to tame it.  I look back and I'mvery happy that I have stuck with it!. Its such a part of me that I wouldn't have changed my journey. Every bump in the road was a lesson!

Happy Healthy Growing

Kinkily Yours
CottonHeadGirl

Natural Hair and Older Folks

An interesting thing happened to me  a few months ago. I was talking to one of the older ones, a Miss Brown shall we say. Miss Brown is 72 years old from the beautiful island of Jamaica. A sweeter lady you can never find. She makes the best  potato puddings and best of all she loves me. I think I confused her the most when I did my "big chop." She  can't understand why I cut off my "long straight pretty relaxed hair" to grow the "cotton field" that is striving on the top of my head. She has said it on so many ocassions that I started to wonder if she's beginning to have alzheimer's. The day in question she said, "You're a pretty girl...even with your hair like that." I know enough not to get upset. In her way she's paying me a compliment. I know for her there is a deep psychological root as to why she doesn't approve of wearing her hair the way it grows out of her head. I know this and I think it's ignorant though I wont say it, not to her at least. I went through it with my mom, whose main worry, was that people will think that I'm going rastafarian. Anyways, it got me thinking about how many of us have that older person in ours lives that has a problem with their natural roots. Let me know:)

The Begining Of My CottonHead.

Kinkily Yours,
CottonHeadGirl.